Review: August Burns Red – Constellations

Sergio reviews August Burns Red’s Constellations.

Artist Name: August Burns Red
Album Name: Constellations
Year: 2009
Genre: Hardcore

It’s not often you receive an album that sonically crushes you with its ruthless savagery, as it feeds off your desire for aggression and genuineness in music. Chugging riffs, bleeding leads, destructive drums, battering bass, and bone-crushing vocals are the catalysts that make Constellations the epitome of the new wave of hardcore.

My buddy, Greg, brilliantly described hardcore as: “allowing you to get rid of all the hostility and negativity in your body, so that you’re left with only the positivity.” Fuelling positivity is definitely something August Burns Red does best, because for 48 minutes, vocalist Jake Luhrs infiltrates your dopamine levels, and assumes his position as the commander of your senses with his ardent lyrics. Lines such as “don’t excuse yourself from life” may sound rather mundane, but they sure as hell get the message across – and it’s free from the bullshit and double-meanings of general pop rhetoric.

Musically, it shares many characteristics with thrash metal and continues the evolution of hardcore. Gone are the days of the simplistic breakdowns, as new hardcore bands represent a genre blessed with much virtuoso talent.

I put in Constellations as a reviewer and took it out of the CD player as a fan. To be honest, the only thing that could make me happier than Constellations’ earth-shattering tracks is seeing Justin Bieber being thrown into the middle of an August Burns Red moshpit during the chorus of ‘White Washed’. Bam!

As my other friend, Chloe, so casually stated, “Constellations is fucking awesome. The end.”

Best Tracks: ‘Thirty and Seven’, ‘White Washed’, and ‘Marianas Trench’

94/100

- Sergio Pereira
sergio@musicreview.co.za
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