Constellations

Each August burns red album seems to transcend its predecessor in creativity, sound and technicality... And Constellations is no different than the transformation between Messengers and Thrill Seeker. Infact, there is an even greater transcendence from Messengers to Constellations.

What this album does different is variety. Messengers was a thing of beauty, Beastly breakdowns, drumming from another planet, awesome screaming vocals and twin guitar dynamos. However, every song followed almost the same style.

Here there is something unique about every song that will have you stop, smile and say to yourself "Wow, what an unbelievable band.." Instead of using the same breakdown riff in each song and messing around with it just slightly (Messengers), they have incorporated another aspect to each breakdown, something unique making the whole feel of the breakdown so much more memorable and in turn, more brutal.The production value is... Different than Messengers, and i personally liked messengers mix better, but this still sounds fantastic, and crystal sharp.

Stand out Tracks: (Every Single One)
1. Thirty and Seven - What a unique initial breakdown! stand out performance by matt on the drums and some nice melodic passages, but also very brutal! Intense lyrics as well.

Ocean of Apathy - Awesome guitar work, great layered screaming (IMPOSSIBLE, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!) and one of the best breakdowns of the album.

Mariana's Trench - Intro that will blow you away. Soft and melodic guitar work breaks into a brutal August riff that never fails to impress. Great song.

Meridian - My Personal favourite of the album. Almost entirely an instrumental, with one passage of talking that builds into an intense scream. Reminds me alot of Underoath's "Desolate Earth". Fantastic!

Rationalist - Short but sweet, fast and intricate guitar work. Awesomesong!

Overall, the album just rocks my socks off. I didn't predict the band experimenting with such new and unique sounds/ styles and they impressed me yet again. Any fan of Hardcore will be more than impressed with this release. Check it out!

Well i must say that i am impressed. I've heard a lot of music and enjoy anything that is professional and creative (with few exceptions). One of my flaws though is the inability to listen to something amazing and then listen to something not nearly as good. I simply can't do it and stay entertained. This band however, is so good that it continues to blow me away after many listens.

Now if you have half a brain you can tell that they are Christian. . . well good on them, i haven't been more tempted to go to church in my life.

August Burns Red has taken on the world of Metalcore within the past few years. This has generated faithful followers and they never continue to disappoint the fans at their shows (seriously, if you have the chance, see them live).

With their third full length release, August Burns Red changes their style by presenting more medley and less breakdowns. Don't get me wrong the bone-crushing breakdowns are still there they are just accompanied by more melodic guitar work. Track by track review as follows:

1.) Thirty and Seven
Great intro song. Only song on here that sounds relatable to Messengers. Great breakdowns scattered throughout the song with great lyrics, "Erase the proof but your shame will remain" and "You've reached the summit now transcend the skies". 10/10

2.) Existence
Nice intro, great lyrics in this song. Great breakdown around 50 seconds. Epic sounding ending. Very positive lyrics, "You're hurt, you're broken, that's all right. That's what makes us who we are." 10/10

3.) Ocean of Apathy
My least favorite song on the album. Still a good song but not much going on here. Nice epic ending much like the previous song. 8/10

4.) White Washed
Love the beginning to this song. Great breakdowns here and lyrics. A tight brutal song. 10/10

5.) Mariana 's Trench
Nice beginning though it takes a while for the song to build. Nice little guitar solo after Jake screams, "We can't swim under these conditions". One gripe with this song, it fades out and completely kills the mood of the song. I understand this is a different technique to ending a song but with ABR having so much energy injected to their songs it just feels like it kills the song. Maybe that's just me though. 9/10

6.) The Escape Artist
The first minute and a half of this song is just insane. One of the best breakdowns ever and brutal and tight. Amazing. The rest of the song is great but doesn't match that same intensity. Awesome song still though. 10/10

7.) Indonesia
Very passionate song. The only ABR song with clean vocals in it and still brutal. Great lyrics and great story behind the song. Matt the drummer was in church when he suddenly found the need to write the words "This plane's going down in flames, and this time there's no black box to capture your last words". The next day Matt found out that a personal friend of his and also a missionary for Indonesia died in a plane crash. Clean parts are sung by Tommy Rogers from Between the Buried and Me. 10/10

8.)Paradox
Brutal song with solid breakdowns. Sounds very generic in the metalcore genre but still a solid song. Cool lyrics as well. 9/10

9.) Meridian
A pause in the album, mostly instrumental and very soothing. Nice guitar riff at the end. Very nicely done. 9/10

10.) Rationalist
Great speedy brutal intro. Changes the pace of the album very quickly. Great breakdown and great lyrics, "You skeptic you. You believe in unbelief" at the end. Solid tight and fast. 10/10

11.) Meddler
Quite possibly one of the best ABR songs. Beautiful, melodic and brutal. Excellent lyrics and breakdowns here. The best lines are at the end with a beautiful sounding ending, "You won't ever fly fast enough to make life stand still." Great song, if you are downloading songs download this one first. You will not be disappointed. 11/10

12.) Crusades
Reminds me of "Redemption" from Messengers. Great first two minutes with one of the albums most brutal breakdowns. The rest of the song switches to melody over metal and its a nice finish to a great album.

Overall, this album can barely be compared to their other albums. Similar in some ways but drastically different in others. It's a great album and if you haven't jumped on the August Burns Red bandwagon, do it. It's one of the most satisfying choices you'll make. I can't wait to see what's next from these guys.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 32 reviews  4.7 out of 5 stars