August Burns Red
Jake Luhrs—vocals; JB Brubaker—guitar; Brent Rambler – guitar; Dustin Davidson—bass; Matt Greiner—drums
With 12 years as a band under the belt, Lancaster PA’s August Burns Red know what they are doing and what they want to sound like.
Found in Far Away Places, the band’s sixth full-length and Fearless Records debut, is full of unpredictable, unexpected moments that will both surprise and delight the band’s fanbase. With the support of a brand new label, August Burns Red are ready for the next chapter and to chart another period of l growth.
With a solid collection of 5 previous albums, Thrill Seeker (2005), Messengers (2007), Constellations (2009), Leveler (2011), 2013’s Rescue & Restore debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, establishing August Burns Red as one of the metalcore scene’s premier bands. They asserted themselves by being a bit sonically different from everyone else in the scene, refusing to rely on alternately sung and screamed vocals to make a point. August Burns Red’s career was built on the back of hard work, word of mouth, and moshable tunes. The band continues to skillfully craft a balance between ferociously heavy sound with empowering lyrical content, while showcasing a rich surplus of inventive guitar riffs, blistering solos, and dynamic drumming.
“We want to be at the forefront of our genre, not following the pack,” guitarist JB Brubaker declared. “We’re are always tweaking our sound and introducing new elements. For that reason, I think that every time we put out a new record, it’s its own beast and new fans keep finding us. They might not have liked our four records prior, but what we’ve become is more up their alley. That’s fine. We evolve and we try not to get stuck in a rut.”
The band bunkered at Atrium Audio in Lancaster, recording once again with Carson Slovak. The album finds singer Jake Luhrs still screaming like he is scaling the bowels of hell, but there are more melodic undertones, along with more guitar melodies, adding further layers to the overall sound. Brubaker labels Found in Far Away Places the band’s “most progressive record” and it’s their longest, clocking in at 55 minutes over 11 tracks.
“This is the next step forward in the direction we are heading,” Brubaker noted. “It’s not a massive departure and it is an August Burns Red record. It’s the latest installment. The next episode. We expanded on our favorite elements of the non-metal parts of Rescue & Restore, and those parts are the surprises the first time you hear it, since you will be like ‘Wow, I was not expecting that.’ Some of it is easier to grasp as a whole, yet faster than some previous records. The songwriting is more cohesive. There are catchier moments that are more hook-oriented.”
Some of the album’s many standouts are “Ghost,” which features a guest vocal from A Day to Remember’s Jeremy McKinnon and “Identity,” which is “a more straightforward August Burns Red song, heavier than granite, but backed by smart guitarwork. “The Wake” opens the album with choppy riffs, guitar squalls, and a rhythmic thrust.
August Burns Red’s Found in Far Away Places charged fiercely into release week, debuting at #4 on the Billboard Top Albums Chart, #9 on the Billboard Top 200, #1 Rock Album, #1 Independent Album, and #1 on iTunes Metal Chart, selling over 29,000 copies in its first week. Found In Far Away Places has been noted by Revolver Magazine as “heavier and more creative than ever”, “an emotionally charged thrill ride of a record,” by Metal Hammer Magazine, while Absolutepunk.net calls the album “a clear contender for Album Of The Year for 2015.” Lead singer Jake Luhrs was featured on the cover of Substream Magazine’s Warped Tour Issue, and the band was featured on the cover HM Magazine’s May issue. Members of August Burns Red were nominated in this year’s Alternative Press Music Awards 2015, and Jake presented the award for ‘Best Guitarist’.