Customer Reviews

Thrill Seeker

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had heard of this band for quite some time, but never took the time to listen. When I saw that they were going to be on tour with Between the Buried and Me, I figured I would check them out. I heard a few songs online and liked what I heard, but it wasn't until I saw their live set that I truly impressed with them.

In a world where metalcore and hardcore is definitely reigning strong much like the thrash scene of 20 years earlier, it is more than easy to find bands that sound similar, if not exactly alike. This is not the case with August Burns Red. This band absolutely has the metalcore sound (Swedish metal riffs, thrashy parts, heavy breakdowns, etc), but they bring a more technical/progressive feel to their songs. For example, the opening song starts with some explosive drumming and time changes that are much more complex than most metalcore bands I've heard (and I've heard a ton). The drumming definitely stands out more than anything else on this record. Aside from the flawless drumming, both guitarists show that they can not only play their instruments with precision, but write melodies and riffs that flow together.

As far as the breakdowns go, ABR does a good job of incorporating most of them into the structure of the song, rather than stopping before them or doing the all-too-obvious slowdown into them. And these aren't your typical chuga-chug-chug breakdowns either. Instead, many of them are done in changing time signatures, throwing the listener off at times.

Speaking of throwing the listener off, don't expect the typical verse-chorus-verse-breakdown-chorus-breakdown formula that is common with many metalcore bands. ABR frequently changes riffs, rythyms, and speeds without warning, keeping the listener on his/her toes as a result. This makes for a very exciting album to listen to.

Of course, this album has it's shortcomings too. The vocals are done well, but they're nothing incredible, as they have that throaty sound that is all too common in many bands today, metalcore or not. The same applies to the lyrics. From looking at the liner notes and seeing that they're on Solid State, it is obvious that ABR is a Christian band. That's great for them, but the lyrics contain many recurring themes of love, truth, and everything else that has been covered by Christian metalcore bands.

Overall though, if you're growing tired of the same old metalcore sound found in so many bands, then pick up this record. It's still metalcore, no doubt about it, but there's a lot more going on in the music than most other bands. 4 stars.

I am not a metalhead. I don't dress in black. I don't list GWAR as one of my favorite bands. I am a fan of good music--that is, music that is good by being complicated, different, beautiful, or otherwise adhering to longstanding rules about what good music is laid out by the critics of the likes of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach and so on. The rest of this album's reviews will tell you this is a great album because it's "sweet" or "heavy" or "pumps you up" or the empty quasi-intelligent-sounding moniker "technical". I'm here to tell you that this album is good because the music is good.

All vocals and feeling through listening aside, let's look at the instrumentation. Each song is filled with guitarwork that will leave your head spinning. Instead of relying on the boring drop-D-string pounding with interspersed licks so heavily, ABR's songs are all but driven by complicated riffs the whole song through. How they can play an entire live set filled with songs like this is more than I can comprehend (but I've seen them do it).

The drumming is not the typical double-bass-drum-roll with limited snare and cymbal variety (think As I Lay Dying--which is good, but less complicated). The beats are nothing like anything else. I feel sorry for this drummer's bandmembers trying to figure out how to play with his crazy intricate beats, but I love it. Try to nod your head to any of their songs (those of you who have rythm) and notice that you'll inevitably be off-beat throughout the song because of changing time-signatures!

This album is good not because it gives me something to jump around, kick, scream, and break things to, but because the musicianship is top-of-the-line.

August Burns Red are one of the many bands who are riding in on the coattails of the huge Christian metal/hardcore movement that has been growing for the last 5 years or so. Now if this is the same movement that has produced bands like Norma Jean, As I Lay Dying, The Chariot, Still Remains, Haste The Day and more, it would seem there's very little to complain about. And that's exactly the case with August Burns Red. While their style is not at all the most original (Swedish influenced melodeath riffs, heavy breakdowns and guttural screams), August Burns Red brings a certain technicality and presence to their music that makes dismissing them a hard task to accomplish. "Thrill Seeker" is definitely a top notch metalcore release, even though the scene is overflowing with them, and fans of any of the previously mentioned bands should definitely lend an ear to ABR.

This band definitely knows how to play their music. The guitar work on this album is astounding. While there's been probably 100 cds to come out in the last three years that all have a similar sound, the sheer technicality presented by these guys is amazing. The opener "Your Little Suburbia Is In Ruins" is a bombarding composition of mathematical precision and odd time signatures, and full of brutal breakdowns that more than devastate when played to perfection. Elsewhere thrashers like "Too Late For Roses" and "Barbarian" give the sound a more melodic feeling, but don't relent on the heavy aspect. In fact every single song is chock full of dynamic riffs and uncanny technical ability. And to go along with such accomplished guitar work, August Burns Red has one of the most impressive drummers I've heard in metalcore in a long while. In fact he may now be the best I've ever heard in the genre. The complex patterns on "A Wish Full Of Dreams" and "Consumer" are not just good, they're downright impressive when listened to. It almost boggles my mind how a human does some of the things he's doing back there sometimes. And like most metalcore bands, boy does ABR like the breakdowns. What's more impressive is the way they work them into their music, as they are not simply the "chug-chug" variety, but incorporate many dynamics and new techniques which make them both refreshing and fun to listen to. While the vocals are pretty typical of the genre, they are as unrelenting as the music. They also maintain their power by resisting the urge to slip into the melodic croon that is overwhelmingly popular in metal and hardcore these days. There's no sappy choruses or cute melodies; ABR keep their intensity at the highest peak and don't let up. There's a bit of spoken word here and there, but that's as close to melody as they get. August Burns Red also gets more credit for the undeniably "progressive" feel in their music. Songs aren't the typical verse-chorus-verse style that's pretty standard for the metalcore genre right now. Don't go looking for repeated parts or hooks because the band does a good job of staying away from them. In fact I'd say that their song patterns are more accomplished than most of the other bands who would be lumped into the same field. Highlights include "Speech Impediment", "Too Late For Roses" and "The Reflective Property."

