August Burns Red

A friend of mine had suggested that I do a week of "hometown heros" for my blog. So all week I am going to be promoting bands from my home state who have serious talent. I hope you enjoy!

To start off the week is the metalcore quintet from Lancaster, August Burns Red.

They have made four albums with Solid State Records since 2005. First coming out with "Thrill Seeker". This album has their previous vocalist Josh McManness, who was replaced by Jake Luhrs in 2006. The band also received a new bassist, Dustin Davidson.

In 2007 they came out with "Messengers", which is what really got their career off the ground. Their fan base immensely grew and they got to headline their own tour in 2008.

This album is my favorite of the four. The vocals are dirty, the lyrics are passionate, the guitar solos are sick, and the drums are crazy! Fan favs: "Back Burner" and "Composure".

"Constellations" was released in 2009 and is what boosted them to the popularity level they are at today. They began "playing with the big boys" like Underoath, Emery, and A Day to Remember. They began traveling beyond the States to Asia and Europe.

Favorites off this album are: "Meddler" and "White Washed".

Their most recent project was released in the summer of 2011 titled, "Leveler". With this album the band was going for an "outside of the generic metalcore box" sound. The main track that is quite different from any other is Internal Cannon. This song is packed with harsh vocals, a classic breakdown, and a Latin-esq guitar solo in the middle.

Some other fan favs from the new album are: "Poor Millionaire" and the album opener, "Empire".

I was lucky enough to get to interview these guys back in March for my college newspaper. They were incredibly funny and some of the nicest "famous" people I have ever met.

During the interview one of the members (I can't remember who) asked, "Is this even an interview?" and at the end asked if there was even any useful content for my article. That probably just shows what an amateur I am. :P