Album Review: August Burns Red - Constellations

August Burns Red's latest effort, 'Constellations' gets its UK release this month and its basically a case of, if it isn't broken why bother fixing it. The bands brand of fierce metalcore, filled with plenty of riffs come, thick and indeed fast. As tracks like 'Thirsty and Seven' and 'Existence' set the standard that is continued throughout the record.

Add to this spiraling guitars ('Ocean Of Apathy') and plenty intense breakdowns, and you are left with a somewhat predictable record. However tracks like 'Marianas Trench'; a more throughout and contains softer parts, shows the band's potential to progress and be dynamic in the future.

Also 'Meridian' shows the band capability to change there style a little, as they are able to slow things down momentarily and at the same time keep their constant aggressive nature.

Nevertheless 'Constellations' is a tad bit long and by the time you've heard the 6 or so songs, you've had your fill of fast-paced metalcore and you want a bit of variation. This is something they tease at; as already mentioned, but by the end it all seems a bit repetitive.

However the bands actually performance is impressive, as vocalist Jake Luhrs screams and shouts his way against heavy drums and screeching guitar riffs. All of which are given credit where it is due.

'Constellations' will please fans of the genre but for those who like a bit diversity and more structure, this will come across a predictable and will become dull very quickly. Hopefully, for the sake of August Burns Red, they are able to build on little potential this record shows, in the future.

2.5/5

'Constellations' by August Burns Red is released in the UK on Hassle Records on August 17th and is available now in the US on Solid State Records.

Pre-Order 'Constellations' here.

Sean Reid