August Burns Red - Season of Surrender
There’s not much more that August Burns Red can do differently at this point. The Pennsylvania metalcore five-piece has consistently put out pummeling, breakdown-inducing albums that weave in themes of humanity, mental health, and faith throughout their lyrics. Season of Surrender is the band’s eleventh studio album. This isn’t a band that’s reinventing the wheel; rather, they’re taking the build specifications of said wheel and constructing it in the best way humanly possible.
Each song doesn’t follow a formula, per se, but does feature core elements to the band: immaculate guitar work from guitarists JB Brubaker and Brent Rambler, exemplary rhythm work from bassist Dustin Davidson and drummer Matthew Greiner, and cord-shredding screams from frontman Jake Luhrs. Each song - with the exception of instrumental interlude “Tear of the Clouds” - features a compilation of forceful screams, finger-cramp-inducing guitar riffs, and powerful breakdowns, essential for fans both old and new. Season of Surrender feels like a companion piece to their stellar third album Constellations; it hits similar beats throughout and can feel just as epic at times.
The band has reteamed with producers Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland, who teamed with the band on their 2023 album Death Below, a rather bleak and melancholy entry in the band’s catalog. Tonally, the band has opted for energy over gloom, though lyrics throughout deal with loss (“New Horizons”), meetings of Biblical proportions (“Behemoth”), hopelessness and human imperfection (“Den of Thieves”, “Cerebral Malfunction”). Elsewhere, Lurhs speaks of overcoming his demons (“Legions”, “S.O.S.”), elevating what would be a frustrated journal entry into a circle-pit-inducing call to action.
“Sonic Salvation” is the outlier, a song about the power of music on anxiety and depression (“Fear, rage, frustration, and anger/Fade away when the sound hits the speakers/Down and out, feeling doubt inside/Drop the needle and change your state of mind). I’ll admit that at times, to me, the song borders on cheesy. But I also remember what it was like growing up and having severe anxiety and depression from middle school all the way through college (and even after). My sole escape from the world was my CD player (and eventually, iPod). On some days, it still is. To some kid listening to this, a song like “Sonic Salvation” will mean the world to them, and I’d never besmirch the band for trying to reach out to that listener.
Again, there isn’t really anything new here. But August Burns Red knows that; they seem perfectly comfortable sitting upon their throne of riffs in metalcore Olympus. As long as they keep producing music like this, fans - myself included - will be more than satisfied.
