ALBUM REVIEW: Death Below – August Burns Red

There are certain bands out there for whom it is truly remarkable how consistent they have been when one considers their longevity. AUGUST BURNS RED have been churning out high quality metalcore for almost two decades now, rarely missing a beat, and they are now set to release their tenth studio album Death Below, an impressive milestone that on reflection cements them as one of the genre’s true greats. Their last full-length Guardians was released right at the outset of COVID, so this time round the world is primed and ready to fully soak up the Pennsylvanians’ latest offering.

The album opens with Premonition, a track which true to form balances melodicism with heavy tones; guitars appear ambient at first before we are submerged in the album’s first full track, the near eight-minute chug-fest titled The Cleansing. The guitars scream and then thunder, perfectly complimenting the onslaught of crushing vocals that sit on top of the mix. It is immediately apparent that this is AUGUST BURNS RED at their consistent best, providing more of the signature soundscapes we have grown to love from them.

One of the album’s main trends is the inclusion of various notorious guests. Ancestry features none other than KILLSWITCH ENGAGE’s Jesse Leach, an inclusion that helps define the band’s glowing status within the wider scene. Clean choruses sweep, and the two vocalists combine impeccably. Often guest features can feel shoehorned into a track, but here the blend is seamless and organic. The same can be said of Tightrope, this time featuring Jason Richardson of ALL THAT REMAINS, another inspired inclusion adding further dynamic to the record. The delicacy of some of the musicianship shines through, as bass flickers and detail-centric drums offer an almost proggy dynamic, shifting AUGUST BURNS RED ever further away from the pack in terms of the sheer quality of their output.

Stylistically, although very much in the same vein as previous work, this record feels a little darker in tone and seems to mirror a world in which it is easy to feel downtrodden and bleak. This mood continues into tracks like Fool’s Gold In The Beartrap and Dark Divide. With that said, the band were still keen to focus on creating an album that felt enchanting and memorable, and they have certainly achieved that goal. Achieving such dense subject matter ten albums into a career can only be a sign of a band bursting with ideas and a clear message to convey, and as a whole we feel the impact of Death Below, walloped by its metallic heaviness but also the philosophies that are so important for the band to vocalise.

As previously mentioned, heaviness is in equilibrium here with melody, and when AUGUST BURNS RED do take their foot off the gas slightly, they can sound utterly beautiful. As the record closes with another near eight-minute track (the phenomenal Reckoning featuring UNDEROATH’s Spencer Chamberlain) we are left feeling completely fulfilled. And that’s the most impressive part; ten albums in and we are still worshipping the ground that this band walks on. If that isn’t a mark of success, then what is?

Rating: 9/10

Death Below is set for release on March 24th via SharpTone Records.

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