ALBUM REVIEW: Guardians – August Burns Red

Though they were never the poster boys of the genre – modern metalcore would look a lot different without AUGUST BURNS RED‘s monster sized imprint on it. The late 2000’s saw an influx of bands attempting to ignite the intensity of hardcore with the mainstream appeal of modern metal, but it was records from the Pennsylvanians like Messengers [2007] and Constellations [2009] which set the bar for their peers – one that would arguably never be topped.

Over a decade later and the majority of bands that flocked to magazine front covers this time 10 years ago have either been erased from existence or reached a sonic crossroads. AUGUST BURNS RED are the very antithesis of this, with an almost unrivalled ability to stay the course. Though the band have openly moved away from metalcore in recent years – they’ve always done enough to keep in touch with what bought them to the dance, but simultaneously managed to distance themselves from genre conventions.

While 2017’s Phantom Anthem saw the band effectively play loosely with their metal rhythms, Guardians doubles down as the heaviest end product the Pennsylvanians have released since 2014’s Rescue & Restore, and it works in the quintets favour too. There’s a harsh edge to proceedings here that has been elusive in the bands musical structure over the last four years, something as simple as spacious cymbal strikes between caustic guitar lines on Paramount hit with an elementary, yet welcome grimace.

Breakdown fanatics are catered for too with the mosh call of “the gavel has no hand, who will deliver the sentence” being a titanic sized throwback to the bands formative years. Fortunately, these nods to yesteryear aren’t simply chucked in as a cheap form of appeal – instead AUGUST BURNS RED commit to Guardians being an abrasive listen throughout a majority of its run time.

Similar to the majority of the five pieces records over the last decade though, Guardians is limited in its ideas, and as you’d expect by now: the variation offered up here is limited. That doesn’t necessarily have to be a problem though, Bones, Lighthouse, and Dismembered Memory are all palatable AUGUST BURNS RED numbers – but there’s a lack of star power present.

Instead, Guardians is a record that offers up specific time stamps of greatness, such as the sporadic clean riffs that run underneath Extinct By Instinct, or the playful intricacy of the drum fills that close out Bloodletter. It makes for an album that pulls out the occasional haymaker, but spends the rest of its time in third gear, which, when you’ve perfected your craft to the level AUGUST BURNS RED have, is perfectly sufficient.

There’s little doubt that many jumping into Guardians won’t be doing so in the hope that AUGUST BURNS RED are about to reinvent themselves. Nine records in, the Pennsylvanians blueprint is nigh-on set in stone by this point, and Guardians reinforces the idea that there’s little wrong with this. Will AUGUST BURNS RED write a similar sounding record in two years time? Probably, but the band have done an excellent job at making that kind of statement a compliment rather than a criticism. Guardians is another notch on the belt of arguably one of modern metal’s most consistent, reliable bands.

Rating: 7/10

Guardians is set for release on April 3rd via Fearless Records.

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