Metalcore heavyweights August Burns Red have not only dropped a crushing new song and its insane music video, but also detailed their upcoming eighth full-length. The new song, "Defender," (which you can check out above) is an absolute ripper, rife with technical guitar work, catchy shout-along vocals and not one but two breakdowns. It's the lead single off the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, quintet's Guardians, due April 3rd via Fearless Records. You can pre-order the album here.
Fittingly to both the song and album titles, the music video is a super gnarly and totally awesome comic-book-style clip that features the band members as heroes who pass on their magical drum cymbal shield to a new defender.
"The song 'Defender' is about having that person who can come in and take some punches for you, and be in your corner during hard times," explains guitarist Brent Rambler. "I am quite the comic book fan and I thought the lyrics could easily turn into an awesome animated short story — kind of like if the pages of a comic were to come to life. Luckily, everyone else agreed and we have this sick video to go along with the song."
The band — rounded out by vocalist Jake Luhrs, guitarist JB Brubaker, bassist Dustin Davidson and drummer Matt Greiner — are known to be a collaborative unit when it comes to songwriting, and they say that this new album was even more of a group effort than usual.
"Guardians is the culmination of a complete and total team effort," says Brubaker. "Dustin and I collaborated musically more than we ever have before. Jake and Brent collaborated vocally more than they ever have before. Matt bounced more drum ideas off of us than we could even comprehend. It was the most time we've ever spent in the studio on one album. We're all so proud of this record, and we can't wait to share it with the world." See the cover art and track listing below.
Guardians track listing:
"The Narrative"
"Bones"
"Paramount"
"Defender"
"Lighthouse"
"Dismembered Memory"
"Ties That Bind"
"Bloodletter"
"Extinct by Instinct"
"Empty Heaven"
"Three Fountains"
In 2017, during the cycle for the group's last album, Phantom Anthem, we visited them in Lancaster for our "Hometown" video series in which we visit bands' birthplaces, roots and explore how the locales influence their creative vision. Check it out episode one below.
