The Lancaster, Pennsylvania metalcore giants' eighth full-length effort and the follow-up to 2017's Grammy Award-nominated
Phantom Anthem,
Guardians unleashes all of the heaviness and technical prowess that fans have come to expect from
August Burns Red over the last 17 years. Commencing with a familiar orbital melodic guitar lead, "The Narrative" kicks things off in typically grandiose fashion, administering copious amounts of double kick drum-fueled chaos that eventually detonates into a soaring life/death- affirming chorus. It's textbook
ABR, but it's executed with a level of craftsmanship that should earn reluctant praise from even the most ardent modern metal contrarian. The kinetic "Bones" impresses with its relentless gait and steely gang vocals, as does the noodly "Extinct by Instinct," which utilizes a more progressive metal aesthetic; it's also an excellent showcase for the band's always-stellar rhythm section. Elsewhere, the fiery "Ties That Bind" unleashes whiplash-inducing moments of djent-rified riffage, the churning "Lighthouse" slows everything down and even gets bit emo, but the intensity never wavers, and epic closer "Three Fountains" seals the deal with a six-and-a-half minute blast of symphonic melancholia that leaves a cavernous sonic footprint in its wake.
August Burns Red's particular brand of metalcore, one that favors melody and positivity over atonal angst, hasn't changed much over time -- the metalcore genre itself is as calculated as it is explosive -- but
Guardians delivers 11 good-to-great reasons why that formula has worked for so long. ~ James Christopher Monger