After the abortion that was Design the Skyline, here is your palette cleanser – and it’s a great one indeed. Everyone’s favorite Lancaster, PA outfit August Burns Red has released a new track “Empire“, the first track from their upcoming album Leveler, and it brings the same flavor we’ve come to know and love from August Burns Red. Found within are breakdown-esque polyrhythms in odd time signatures, catchy vocal delivery, awesome leads, and probably one of the most inspiring, anthemic sections that August Burns Red have ever done. This is must-listen.
So we got the official press release about August Burns Red‘s new album Leveler today. It’s a pretty wordy affair, and you don’t really care about most of what was said (trust me), but there were a couple of interesting tidbits.
The artwork, created by artist Jordan Crane, brings a striking comic book flair that the band wanted the artwork to encompass.
“What we were going for with the cover was an image of a house that had been destroyed by a natural disaster,” says Brubaker. “The cover depicts a house that has been leveled by something like a hurricane. You can see the trees in the background are bent sideways from enduring strong winds. There are a bunch of chickens in the foreground who have come out of hiding to continue on with their daily activities. The chickens represent the calm after the storm. They represent life and the promise of a new day. The art has a real indie-rock vibe to it, which I like because while we’re obviously not an indie band, we’re not a typical metal band either.”
I kind of want to make fun of it, but fair play to them, it’s not like your ‘usual’ metal album cover, which for me is never a bad thing, and we actually like these guys, so I’ll withhold the asshole stick. That being said, I feel like the hand-holding explanation was unnecessary, but there you go.
The album was produced by Jason Suecof, who was also behind 2009′s Constellations, which was pretty successful if I remember correctly.
After the jump, official tracklisting (plus bonus tracks for the deluxe edition), as well as a bunch of upcoming tour dates, as ABR will be the shining light of okay in the fetid pile of camel piss that is this year’s Warped Tour!
Alright, so the lineup for the Scream The Prayer IV has just been announced. As usual with a tour of this size, it’s a mixed bag, and you also have to consider that these are all christian bands, and therefore they are more likely to suck. However, I do believe that this year the good may actually outweigh the bad, unlike last year. Thank goodness. Lets have a look at the lineup shall we?
Throw in the technical riffs of August Burns Red, mesh it with some ambient keys and orchestrations, throw in leads and sweeping that recall The Human Abstract as well as After The Burial, and top the formula with some powerful, intense drumming as well as odd time signatures. What do you get? Well, you get Hope For The Dying, of course!
Hope For The Dying (otherwise known as HFTD) is an American Christian metal band from Jonesboro, Illinois. However, their sound spans so many different genres of music. Here, take a listen to a single from their upcoming record, Dissimulation:
Pretty awesome, right? Right. You can also hear the track “Transcend” on their official MySpace, which is an even better track, in my opinion.
The album Dissimulation will be released April 26th on Facedown Records. Get your body ready.
August Burns Red are among the best of what metalcore has to offer. 2009′s Constellations was a damn fine album, and if you haven’t heard it, you should give it a shot. The band recently finished their follow-up, Leveler, which will see a release June 21st on Solid State. Hopefully it’s as good or along the same lines of quality as Constellations. The press release we’ve received promises a heavier album that pushes their sound in different directions. Maybe they’ll further explore their progressive influences? Let’s hope so! This year’s already looking better than the last. Keep a look out for more news on ABR.
You wouldn’t happen to be unfamiliar with ABR would you? That’s a shame. After the jump, you can check out their video for “White Washed” and a lyric vid for “Indonesia,” which features vocals from Between the Buried and Me frontman Tommy Rogers. You know good and well that it’s going to be awesome. Click through!
Just like clockwork, every year, August Burns Red releases an instrumental Christmas song. Being a Christian metalcore band makes it a bit more than a cheesy cash-in and more of an homage from the heart, which I can certainly respect in some light. August Burns Red are among the better metalcore bands out there and their rendition of “Little Drummer Boy” (above) is probably better than whatever Christmas classics are playing on the radio this year, taking on a strong post-metal influence.
Guitarist JB Brubaker comments, “With ‘Little Drummer Boy’ I wanted to do something really different from any previous August Burns Red songs. The end result is pretty much our attempt at down-tuned post metal, which is something I’ve been a fan of for a long time now. The song was recorded in drop A, which is much lower than we usually play. Recording the track was a lot of fun as I was able to incorporate a bunch of new sounds and techniques ABR has never used before like slide guitar, ukulele, and acoustic guitar. The icing on the cake was having Magnus Lindberg mix the track. Lindberg has done all the Cult of Luna albums, and I’m a huge fan of theirs so I was so excited to have him mix the track.” Sweet.
Whenever you’re forced to hear “Feliz Navidad” for the thousandth time and want a change of soundscape, yet want to keep the Christmas spirit, you can throw on some heavier instrumentals of “Little Drummer Boy,” “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” and “Carol of the Bells.”
Listen to the latter two songs after the jump. “Little Drummer Boy” is now available on iTunes!
Last week, some asshole named Levus commented on the We Butter The Bread With Butter post from my 100% correct series, “Five Reasons Why Deathcore is Total Shit.” Read it if you haven’t, but this guy came stumbling in long after the party ended to come in defense of WBTBWB.
Its about enjoying the music, not about what they do or who they sound like. who cares if they are scene kids? i dont see you putting out any music and for that reason, i shall say shut the fuck up.
Holy logical fallacies, Batman! I wasn’t aware you needed to make, music to criticize it. Someone should tell Ebert that all of his writings are null and void until until he scores a blockbuster hit under his belt.
