The album opens with "Provisions," which I would describe as leaning more towards classic August Burns Red. The band decided to play it a little safe with the first track, but still showed off some off their handiwork very well with brutal vocals and intense breakdowns. The longest song on the record, "Treatment," follows in what may be the heaviest songs on the record. Every time Luhrs screams "Open the gates!" on the song I get shivers down my spine. The first two minutes of the song are gut-wrenching metal, but then the band pulled some creativity out of their hat and brought in an acoustic guitar and violin for the next minute. This contrast in the heaviness of the song with the melodic one-minute guitar/violin interlude was genius and adds another dimension to the song which would not have been attainable with the old August Burns Red.

Track three, "Spirit Breaker," is definitely one of the more melodic tracks on the record, making it a great follow-up to the very heavy "Treatment." The openness and vulnerability of the track was what first hit me when I listened to the song. One of my favorite lines on the song is when Luhrs says, "I hope to open my eyes to see this picture. I'm throwing it all away. I hope to open my eyes to see this moment that I should treasure forever." Then about three-quarters of the way through the song Luhrs speaks to his "dearest love," in a little spoken word piece. "Count It All As Lost" is another track which I would describe as being a little more classic ABR. Some of the guitar work reminds me of a few of their previous songs, but the vocals definitely feel a bit more intense - Luhrs seems much more urgent and passionate on this record.

"Sincerity," the shortest song on the record - clocking in at 3:18 - has some of the best gang vocals I have heard on a metal song in a long time, which paired with very intense breakdowns makes for a very strong track. "Creative Captivity" is another one of the more melodic tracks with the widest assortment of instruments I have ever heard on a metal song yet. The track also features one of my favorite lines from the album, which also happens to be where the album title comes from, "This is a cause worth fighting for. We will rescue and restore!" And the trumpet at the end of the song is well worth the price of the album alone. "Fault Line," the band's first single from Rescue & Restore, features some of the best guitar and drum work on the whole album. I love it when Luhrs screams, "Whisper your grief, scream your sorrow, proclaim your love. Just don't call me your hero!"

"Beauty in Tragedy" has quickly become my favorite track on the record. From the brutal breakdowns and instrumentals to the spoken word piece in the middle of the song to the incredibly honest lyrics, this song is the best piece of art on the album. The last lines of the song may be some of my favorite lyrics ever penned by the band. "Never surrender the dream you had for this world. To love. To forgive. To make something out of nothing!" The next track, "Animals," is easily highlighted by the drum work of Matthew Greiner. I have long said that Greiner is the best drummer today, and I believe this track easily confirms that. "Echoes" again shows the urgency of Luhrs lyrics and vocals. He screams, "I can't take much more of this! Where is my way out?" The final track, "The First Step," has easily the most brutal vocals from Luhrs on the whole album. His screams will send chills through your whole body.

August Burns Red is clearly a veteran band, but fortunately for us they decided not to dwell on their past successes and instead created something completely different from the rest of their catalogue. Rescue & Restore is unlike any hardcore album I have ever listened to, and I cannot stop listening to it. The passion in Luhrs lyrics and vocals, the brutal breakdowns, and the wide array of instruments all combine to form one of the most complete works of art released so far this year.

Favorite Song: Beauty in Tragedy

This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from The Christian Music Review Blog. Click here to visit today!

Last year a number of musicians friends and I we’re tossing around the names of various bands and comments were raging as we debated the pros and cons of each of their work. Late in the evening we turned to metalcore and focused on a band that is at the top of genre, August Burns Red. The question was raised as to how each ABR album has been able to consistently improve on their previous release. The reason is simple and straightforward, August Burns Red doesn’t like metalcore, or at least the state that the genre is in.

I met with Jake Luhrs at concert last year and asked him about the changes and developments of each album and how their music was bridging into art-metal.

Honestly, the simplest response to that is just progression. Growth in the band as musicians and as we mature into adulthood and grow in the music world. I think it’s just the direction that we are naturally taking. It’s not anything that we’ve said ” hey, this is what we’re gonna do”. It’s just what’s evolving from our musicianship. I like it. It’s a cool direction, because I think it’s something more clever and for August Burns Red we never wanted to be the same, ever. We do want to experiment, we do want to go outside the box and we don’t want to write the same record over again.

When I asked about what makes August burns Red different from the rest of the industry, he responded with boldness.

That’s a really difficult question and however I respond to this I just want people to know that it’s not an ego trip or boasting by any means, cuz I don’t like doing that. [...] And every musician, I’m sure, that you would interview and ask this question would say “Well, we’re different this way”. Quite frankly, I think a lot of bands aren’t different from one another and it’s really hard to find something that is new under the sun.

The unfortunate fact is that metalcore bands often churn out cookie cutter versions of their past work without embarrassment. August Burns Red has been around for a decade and show no sign of simply producing music simply because it;’s their profession. Instead the band continues to produces music that stretches both themselves and their listeners to a higher level. ABR’s third album, Constellations, found the band beginning to stretch their sound out of the self-imposed musical boundaries of metalcore. Their 2011 follow-up album, Leveller, took these experimental elements to a higher level. August Burns Red’s latest release, Rescue & Restore, has broken all the boundaries for both themselves and all metal bands.

That bold statement differs significantly from the results found in much of the genre. Metalcore bands often churn out cookie cutter versions of their past work without embarrassment. August Burns Red has been around for a decade and show no sign of simply producing music simply because it;’s their profession. Instead the band continues to produces music that stretches both themselves and their listeners to a higher level. ABR’s third album, Constellations, found the band beginning to stretch their sound out of the self-imposed musical boundaries of metalcore. Their 2011 follow-up album, Leveller, took these experimental elements to a higher level. August Burns Red’s latest release, Rescue & Restore, has broken all the boundaries for both themselves and all metal bands.

Don’t expect to find any any fillers on this release, each song is deliberately and wonderfully crafted to mesh into a symphony as August Burns Red reintroduces art into metalcore. “Beautiful” may be an unusual description to apply to a metalcore album, but on Rescue & Restore it’s fitting.  A wonderful blend of raw vocals and unusual musical stylings takes the listener on a flight of fancy that has been created by August Burns Red. The musical abilities of each of the members have always been to be second to none. On Rescue & Restore this technical proficiency is brought to the forefront with each of the members talents being highlighted. ABR is a well oiled machine and all of those parts are wonderfully synced to each other.

August Burns Red’s quest to expand the sound of metalcore is facilitated by introducing unusual musical elements on Rescue & Restore. “Treatment” demonstrate some of this instrumentation using violin, piano and cello. During the musical bridge, “Treatment” brings a reminder of the salsa music flavour found “Internal Cannon”.  ”Spirit Breaker” and “Provision” also make use of violin and cello.

The most creative track of the album is found on the aptly titled “Creative Captivity”, a primarily instrumental track. JB Brubaker forgoes his guitar on “Creative Captivity” to put his hand to a guzheng (Chinese harp), violin, cello, and trumpet also take part.  Jake Luhrs adds his vocals near the end of the song where he speaks about the downfall of today’s metal scene.