Interview mit Brent Rambler von August Burns Red

Hey Brent, thanks for your time, I hope everything’s going fine! With „Guardians“ you recently released your eighth album. How does it feel? Is it still something special for you after all these years?
Of course! Anytime you release a record it is super exciting. It takes so much time to make an album that it feels great to let people finally hear it.

Before we dive deeper into your new album, first some statistics: On Metal1.info „Guardians“ is your second record that reached the 10/10, which makes you the first Metalcore-band on our webzine to achieve this milestone. Furthermore this ties you with bands like Machine Head, Iron Maiden or the almighty Black Sabbath. How does that sound?
That sounds pretty damn great!!

There is one thing for sure: AUGUST BURNS RED always stayed true to their original and unique sound – something many fans love about you. But what differs „Guardians“ from your previous work? What makes it „the best possible record“ you could make?
The big difference is that our bass player, Dustin, who is a fantastic guitar player wrote almost half the music on the whole record. Adding him in on such a high level really helps this record stand out from our previous albums.

You also stated, that you „never had this much time and liberty for production“. How did this affect your songwriting? What was different and which positive impact did it have?
It allowed us to have time to make any changes to the songs. Usually we record until the very last moment when we are in the studio, but we actually had time to sit and absorb each song. We had a ton of discussions about parts and how long or short they should be and what could be done with the vocals to make them better.

On „Guardians“ there are on the one hand some of the hardest tracks and on the other hand the most melodic tracks you’ve ever written. So let’s talk about „Defender“ first, a song that is more simple in its structure than the „normal“ ABR-track. Was there an intention to make a song like that?
Yes. We wanted to make some songs that were easier for the listener to grasp right away. It’s our attempt at bringing in new fans without going „soft.“

It was also your first single for „Guardians“. Why did you choose it? Did you fear that people could be let down a little, just because it is not as technical or progressive as the most of your stuff?
We chose it because we thought our fans would love it and because we thought it would be a great track in a live setting… But that portion didn’t pan out so well at this point. We only got to play it for three shows.

Also the lyrics are very impressive. They show something many people forget: That you don’t have to do anything on your own and that it is important that you have somebody you can rely on – and the other way around. Were these lyrics written because of a personal situation or event? Could you tell us a little more about the lyrical background?
The song „Defender“ is about a very personal situation our drummer (Author’s note: Matt Greiner) went through and how his dad was there for him and helped steer him in the right direction.

Please tell me, „who will deliver the sentence“?
Matt’s dad.

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For now we talked about the heaviest track of the album. Let’s talk about the most melodic of your career – „Lighthouse“. It is the first time – except Jeremy McKinnon’s (A Day To Remember) feature on „Ghosts“ – that you use clean vocals. It is something you’ve talked about before? How came the idea to sing the chorus of this track?
Yes, we’ve talked about it before and actually recorded some before and then we deleted them. We just thought this track was the right moment to go for it. We liked how musically the chorus changes and builds each time so we just thought it was the best time.

The last song of the record is „Three Fountains“. Another very catchy, yet progressive song, that takes the listener through everything that AUGUST BURNS RED stand for – great melodies, solos, brutal riffing, a versatile drum-play as well as Jakes hymnal screams. Could you please tell us how this song developed during writing sessions? Did you aim to make the final song something representative for everything AUGUST BURNS RED has done so far?
I don’t think we aimed for that. We always aim to just write songs we like and think our listener will like. We just wanted a song that would take the listener for a musical ride and Three Fountains does just that.

What is you favorite song from „Guardians“ and why?
My favorite track is „Empty Heaven.“ I think it just checks all the boxes for a great metal song. It has cool riffs, it’s fast, and it’s super heavy.

We already talked about the lyrics of „Defender“. But is there a lyrical concept for the whole album? If yes, what is it, if no, what are the other lyrical themes?
The theme for the album is helping others, or being the one who needs to take a step back and ask for help. It happened organically because none of us write lyrics together.

What does the wolf in the artwork stand for?
He is the Guardian who is in charge of his pack.

Currently we live in difficult times due to the Covid-19-plague all over the world. Other bands, for example Bury Tomorrow, decided to postpone the release of their new record. Why did you decide to release it as planned?
We wanted to release on time to make sure our fans didn’t have yet another thing that was taken from them. Concerts were cancelled, sports were cancelled, work was cancelled, everything was gone.  We didn’t want to push the release back because we knew our fans were looking forward to it and we wanted to put a smile on their faces versus bumming them out.

In June you have planned some shows and festivals in Europe. How would a cancellation affect you as a band?
We have been preparing for them to be cancelled for a few weeks now. It’s just a bummer because we really wanted to be on the road when our album came out, but it is what it is.

Last fall you celebrated the 10th anniversary of „Constellations“ and played it live in its entirety. Two years before you did the same for „Messengers“. Next one up is „Leveler“ in 2021 – any plans of doing it again?
We shall see. HA!

Since your second full-length „Messengers“ you haven’t changed any members. How important is this constancy for a band?
It’s extremely important because it’s how you build chemistry as a band.

So most of you have been together since high-school. Have there been times where seeing the same faces over and over again became annoying?
Sure! But as we get older we take more and more breaks in our touring to ensure we don’t get too tired of each other.

What is the most underrated ABR-song in your opinion?
“Pangaea”.

You played shows with nearly every big Metalcore-band that exists. Which band would you love to tour with but didn’t have chance to do yet?
Killswitch Engage!!

In the end of every interview we do the traditional Metal1.info-brainstorming. I give you a few words or phrases and you answer with the first that comes to your mind.
JBs favorite flip-flops-brand: Havaianas.
Best newcomer: Polaris.
Joe Biden: Boring.
Black Metal: Scary.
A TV-series nobody should miss: Ozark.
AUGUST BURNS RED in 10 years: Old.

Once again thanks for your time. The last words are yours – is there anything left you want to tell our readers?
Thanks for all of your support, and we will see you on the other side of this madness. Keep pumping Guardians.

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