August Burns Red - Messengers Review

full review

Tracklist:
1. Truth of a Liar
2. Up Against the Ropes
3. Back Burner
4. Blinding Light
5. Composure
6. Vital Signs
7. Eleventh Hour
8. Balance
9. Black Sheep
10. American Dream
11. Redemption

Ranking: #74 for 2007

user rating

3.8
excellent

Chart.

other reviews

Michael Roberts (4.5)
August Burns Red shows individual improvement in all departments and natural maturity in songwriting...

A7XEric (2.5)
A ferociously tight rhythm section struggles to save August Burns Red's Messengers from falling to t...

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On 62 Lists

3.0
good

Josh Deragon USER (11 Reviews)

2007-06-20 | 51 comments | 4,262 views

Summary: Nothing revolutionary, nothing spectacular, but a band with good talent improving on their past.

5 of 5 thought this review was well written

By a show of hands, how many of you like metalcore? Great, now by a show of hands, how many of you do not like metalcore? You know what, hands down, I think we all know the answer. I hate to start this off with a genre rant, but let's be honest: metalcore is a very heated debate in the metal world. With more detractors than fans, metalcore still stands as arguably the biggest part of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal since the turn of the century. I find myself in a bit of confusion. Why do many fans of metal not embrace this movement? After all, most bands have competent screaming, it's still heavy, fast, has some solos, and has a wide array of styles. Then again, breakdowns seem to be a con to the average critic.

August Burns Red is one of those bands in recent times that I thought were on the border of metalcore and something else, one of the others being Becoming the Archetype, who broke into a death metal realm with the release of “The Physics of Fire”. Being one of the heavier metalcore groups, I thought ABR were very decent. Now after the release of “Messengers”, I feel that the group kind of stood still if not dropping more into a metalcore feel. Nonetheless, after not having much to think of the band as a whole, “Thrillseeker, their previous album, almost instantly took a backseat to this one.

The band gets to work right away with “The Truth of a Liar”. The listener can instantly hear the improvement in production. Everything crisp, mixed clearly and fairly. So far, so good. The most important difference to notice is the vocal work. There is much more variety from the start. A mid-range scream paired with a well done high scream make the album that much better, but also thrown is a Trevor Phipps style yell, as well as an every so often-talking of sorts.

Whether a listener likes longer songs, or the tradition of keeping metalcore tracks short, there shouldn't be a high degree of disappointment. Ranging between 6:16 and 3:20, the album contains the down-to-the-point songs the genre is known for as well as something for the long term investor. Either way, you should find what you are looking for.

Instead of being repulsed by an Unearth amount of breakdowns, August Burns Red kind of riffs in that style, but adds a subtle lead to aid the syncopated rhythm guitar and drums. This lead can be another riff or some alternate picking on one of the lower placed strings. Mixed in is a noticeable amount of harmonizing which is nicely done. Then, while the drums aren't changing from riff to riff, fill to fill, a full out breakdown will ensue. And to the homage of the Unearths and As I Lay Dyings of the metal world, they are quite catchy, but still no more memorable than most. Although, there aren't many that can quite top that of “Giles” from Unearth.

Enough of about them though, this isn't about III: In The Eyes of Fire. And to be honest, this album has less memorable tracks as well. All minor improvements aside, there is still one nearly fatal flaw: after about half way through the album, the songs start to seemingly fade into each other. It would take a good number of listens to differentiate all the tracks, and to make matters worse, not every one is exactly spectacular. At one point (and it may be different for everyone), the songs will eventually fall into two categories: good or decent. The good is just that though, just plain good. The decent means good enough to listen to, but will wear off much faster.

There is one small gem though. “Up Against The Ropes” begins with a simple drum intro, and then proceeds quickly into the type of riffing most prevalent: the mid-paced, complex single-note riff. Maybe not as complex like those of Lamb of God, but still mentionable nonetheless. Of course, as what seems to be the motif of the band, there is a small flaw. The song may drag on a little too long depending on your taste. While on the subject of this particular track, I need to mention the drumming. I really like what Matt Greiner has done on this album. He isn't exactly inventive or revolutionary, but he does have a certain quality about him that slightly separates him from his contemporaries. Matt takes traditional metal drumming, adds his breakdowns and metalcore spin, but then puts a special twist on the whole thing. There are simple subtleties that do the album well. Not only does he not dwell on one riff for very long at all, he will add a simple additional cymbal hit, a different time signature, or just a selective and tasteful blast section to spice up the song. Since he sparingly uses different techniques, tempos, and times, the drum work is enough to keep it a bit more worthwhile.

Don't be too misled by the fractures of the band's sound. They may make some songs too long, write them sounding similar (to some people), and use a fair number of breakdowns, but hope is not lost. ABR has the ability to expand their sound, but seem to be stuck with the sound they have. That's fine though, because instead of evolving their sound as a whole, they still make improvements. Each member in the band has a great amount of talent, and show it well, although it could be a little more pretentious if they wanted. But with a lack of audible bass on the album, you are finished with another average soldier for the metalcore army.

Nothing revolutionary, nothing spectacular, but a band with good talent improving on their past. Metalcore fans will most likely enjoy it, others may be indifferent, but either way, I sense a good amount of mixed feelings from any fans of any metal. A word of advice: listen carefully for all it has to offer. A word of warning: don't expect too much.

Rating: 5.66/10
- Josh D.

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