Album Review: August Burns Red - 'Rescue & Restore'

23 June 2013 | 8:02 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Coming through with the goods...again.

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August Burns Red are the quintessential – that type of band you admire, but secretly envy. They make the challenging look simple and the complicated appear effortless. You could be forgiven for having intense jealously, however ABR seem that bloody nice as individuals and musicians the word that seems fitting is, “respect.”


It has been a consistent journey so far for the Lancaster metallers, but definitely not a boring one. Metalcore isn’t always a dirty word. A word of advice to aspiring (and, even current bands), listen to an August Burns Red or Misery Signals album to see how music featuring breakdowns can be innovative, forward thinking and individual. ‘Rescue & Restore’ a fitting case in point.


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What works for August Burns Red is the succession plan is well placed. Stylistically, with each new release the band add something new as to not deter and keep things fresh. The beauty is the group don’t lump it on you all at once as to leave the listener scratching their head questioning the departure. Backtrack to ‘Thrill Seeker’ and/or ‘Messengers’, the thought of flamenco in metalcore would’ve been absurd on the face of it. However, just as ‘Leveler’ introduced this (to positive effect), ‘Rescue & Restore’ continues the additions. The string sections in ‘Treatment’ are simply sublime – not overwhelming, but still defined.


The results become two-fold, it’s music for musicians and also an album for the impatient kid that simply wants a record to play loud. ‘Count It All As Lost’ is when the shackles are truly let off, with the track intense and aggressive. ‘Sincerity’ is indicative of its name, while ‘Fault Line’ has those typical sounding ABR riffs. The tail-end is signature – both heavy and harmonious.


Rescue & Restore’ is created with the best of intentions. The results are solid. August Burns Red clearly don’t write lacklustre albums.

‘Rescue & Restore’ is August Burns Red in a nutshell…and a good one at that. Heavy, harmonious, brutal and melodic, studio album number six is another suitably produced and polished effort.

1. Provision

2. Treatment

3. Spirit Breaker

4. Count It All As Lost

5. Sincerity

6. Creative Captivity

7. Fault Line

9. Beauty In Tragedy

10. Animals

11. Echoes

12. The First Step