August Burns Red is a group that’s synonymous with the word “metalcore” at this point. They should be – as the band turns twenty years old this month, their longevity has outlasted the majority of the genre and stayed steadfast to their roots, whereas their genre companions settled down their sounds. Truly a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, we’ve come to expect ABR’s brand of tempo-changes, breakdowns, chugging riffs, and minimal clean vocals for two decades. That changes with their tenth album, Death Below, as this is the first occassion where August Burns Red departs from their norm and introduces a more progressive, deliberate presentation. So, how does this change in sound pan out for longtime listeners like myself?
After Death Below sets its tone with opener “Premonition”, “The Cleansing” marks the album’s first outlier – a nearly eight-minute track. As August Burns Red songs are typically 3 to 4 minute affairs, this is a curveball that is steadied by a shift from minor key to major key after its bridge. With more blast beats than usual, clean vocals, and a perfect transition into the next track, ABR shows the listener they’re branching out from their winning formula. “Ancestry” follows up with thrashy riffs, a feature from Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach, and a certain desperate anguish to its lyricism that makes it the takeaway single from Death Below.
“Tightrope” brings another guest in Jason Richardson ripping a positively gnarly guitar solo in another shreddy track from August Burns Red. With another seamless transition into interlude “Fool’s Goold in the Bear Trap”, it’s evident that Death Below is best enjoyed as a whole instead of mindlessly throwing it on to listen in the background; think of it more like an Opeth/Between the Buried and Me long-form experience rather than old Architects/Texas in July throwing breakdown after breakdown at you. “Backfire” contains my favorite ABR lyric as its closer: “Endless belief in a liar leads to a violent backfire”.
As the back half of Death Below continues into the 30-minute mark, “Revival”s throwback opening metalcore riff is a surefire delight for longtime listeners, plus a neat nice bass run within its bridge. As “Dark Divide” comes on, the aforementioned tempo-change breakdown fans have come to love ABR for hits as this track takes a slow yet heavy pace and even introduces some subtle synth for keen-eared listeners. Expect both chugging riffs and more clean vocals in “Deadbolt” as Death Below nears its end. JT Cavey of ERRA guests in “The Abyss” and fittingly has a punchy, staccato’d breakdown come on before his entrance. “Reckoning” is the closer that also nears eight minutes, welcoming Spencer Chamberlain of Underoath and sending the listener off with everything Death Below had to offer and more with grace.
Death Below is an absolute dark horse within August Burns Red’s discography. While it’s a moderate departure in the band’s sound, it’s also proof that 20 years in, these musicians are still worthy of being a household name in metalcore. Death Below is undoubtedly a record that needs your attention and a full 53-minute dedication to get the most out of it, but that’ll be no problem for -core fans willing to engage in their listen. Between Jake’s stalwart vocal performance, JB/Brent’s ability to still craft guitar runs that boggle the mind, Matt’s unmatched drum fills, and Dustin’s supplemental highs, August Burns Red is experiencing something of a renaissance in Death Below and fans young and old will want to come back to this one.
Rating: 4/5
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