But as good as "Thrill Seeker" is, it's not anything utterly different from what you've probably already heard. When people complain about this band's unoriginality, unfortunately it's somewhat true because this style of music has been done to death. While the guitarists are both extremely accomplished and have a great relationship together, their riffs are a bit familiar sometimes and seem to follow the typical metal formula. The lyrics also seem a bit stale and formulaic because every single other Christian metalcore band is singing about love, heartache and religion. While sometimes they're impressive ("Your Little Suburbia Is In Ruins", "Too Late For Roses"), they don't carry as much weight as they would if every other band wasn't singing more or less the same thing. And finally I didn't want to do this, but I have to call attention to this band's undeniable resemblance to another Christian Metalcore band named Winter Solstice who released their debut album six months before this one on Metalblade Records. In fact I'm pretty sure if you played an ABR song and then a Winter Solstice song to someone who had never listened to either band before, they wouldn't even notice the difference. They just sound way too similar. I don't know if it was intentional or just happened by some strange coincidence, but to deny the extreme similarity between the two is not an option. Winter Solstice's sound may be a bit more melodic, but the root of the music still links these two closely together.

Overall though I'm not at all disappointed with "Thrill Seeker". If you like metalcore, then you can do much worse this year than August Burns Red. I'd recommend picking this up along with Parkway Drive's "Killing With A Smile" and Still Remains "Of Love And Lunacy", which were the two best metalcore releases last year. If you liked either of their two previous eps or you just like the wave of Christian heavy music that is hitting the airwaves, then this is a great pick up, as long as you don't mind hearing something that sounds kind of familiar. "Thrill Seeker" seeks out the thrills, and in many places it finds them. While it's not an absolute masterpiece, it's a fine debut and shows the sky's the limit for these guys. Chalk up another great year for Solid State.

Crap guys...this CD is SO freakin heavy! It has some of the most intricate breakdowns and rhythms I've heard. They like to use weird timing: like going from 7/8 to 3/4 or something random like that. #3 is SO friggin heavy I flipped a switch when I first heard it. I love this band SO freakin much and the fact that Adam D. (Killswitch Engage, which I also recommend) produced this cd makes it all the much better. This cd is definitely a winner.
The most notable tracks for me are #1,3,4,7, and 8. #4 has one of the coolest little breaks.

Get this cd!!!

This and messengers are two of my favorite albums, the drums vocals and breakdowns are awesome.

I actually saw them last night in St. Pete, FL on the Take Action Tour with Every Time I Die and The Human Abstract. I hadn't heard of them before yesterday, but now they are already one of my new favorite bands! I picked up this CD and Messengers and I've listened to this CD half way through and it still deserves 5 stars! And I actually got to hang out with them after the show. They're so cool and they're just like normal guys... except that they just happen to be extremely talented.

This album was amazing! But, it's so stupid that they put the entire album in their official website. I really like the song "Speech Impediment", love how it began, love the drumming in this song, and lovethe vocals in this song.The members are so young, and are impressive. this is definetly heavy! "Endoephins" was really brutal, and the drumming was good too. I really love this song!! The drumming in the beginning of "Too Late For Roses" was good too. This band is soooo heavy! I just can't wait for their new album around the early 2007. My favorite songs are tracks 1-5. "Barbarian" is definetly heavy! But, most songs in this album sounded the same, but still the drumming was amazing!! Good job, boys!

This is good effort from young such a young artists!
Songs are melodic brutal and fun!
Also they have positive Christian image. But the most important stuff is music!

not a kid...

Well I first heard 2 of their songs online, "Your Little Suburbia is in Ruins" and "Speech Impediment". I liked both, I saw it at the store and picked it up. My first reaction was good but nothing special. It got regular play in my stereo; then a few weeks later I saw them live with Bury Your Dead. So I pulled the album back out after a great live show, and thought to myself, wow this is really great, good musicianship, good lyrics/vocals, catchy yet heavy. I expect good things from them in the future. Here is a short breakdown of songs.

1. Your Little Suburbia is in Ruins-4.5-good song overall, probably the heaviest on the album.
2. Speech Impediment-5-starts off melodic and kicks in the frantic drums, I like this one alot.
3. Endorphins-4-catchy riffs at the beginning, then gets heavy, good overall.
4. Too Late for Roses-4-Another heavier one, I think the vocals stand out alot on this one.
5. Barbarian-6-My favorite song, one of the best parts is, is that it keeps changing so it doesn't get boring. It's heavy, it's melodic, I love it.
6. The Reflective Property-3.5-It's good, but it gets a little repetative.
7. A Wish Full of Dreams-5-Second favorite. Another one that doesnt get boring. Once again a heavier song, with the frantic guitar that I love.
8. Consumer-4.5-Double bass, frantic guitar, great vocals. Great song.
9. Eve of the End-5-I really like this, its only an instrumental, but it's heavy and rocks and i dig it.
10. The Seventh Trumpet-5-8 minutes long. 3 minutes with vocals, good song, next 5 minutes are more great instrumental work.

Overall, great cd, I love these guys, I definately recoomend this to fans of about any kind of hardcore music like Every Time I Die, Haste the Day, or Bury Your Dead, just to name a few.

This has become a hit in my cd player as of late. The overall heaviness of this cd is what makes it really enjoyable.