Send "August Burns Red " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Sputnikmusic |
 Sometimes at night I lie awake and wonder: have August Burns Red earned their status as metalcore’s reigning buzz band, or did they inherit it by default? It is true that just about every second-wave act that’s sniffed commercial success (Atreyu, Trivium, Avenged Sevenfold) has unceremoniously ditched the genre, but it is testament to the genre’s enduring popularity that it can continue to churn out bands in the same vein. But where does that leave August Burns Red? Following the release of 2007’s Messengers, it would have been hard to argue that they were doing much to differentiate themselves from the throng, let alone lead it, and they seemed scantily equipped to rejuvenate an increasingly self-cannibalising genre. Constellations is unlikely to usher in a metalcore renaissance, but is a progression- though not entirely progressive- from the formulaic and relatively uninspired Messengers.Metalcore is a much-maligned genre, sometimes deservedly so, but it’s a problem of saturation and over-exposure rather than an intractable structural fault. The difference between really good music and painfully generic music can just as often be inches as miles, and Constellations is stark proof of this: the differences between this album and the last are few, yet the effect is immeasurably better. For a start, while Constellations is still packed full of breakdowns, they’ve at least allowed themselves to think outside the formula a little bit. On rousing opener ‘Thirty And Seven,’ they tease listeners with a false-start breakdown before launching back into the chorus riff, delaying gratification for a short while (even if the eventual breakdown is disappointing); elsewhere, on tracks like ‘Marianas Trench,’ they weave in guitar parts with the breakdown rather than allowing it to halt the song’s progression entirely; ‘Oceans of Apathy’ and closer ‘Crusades’ drop the intensity entirely and work in bluesy middle eights rather than breaking up the songs with predictable chug-a-lug sections....full text |
| Buzzgrinder |
| The third full-length release from August Burns Red on the perennially hit-or-miss Solid State Records will meet all artistic expectations if you’ve heard a few seconds of their previous work. Some have said they diversified their sound, but for most metalcore bands, “diversity” just means the vocalist figured out how to scream in another register and a guitarist found their delay pedal. The release isn’t terrible; they play as competently as any top-notch veterans in rock music (drummer Matt Greiner is noteworthy as usual), and the songs themselves to be specifically designed to elicit maximum freakout response at their live shows. The crippling hobble in August’s songs is the relentless ADD-infested song structure: entry-level Meshuggah breakdowns, a foray into double-tempos and power chords mixed with a random single note here or there, and multi-tracked screaming about something not being what it should be. The more they change things up, the more every individual song’s sonic output becomes mix-and-match with another song’s output. Nothing is allowed to breathe or become absorbed; it all has to be jettisoned for the next idea to sniffed....full text |
| Thrashmag |
| August Burns Red is a band I have always kind of taken for granted. They are not and have never really been a stand out band to me, since their sound is pretty much along the lines of what so many other bands have done and are doing, but they've always done it well and put on a good show, so I've never written them off. Let's face it, just about everything out there has been done before and it is what it is. Bands are going to sound similar and there is not a whole lot that can be done about it. At some point, though, the great bands find their niche and find a way to rise above the crowd and really stand out, and with their third full length release "Constellations," that appears to be something August Burns Red seems poised to do. I always remember my first impression seeing August Burns Red live. I am pretty sure these kids were fresh out of high school, so it's pretty remarkable to me that they've been able to persevere this long as it is. I just remember seeing... kids. And feeling old. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen the band live. A quick guestimate... maybe eight, nine times, and their live show has grown and grown through the course of their progression. Now they have an album that seems to follow suit. Don't get me wrong, "Constellations" is not this massive shift in sound, but it is enough of a move to take notice. It just seems thicker, beefier, more mature, and I am sure a lot of that has to do with the production of Jason Suecof, who has a resume that speaks for itself. But there is only so much a producer can do, so the band takes care of the rest....full text |
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