Now, assuming for a second that this guy is correct and we aren’t allowed to talk about music until we’ve put it out there, then Heavy Blog would only lose what, three or four writers at most? We at Heavy Blog are not only fans of music, but we enjoy writing it as well. Here’s three bands that are the products of HBIH writers. Oh, and guess what? One of them is my own project. Suck it, Levus. Consider this our accreditation that allows us to talk as much shit about music as we want.
Damn, I’m spiteful. Without further ado…
First up: ISSACHAR!
Featuring Paul “Uncle Muscles” Meisner on guitar, Issachar are a progressive metalcore band which takes influence from the likes of Between the Buried and Me and August Burns Red. The band are currently writing new music and saving up enough cash for a van and to record a high quality debut EP, but they have a few demo tracks up on their MySpace. They are spectacular, so check them out!
And then there was: THRACIAN!
Thracian are a melodic death metal band from New York featuring Dan “Dormition” Arena on vocals. Their demo EP Blight is available for free via bandcamp. Listen to that below!
Finally: THEOLOGIAE!
Theologiaeis a progressive post-black metal music project featuring yours truly as the (currently) sole musician. I’ve released one nine-minute song, “The Ardor Sanctus.”Tre Watson contributed a guitar solo, which sounds great. The song is very BTBAM influenced in its structuring and composition, flowing through different parts with stylistic differences. Check it out below and download it for free at bandcamp. I’m currently writing more music, so keep track on Facebook for the word if you care.
That just about covers it. I know some of the other writers have small projects they’re working on, and I’ll post them when they have something to post. So, to all you readers and other blog dudes out there: Show me your own personal projects and bands! Show me that you’re allowed to talk about music.
01. Titans I: Awaken
02. Titans II: Divergence
03. Rifle Gap: Battle For The Western Slope
04. Colossus I: Descend
05. Colossus II: Arise
[Independent]
Ad Astrata are a fairly new band, taking advantage of the recent surge of progressive-influenced metalcore and deathcore where stranded song structure is disregarded and epics are being written and released as EPs. While Ad Astrata aren’t exactly all that progressive in nature, they are in spirit, just as their influences in August Burns Red. The band’s first EP Divergence is a great first step in establishing a name for themselves in the modern metalcore scene.
The band’s instrumental aspects are great, as derivative as they may be at this point. They know what they want to play, and they do it right. While a metalcore band at heart, there are influences of prog, thrash, post-hardcore, and death metal shown throughout the course of Divergence, a 17-minute standalone showcase of the band’s abilities as musicians. Divergence is definitely a melting pot, with “Colossus I” alone crossing into thrash territory, later treading into sung post-hardcore vocals and a section of proggy melodeath riffing which is carried over into “Colossus II”. There are some really catchy riffs on this EP. The guitar work is definitely their strong point.
If not, I apologize for not saying anything, but it was everywhere else and I didn’t care at the time.
But today, August Burns Red posted the trailer for their forthcoming live CD/DVD, Home. Check this bad boy out, if you care enough.
Looks like a well-shot production. Here’s some info from the press release:
The “Home” DVD/CD captures AUGUST BURNS RED’s June 4 concert at Warehouse 54 in Manheim, Pennsylvania. The DVD/CD shoot drew a sold-out crowd of 1,250 people who wanted to participate in the exciting performance, including some who traveled internationally, from as close as Montreal to as far as away as Amsterdam. Shot and edited by Space Monkey Studios, whose phenomenal work has been seen on releases by acts like COHEED AND CAMBRIA, LAMB OF GOD, EVERY TIME I DIE and more, the live show is accompanied by a documentary on the band detailing life on the road and at home and featuring many fans discussing the ways in which AUGUST BURNS RED have impacted their lives in a positive, meaningful way.
Here’s the tracklist:
01. Intro
02. Back Burner
03. Whitewashed
04. Your Little Suburbia Is In Ruins
05. The Eleventh Hour
06. Meddler
07. Truth Of A Liar
08. Mariana’s Trench
09. Thirty And Seven
10. Existence
11. Meridian
12. Shot Below The Belt
13. Up Against The Ropes
14. Composure
15. The Seventh Trumpet
What, no “Indonesia”? Bummer. Even still, looks like a tight show!
The Home CD/DVD is due out September 28th on Solid State Records.
01. The Breaker’s Origin
02. Devastator
03. The Advocate
04. The Breaker’s Valley
05. Seraphim
06. Arm The Masses
07. White Flag
08. The Breaker’s Encounter
09. Phoenix
10. Psalm Of The Son
11. King
12. The Breaker’s Commission
[Facedown | 08/31/10]
This is probably the first reader-requested review I’ve ever done in which the reader had nothing to do with the creation or promotion of the album, and Lord knows it probably won’t be the last. The album in question is Iowan christian metalcore outfit For Today‘s latest effort Breaker.
Those familiar with For Today know that they are very adamant about their faith. Where most bands make it a bit more subtle (eg. August Burns Red and As I Lay Dying), For Today go full frontal with lyrics like “We will see you on your knees before the King of Kings.” This shouldn’t pose as a problem by any means unless you have some religious hang-ups. Fans of the style will find the lyrical themes to be quite empowering, and they are indeed. There is a very anthemic and epic feeling, and when this album’s done you’ll feel like you can take on the world. Mission accomplished, guys. Too bad I can’t find a bio anywhere that lists all of your names. Seriously, I checked a couple of places.
Ad Astrata
For Today
