On a chilly night at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, Tennessee, the August Burns Red 20th anniversary tour brought a packed audience to their feet.
The night opened with Scottish metalcore giants Bleed From Within, who launched into their six-song set with “I Am Damnation,” a track from their latest release “Shrine.” Their catchy riffs and brutal vocals set the tone for the night, and the audience responded in kind. They closed with a powerful rendition of their hit “The End of All We Know” and let the audience know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bleed From Within is a force to be reckoned with.
Christian metalcore bangersmiths The Devil Wears Prada went on next. The Dayton, Ohio-based band detonated onstage, opening with “Watchtower” from their latest album “Color Decay”.
Their energy was huge. All six band members ricocheted across the stage like popcorn in an air fryer. Their high-octane songs with catchy, sing-along choruses brought the energy of the room to an all-new high. They played a ten-song set, including one of my personal faves “Chemical”. The highlight of the set was when they played “Cancer” to an audience who lit up their cellphones as if on cue. This hard-to-top performance set the bar high for the night’s headliner.
August Burns Red did not disappoint, ripping through a blistering 18-song set to celebrate 20 years of metalcore domination. The undying devotion of their fans was unmistkeable, as the head-banging and crowd-surfing started immediately and extended late into the night.
ABR set the tone right off the bat launching into their powerhouse song “Fault Line.” No doubt everyone in attendance racked up the heart points on their fitness trackers as the circle pits waxed and waned like hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. And their signature laser light show provided the perfect backdrop to their high-octane set.
They played several songs from their latest album “Death Below”, including a killer version of “Ancestry” sans vocals from Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach. Vocalist Jake Luhrs more than did it justice, hitting the melodic chorus perfectly. The rest of the band came through as well, expertly executing their signature style of aggressive drums, head-banging riffs, and shreddy, atonal guitar fills.
The audience responded with equal fervor, and August Burns Red closed their set with the fan favorite “White Washed.” They returned for an encore drum solo followed by hits “Marianas Trench” and “Composure.” If we learned anything tonight, it’s that these metalcore masters have earned the high praise so generously showered on them by their fans, and we expect to see them continue to dominate the scene for another 20 years.