American metalcore band August Burns Red has only recently appeared at the forefront of their scene. Just about two years ago this was “just another young band jockeying for a position in the modern metal scene.” But as the band released their album Messengers on Solid State Records, a new frontrunner emerged. August Burns Red has since then grown rapidly and gained lots of new fans. Now, they’re back with a new album.

Right from the first notes of ‘Thirty And Seven’, Constellations shows what August Burns Red is all about; no nonsense metalcore. With a fat and crystal clear production all the elements in the music become very well noticeable. Therefore the whole thing becomes a well organized album that contains enough strong songs with heavy riffs, breakdowns, double bass rolls and all the ingredients you basically expect when listening to a typical metalcore album.

 

So yeah, August Burns Red might be the next best thing in the scene, I personally was a tad disappointed with their sound. Not because it’s bad, but because I heard/read so many great stories about them that I expected a little more of a unique sound. One that would take metalcore to a (possible) next level. To be honest, all I hear is influences/a mixture of a whole bunch of other great bands (for example Killswitch Engage in ‘Marianas Trench’). It doesn’t mean Constellations is an album to skip though, ‘cause when listening to this stuff, all you wanna do is thrash around the room, only to unleash some of the aggression you’ve got in you. Especially the songs ‘White Washed’ and ‘Rationalist’ are the ones to remember.

 

Despite the crystal clear sound, the ass-kicking metalcore sound and the many fans this band has, I just can’t help but thinking this is just the next hype that is bound to go places… temporary. Solid, grooving metalcore for the bigger masses.