August Burns RedPhantom Anthem

It’s always a special time when August Burns Red release a record. For as far as their peers have strayed (relegated to the breakdown bargain bin or become unrecognisable), August Burns Red manage to change and stay the same with ease.

No other band would even try to mess with the experimentation that August Burns Red so effortlessly weave throughout their records. Phantom Anthem is no different. There’s a sense of assurance that’s poured in each crack of the record; Hero of the Half Truth’s instrumental break runs for an entire minute without a hint of gratuity. There’s a hint of the Kill Bill theme in Lifeline’s solo bridge that morphs into a sudden riff break.

On Phantom Anthem, the undisputed kings of metalcore (if we must shoehorn them somewhere) have returned.

This is the sort of record that makes or breaks a young band’s career; it’s just as likely to inspire as it is to make them throw their hands up in despair at the long road ahead to reach this type of peak. Quake is an apt title for the earth-shaking double kicks that punctuate the song’s up tempo breakdown. Jake Luhrs’ screams can grate at times but that’s a personal gripe; he’s in top form throughout the record, especially during the close of Float. The song’s middle chants of “where did we go wrong?” and matching guitar melody are a pure example of a band wiring brain chemistry to expect and be surprised by what comes next.

MORE: Listen to Hard Noise Episode #27 featuring August Burns Red here.

There’s a remarkable lack of challengers to August Burns Red’s style; maybe they know it’s an impossible feat to match them. On Phantom Anthem, the undisputed kings of metalcore (if we must shoehorn them somewhere) have returned.

STANDOUT TRACKS: Hero of the Half Truth, Lifeline, Float
STICK THIS NEXT TO: Their other records, no one else is even close