When you think of Manheim, Pa., a town of a mere 4,800 residents, you wouldn’t usually think of it being home to one of the bigger up and coming metalcore bands of the era, but that was destiny from the second that August Burns Red first took to the stage.
It was the classic story of five friends in high school jamming out in the garage and holding on to dreams of becoming rock stars. To this day they definitely didn’t fall a single hair short of that status either, boasting a talented lineup of musicians that include Jake Luhrs and his deep passionate vocals on the mic, JB Brubaker and Brent Rambler burning up the guitar frets, Dustin Davidson rocking monster chords out on the bass, and Matt Greiner whose double bass onslaught on the drums speeds up the listener’s heartbeat.
Their music boasts uplifting lyrics that fit properly with them being a Christian metalcore band, and even though they declare being Christians themselves, they make it clear that they are not out to shove their opinions down everyone’s throats.
Almost all of their songs are written about struggles that we face in life on a day to day basis and somewhere within all of the chaos of their music you can seem to draw out a melodic sense that typically is hard to find in the genre. A perfect example of this is drawn out in their song “Marianas Trench” off of their album “Constellations.” The song starts out with a beautifully crafted guitar riff before opening into a heavy assault that tells the tale of how tough this world can really be if we believe that we can go at it alone.
August Burns Red has truly changed my own personal view on how metalcore should sound. They are my personal favorite band and are one of the most played artists currently on my iPod. As far as my favorite songs are concerned “White Washed,” “Poor Millionaire,” “Redemption (Mosley),” “Salt and Light” and “Empire” are good for starters. I hope that I will get the chance to go see them live someday for what I am sure would be quite a memorable show. If you guys haven’t heard of these guys before, I  must suggest that you go and check them out. They are heating up the hardcore scene and revolutionizing the entire genre as well.