Album Review: August Burns Red - Rescue And Restore Renee Jones

A band with no reluctance to test the waters and break away from the norm, August Burns Red present yet another album that experiments with produces a full, well rounded release packed with catchy hooks and a mix of new instruments. A myriad of instruments and emotions come together to create each song on the 11-track album, with no two sounding similar or repetitive. First tune off the block is Provision, where August Burns Red provides temptation for listeners to delve deeper into the album. The five-minute piece is melodic, well crafted and raw, but works well to give just a taste of the album, leaving room for listeners to wonder what else the band have up their sleeve. 

Sincerity found its place in my heart, with the clean gang vocals and melodic riffs building to a breakdown at the end of the song that will have you repeating, “What we see is not all we believe” for days. 

In a long list of strengths of this album, the heightened and raw emotion created by the spoken word of Spirit Breaker and Beauty In Tragedy comes in a close first. These moments are quickly cast into the spotlight, before listeners are harshly thrown back into the thrashing of guitars, drums and vocal cords. However, the heavier vocal stylings of lead vocalist Jake Luhrs are not to be ignored, as his vocal range has improved tenfold, leading to a vast improvement of the overall sound quality in each song.  

Rescue & Restore seamlessly weaves bits and pieces from rock and punk into a metalcore sound, providing listeners with yet another album of exceeded expectations.