August Burns Red - Death Below (2023)^{Release ID: 43389}

Yet another solid output from one of metalcore most consistent (and best) acts. August Burns Red are one of the best at writing catchy melodic hooks in their music, without sounding too much like a Killswitch Engage, Bullet For My Valentine or Avenged Sevenfold. They have always been a band that have toed the line of how far metalcore can go before it isn't metalcore anymore through some sporadic time and style changes. Death Below is certainly no exception to this rule, but even the albums most intense moments, these tracks don't feel like they are falling apart. Each moment is particular to the cause and gives the album a real sense of direction instead of just breakdowns. Clean singing makes an appearance on this record also and if there was any band that could benefit from pop shout choruses it would be August Burns Red.

That being said, it is still an August Burns Red album and it does have its faults. Most notably, the inclusion of two tracks on the bookends of the album of nearly eight minutes. I like how August Burns Red are embracing some more progressive influence here, but "The Cleansing" and "Reckoning" are in two different ballparks in terms of quality. "The Cleansing" sounds fresh and innovative, even if the off kilter chord progression can make me uncomfortable. "Reckoning" is less impressive, opting for a soft bridge for Spencer Chamberlain's clean vocals to pierce through. And from top to bottom, this mixing of the snare drum is outright distracting; when playing in half-time it can be tolerable, but when the drummer switches to double time or god forbid blast beats, the snare sounds like a brick.

But despite all of that, I cannot say that this is a bad album. In comparison to the plethora of bog standard chugg-chugg-chugg metalcore albums that get popular, August Burns Red are always looking to push the boundaries of what can still constitute as metalcore, and they have been doing this for a long time. The progressive arc is a welcome touch and gives this album a unique sound among the rest of the bands back catalogue and despite its length, it never feels like its overstaying its welcome.

Best Songs: The Cleansing, Ancestry, Revival, Deadbolt

August Burns Red has one of the most solid discographies to come from a metalcore band. They've made great albums in their career, including the perfect Constellations. I've always wondered if there would ever be another August Burns Red that as much of a masterpiece as Constellations. Well I shall wonder no more with their new offering Death Below! And how is it as awesome it is?...

The album is a much further throwback with their fast pacing in songs that I can consider total bangers. Plus a few songs each have a guest appearance from a vocalist or guitarist of another well-known metalcore band, and that's often a grand treat. With that, you're gonna find the most exciting dynamics from August Burns Red in a long time!

The haunting spoken intro "Premonition" sets you up for the chaos that would soon come... "The Cleansing" clearly shows the band's relentless heaviness from their earlier days with drummer Matt Greiner firing away with blast-beat machinery. That's one of two nearly 8-minute epics in this album that are the band's longest, not including the closing epic of their 2005 debut, and it's full of stylistic transcendence. Landing in the first guest is "Ancestry" with Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach, whose cleans greatly complement the growling of Jake Luhrs. The song displays the album's main lyrical theme of struggle and resilience during the pandemic. "Tightrope" includes a wicked heavy guitar solo from Jason Richardson (of All That Remains, formerly of All Shall Perish, Born of Osiris, and Chelsea Grin).

"Fool’s Gold in the Bear Trap" starts as soft as a bunny in the first half, then switches as heavy as a bear in the second half. Bringing back memories of Messenger with the new album's first single, "Backfire" showcases the killer wonders of this album that you can't help but look back at in future generations. "Revival" is a brutal crusher similar to their earlier era. Also winning back some fans is innovative guitar work by JB Brubaker. "Sevink" is another interlude, this one being a instrumental break, sounding beautiful before the brutality bursts back in the next song...

"Dark Divide" puts the guitars at center, unleashing the band's rage at their heaviest. "Deadbolt", while staying brutal, has some classic metal-like sections to shout along to through dark loss. From the intro up, "The Abyss" (with Erra's JT Cavey) increases in intensity. Then it ends with the second 8-minute epic, "Reckoning". I know you metalcore fans wanna hear Underoath vocalist Spencer Chamberlain unleashing his vocals as furious as early Bring Me the Horizon. Those make the best moments of this album!

All in all, Death Below can show you how to overcome the dark struggles of this decade and look into the light, through heaviness and despair. August Burns Red's 10th album can very well be their greatest, most ambitious work yet!

Favorites: "The Cleansing", "Ancestry", "Backfire", "Revival", "Dark Divide", "Reckoning"