Review Summary: The early and best days of August Burns Red
The eastern state of Pennsylvania is a much talked about place in the metal community nowadays. Bands like War of Ages, Texas In July, and a handful of others are creeping out of the local scene and into the limelight. The success of these bands is partially owed to the explosion of popularity that came after the debut album by Lancaster, Pennsylvania natives August Burns Red. With the release of
Thrill Seeker, August Burns Red showcased a flurry of guitar riffs, crushing breakdowns, and massive drums, and set the stage for a new wave of metalcore bands.
Thrill Seeker is in my opinion the album that best exemplifies what makes August Burns Red the force in metal that they are. From the opening riff of Your Little Suburbia Is In Ruin, the listener is thrown into a whirlwind of palm muted riffing, tremelo picking, double bass flurries and fills, and growled vocals. While later albums,
Messengers and
Constellations saw the technical elements increase tenfold, this is the album that shows August Burns Red's knack for songwriting. Songs like Endorphins, which features a bridge of catchy gang vocals, or Speech Impediment, with its riffing intro, show August knows how to keep the listener interested, never knowing what is ahead.
The two songs that best show the character of
Thrill Seeker are Too Late for Roses and Barbarian. The former starts off with your standard August riffing and spectacular drumming, but it isn't until the 1:04 mark that the song turns into a brilliant endeavor of music. The slowdown is this song gives it a touch of emotion and feeling that had been lacking. This slowdown and the few others that are scattered throughout
Thrill Seeker are a nice respite from the overwhelming intensity that the rest of the album brings. Barbarian is the other song that makes this album the best that August Burns Red has put out. With its catchy riffage, to one of the best solos in metal, this song is the best example of how talented this band is. This song also holds a personal significance to me, as it was one of the first songs that really got me interested in metal.
Now just because I specifically pointed out two songs does not mean the rest of the album is worth passing over. Oh no, all eleven tracks on
Thrill Seeker are unique and creative in their development. Songs like Consumer and A Wish Full of Dreams give the listener more riffing and stellar drumming, as well as some nice breakdowns. The biggest gripe that some listeners may have with this album is the vocals. Present vocalist Jake Luhrs was not a part of the band at this point, and although the vocals are not terrible, they lack the sheer force that Luhrs brings to the band currently. The lyrics are also alot weaker, not having the strong relevance like the ones on
Messengers and
Constellations.
When it comes down to comparing this album to the later two, I have to say that
Thrill Seeker is August Burns Red's best output because their ideas were the most original at this point, they have a knack for writing catchy riffs and including slowdowns, and the album was such a punch in the face when it came out. Although the technical skill is not as impressive as it in their present release,
Thrill Seeker is very much worth checking out if you want to see the band at its beginning and enjoy a very good metalcore record.
