When August Burns Red announced that they were going to play ‘Constellations’ in its entirety on their next visit to Montreal, I flipped. ‘Constellations’ is August’s sophomore album, and back in 2009 it was my introduction to the world of hardcore music. I was a classic metal fan and everything that was screaming a bit too much would irritate me. One day, a friend of mine told me he was going to see an incredible concert that would feature two bands I had never heard of. August Burns Red and Bring me the Horizon were coming to the Metropolis and apparently, judging by my friend praises, I just had to see them.
I bought both band’s new records and was blown away from the get-go. ‘Constellations’ was so well crafted: 12 tracks of pure metal that included incredible riffs, violent breakdowns and high-pitched screaming vocals. The concert was amazing and my love story with August Burns Red was born.
The June 23rd concert at the MTELUS was my eighth August Burns Red gig. They once again delivered and reminded me why I still love them so much after all these years. They brought incredible energy to the stage and made us quickly forget the solid performances of Silverstein and Silent Planet who had the task of warming up the crowd.
Fans were happy to hear some songs that haven’t been played live in years or at all, as this tour saw the live debut of tracks like ‘Paradox’ and ‘Crusades’. My favorite track on the record, a banger called ‘Indonesia’, tells the story of a missionary involved in a plane crash and it hadn’t been played since 2014. This tour was conceived for the fans and they responded with gigantic circle pits, a wall of death and constant moshing. They roared when singer Jake Luhrs arrived on stage with a Quebec flag and guitarist J.B. Brubaker wished a happy St-Jean Baptiste to everyone.
‘Constellations’ was also a great album to show off each member musical talent. Luhrs also played bass on ‘Meridian’ and bassist Dustin Davidson played guitar on ‘Rationalist’. After a perfect rendition of the album, August Burns Red came back to the stage for a few more songs. They started with a drum solo to get everyone ready for what was to come. Davidson also joined drummer Matt Greiner on a smaller drum set to add even more impact to the drum solo. Fan favorite tracks such as ‘Ghosts’, ‘Invisible Enemy’, ‘Empire’ and ‘Composure’ where all performed with intensity and passion. After all, it wouldn’t be an August Burns Red concert without the crowd singing the choir before ‘Empire’s extremely catchy guitar solo. It was an incredible night overall and nobody went home unhappy. You could see smiles on everyone’s face.
10 years is a long period of time but August Burns Red used it to sharpen their tools, become relentless performers and, in my humble opinion, true ambassadors of the metalcore scene. Here’s to another 10 years and let’s hope we get to hear ‘Leveler’ in 2021.
Setlist
- Thirty and Seven
- Existence
- Ocean of Apathy
- White Washed
- Marianas Trench
- The Escape Artist
- Indonesia
- Paradox
- Meridian
- Rationalist
- Meddler
- Crusades
Encore - Drum Solo
- Ghosts
- Invisible Enemy
- Empire
- Composure
You can follow August Burns Red on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/augustburnsred/
He currently works in the video game industry while continuing to write music with his own band.
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