August Burns Red

August Burns Red is a US metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, active since 2003. The group forms while most of the original members are in their final year of high school, and early rehearsals take place in drummer Matt Greiner’s family farm buildings.

Line-up and style

The band’s current line-up includes Jon Hershey, Josh McManness, Dustin Davidson, Jake Luhrs, JB Brubaker, Matt Greiner, Brent Rambler and Jordan Tuscan. Since 2006, the stable line-up centres on guitarists JB Brubaker and Brent Rambler, drummer Matt Greiner, vocalist Jake Luhrs and bassist Dustin Davidson.

August Burns Red is known for technical guitar riffs, heavy breakdowns, odd-meter and progressive rhythms, growled vocals, and a mix of melody and heaviness. Its influences include Between the Buried and Me, Misery Signals, Hopesfall, Meshuggah, Poison the Well and Symphony in Peril. The band is also associated with christian hardcore, heavy metal, melodic metalcore and metalcore.

Early releases and label history

The band releases its first EP, Looks Fragile After All, through CI Records in 2004. Original vocalist Jon Hershey leaves that same year and is replaced by Josh McManness. August Burns Red signs to Solid State Records in 2005 and releases its first full-length album, Thrill Seeker, that year.

McManness and original bassist Jordan Tuscan leave in 2006, with Jake Luhrs and Dustin Davidson taking their places. The second album, Messengers, follows in 2007 and reaches number 81 on the Billboard 200.

Albums, touring and wider recognition

The band releases Lost Messengers: The Outtakes in 2009, followed by Constellations later that year, which debuts at number 24 on the Billboard 200. Home, the first live CD/DVD, arrives in 2010, and Constellations receives a Dove Award nomination for Best Rock Album.

In 2011, August Burns Red announces and releases Leveler, which debuts at number 11 on the Billboard 200. The band tours the US and abroad during this period, including dates with Silverstein, Texas In July, I The Breather and Letlive, as well as tours with The Devil Wears Prada, Veil of Maya, Of Mice & Men and The Color Morale. It also appears on the 2011 Vans Warped Tour.

The holiday album August Burns Red Presents: Sleddin' Hill appears in 2012. Rescue & Restore follows in 2013 and debuts at number 9 on the Billboard 200. Later that year, the band announces a documentary DVD titled Foreign & Familiar. In 2014 it signs to Fearless Records.

The band later releases Found in Far Away Places, then Phantom Anthem in 2017, introduced by the single “Invisible Enemy”. In 2015 it receives a Grammy Award nomination for Best Metal Performance for “Identity”. In 2017 it tours to mark the tenth anniversary of Messengers, with Protest the Hero, In Hearts Wake and ’68.

Later work

August Burns Red has released ten studio albums in total. Its studio albums are Thrill Seeker (2005), Messengers (2007), Constellations (2009), Leveler (2011), August Burns Red Presents: Sleddin' Hill (2012), Rescue & Restore (2013), Found in Far Away Places (2015), Phantom Anthem (2017), Guardians (2020) and Death Below (2023).

Other recordings include the cover of “Carol of the Bells” for X Christmas and “...Baby One More Time” for Punk Goes Pop, Vol. 2. Songs promoted ahead of Leveler include “Empire”, “Internal Cannon”, “Divisions” and “Poor Millionaire”, while Constellations is promoted with “Meddler”, “Thirty and Seven”, “Existence” and “Ocean of Apathy”.