Over the years I’ve been listening to August Burns Red, I’ve only ever met one person who didn’t like them, and quiet frankly, he was a bit of a jerk. The sweethearts of the Metalcore scene August Burns Red grabbed our attention with their support slot for Parkway Drive, then blew our minds with a brief appearance on the No Sleep Til Tour following the release of the greatest album ever (fact) Constellations. For months and months rumours of a headlining ABR tour circulated, hopes were raised then spectacularly dashed in the Soundwave buzz…but now its time. The band we have grown to love from a distance will be headlining their first Australian tour with fellow icons of the genre Blessthefall. I thought it would be a good time to chat to drummer Matt Geiner to check in on all things ABR.
I won’t lie, I haven’t liked a band this much since The Wiggles, though I contained myself, for fear of creating a Stan / Slim Shady type moment.
Though having only spent a short amount of time on our shores, Geiner certainly has had many adventures here, kicking the conversation off with a quick run down of how he ended up taking a late night dip in Sydney Harbour: “So, there was a photographer there, taking photos of our friends in Architects and someone suggested diving in, so I stripped off and did it! It wasn’t until afterward that our tour manager told us that there are actually sharks in there, so it was fine, but I’d probably never do it again”.
The conversation quickly turned to the music. Having just completed a massive US tour off the back of their latest release Leveler, August Burns Red’s complex scales, technical drums and bad ass vocals beg you to explore their previous release — none of which are the same. I asked Matt how they go about writing their material and how they keep their sound so fresh: “Well, that’s actually a good observation, I mean, when we write we do it separately, JB (Guitar) will sit in his room and just write, I’ll work on the drums and then we bring it all together. There are a lot of bands out there that jam when they write; we’re just not one of those bands; it just doesn’t work”.
Matt continued to explain why the band’s sound varies from album to album: “It’s important to progress, you know? And I think we’re just fortunate enough to have fans who understand us enough to see what we’re trying to do and who’ll stick by us – well, as long as we don’t release an album of all of us clean singing or anything like that ha ha”. Matt let slip news of their next album, currently in production: “It’s really different from Leveler”.
Watch: August Burns Red – Composure
Not before long we were talking about Australia again, with their headlining tour kicking off this week, Matt described how he loves to travel, and having only been here two times, he’s a massive fan: “I can’t wait to tour down there, I was speaking to my friend Ben Gordon in Parkway Drive and we were talking about just how amazing it is down there. The kids are always grateful to see these kinds of shows”.
Now on the topic of shows, I had to ask what is his favourite song to play live. “Oh man, out of all of them, I’d have to say…Leveler, I actually wrote the drums with Adam Grey from Texas In July, who’s a good friend of mine”.
With time running out, and Matt needed at sound check, the conversation ended on a high. I asked whether or not the band had considered a point where they’d have to call it quits: “As a band, August Burns Red will never break up; we’re never going to stop”.
Watch: August Burns Red – Internal Cannon
I can’t personally think of any other Metalcore bands that have found their way onto the sound track of American Dad, but that’s really no surprise. It’s hard to tell what August Burns Red will do next, but you can bet it’ll be awesome. That’s for damn sure. And given the gaps between Australian shows, it’s safe to say you’ll regret missing them this round.
August Burns Red Australian Tour Date
Wednesday 18 April – the Hi-Fi, Brisbane (18+)
With The Construct
Tickets from http://bit.ly/y55YHU, 1300 THE HIFI and Moshtix outlets including Kill The Music
Thursday 19 April – Panthers, Newcastle (Lic/Aa)
With The Storm Picturesque
Tickets from http://bit.ly/wFNdCM Moshtix on 1300 438 849 and the venue
Friday 20 April – the Metro, Sydney (Lic/Aa)
With Shinto Katana
Tickets from http://bit.ly/zRQD3B Metro Theatre Box Office 02 9550 3666 or Ticketek on 132
849
Saturday 21 April – Billboard the Venue, Melbourne (U18)
With Glorified!
Tickets from http://bit.ly/y8D4jA Ticketek on 132 849, Moshtix on 1300 438 849 or Fist2Face 03 9095 7911
Sunday 22 April – Billboard the Venue, Melbourne (18+)
With Feed Her To The Sharks
Tickets from http://bit.ly/y8D4jA Ticketek on 132 849, Moshtix on 1300 438 849 or Fist2Face 03 9095 7911
Tuesday 24 April – Fowlers, Adelaide (Lic/Aa)
With Far West Battlefront
Tickets available from http://bit.ly/xzI0hx Venuetix on (08) 8225 8888 or Moshtix on 1300 438 849
Wednesday 25 April – Amplifier, Perth (18+)
With In League
Tickets from http://bit.ly/xh5ile Moshtix on 1300 438 849 orwww.heatseeker.com.au
