Rescue & Restore

Author: Primož Novak

Artist: August Burns Red
Label: Solid State Records
Release: 2013
Runtime: 48:43
Rating: 3.5/5

First off, August Burns Red, the American metalcore quintet from Pennsylvania, deserve credit for their work ethic: they put out a new studio record every two years, without fail. Maybe their first two releases didn’t get much attention in an already oversaturated scene, but with Constellations and Leveler they became one of the key players in today’s modern metalcore.

They often catch flak for their faith. Bands that glorify Christianity have never been all that welcome, with a few exceptions. Luckily, August Burns Red don’t shove it down your throat. Here and there a lyric slips in about God, but the music still comes first.

Even before the album came out, guitarist JB Brubaker said that metalcore is far from played out and that with Rescue & Restore, ABR would prove it still has plenty of potential. So does it?

Throughout the whole album, August Burns Red try to prove that metalcore hasn’t gone watery. But the band have always veered away from the standard metalcore formulas laid down by the various bands who enjoyed their glory days on Roadrunner Records. ABR are more technical, unpredictable, and dynamic. And of course, they’re melodic. Very melodic. The album often layers two guitar lines, and even the occasional solo isn’t about virtuosity, just melody. There are breakdowns too, of course, but the band doesn’t overdo them, and they fit neatly into the songs. Unlike many metalcore bands, ABR don’t force catchy choruses on you, which is typical of their style, one they’ve now firmly nailed down with this fifth (or sixth, if you count last year’s Christmas album Sleddin’ Hill) studio album.

So what did ABR show this time to prove they’ve moved forward and that metalcore isn’t played out? Not with the, let’s say, unconventional song structures, since the band had already shown that before. What they did do this time is bring in other instruments, like violins, cello, trumpets, and piano. In the song Creative Captivity, guitarist Brubaker even plays a bit of guzheng, a Chinese instrument. This move may have worked better than mixing in other genres, which they tried on the previous album but which somehow never really came together. The classical instruments come through nicely in the quieter, suspenseful moments, as you can hear on the songs Treatment and Spirit Breaker

As musicians, ABR have stepped up in some respects. The guitars don’t offer anything overly new, but the rhythm section is a lot more varied. Drummer Matt Greiner has no shortage of ideas, and the bass guitar gets in a few lines of its own too. The vocals haven’t changed much. Alongside the standard roar you can catch the odd growl, and in places catchy »gang« vocals pop up (for example in the song Echoes), with which the band wants to give the songs more pomp.

With Rescue & Restore, August Burns Red prove they’re consistent. The only problem is that the record doesn’t have enough standout tracks, but the whole thing still works pretty convincingly. Either way, August Burns Red have shown with this album that there’s a difference between metalcore and a Lady Gaga song, to circle back to one of guitarist Brubaker’s »provocative« statements.  

Lineup

Jake Luhrs – vocals
JB Brubaker – guitar
Brent Rambler – guitar
Dustin Davidson – bass guitar, vocals
Matt Greiner – drums

Production

Carson Slovak, Grant McFarland

Tracklist