August Burns Red - Found in Far Away Places (2015)Release ID: 4140
As a metalcore fan among other metal genres, I never think August Burns Red is a bad band, but there are some metalheads who dislike them because they were one of those 2000s metalcore bands that sound nearly identical. Well, they want to have their own identity, so what should be noticeable is the newer elements the band keeps adding for every album. Now that the band is more popular than they were 10 years before this album, they can easily be FOUND IN FAR AWAY PLACES!
The seventh August Burns Red album, Found in Far Away Places, should help change your opinion about this band and their genre. With this album, they can run faster than other bands by a mile! Sure they were playing the same old sound of metalcore 5 years prior to this album, but since then they added so much more different stuff that they're practically reinventing metalcore. As much as there are breakdowns, there are much more heavy metal solos and innovative instrumental bridges. In other words, they've balanced out their kind of heavy with a different kind of heavy.
The opening track "The Wake" crashes open the gateway to listeners' ears, with wild chaos reminiscent of the band's older material. That's the heaviest song in the album and kind of a dirty trick for people who are tired of the heaviness. However, "Martyr" is more melodic, having a seamless atmospheric break in the middle with violin fitting flawlessly with the clean guitar. One of the band's more mainstream songs is "Identity", a modern metalcore song with a twangy classic surf rock bridge that escalates into a solo. "Separating the Seas" is the third song in a row to have a unique bridge; near the 2-minute mark, it switches takes a turn into Middle Eastern chamber folk mixed with Latin flamenco-inspired guitar and violin.
"Ghosts" starts with what almost sounds like the intro to one of the slower In Flames songs. But the song itself is interesting with clean vocals by Jeremy McKinnon from A Day to Remember, balancing out the melody with the mood that haunts you as much as ghosts. "Majoring in the Minors" really majors in emotionally charged minor chords. Then there's another country-like dark folk hoedown. Some of the band's more progressive elements can be heard in "Everlasting Ending", especially in the guest guitar solo by Paul Waggoner from Between the Buried and Me. Some of the more progressive heaviness is heard in "Broken Promises". Same thing with "Blackwood".
In the song "Twenty-One Grams", some of the more impressive lyrics can be heard about doubts in everyone's beliefs. The closing anthem "Vanguard" really blends the stoner metal of Torche with the electronic rock of Muse in the instrumentation. With that kind of instrumentation, we can hear more of the structure. This is an impressive track with no lyrical pattern to follow. A great cathartic way to end the album!
The member of the band who deserves the most praise is J.B. Brubaker, whose guitar skills and songwriting really paid off. Many of his solos balance out the metalcore-plaguing Meshuggah-like breakdowns. He should be recognized by many heavy/progressive/metalcore fans as a true metalcore mastermind. Hail Brubaker!
Favorites: "The Wake", "Martyr", "Identity", "Ghosts", "Everlasting Ending", "Vanguard"
