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Artist: August Burns Red
Album: Lost Messengers: The Outtakes
Label: Solid State Records
Reviewer: Stephen M

August Burns Red. Epic, melodic, technical riffs, body breaking breakdowns, and guttural screams are all words to sum up this metal-core band from Solid State Records.

On February 24th they will be releasing their latest work on a seven song EP titled Lost Messengers: The Outtakes. This EP features b-sides, demos, covers, and outtakes. They are releasing this EP to tie us over until their next full album.
The first song on the EP is titled “Chasing The Dragon.” If you listened to their previous CD this will be a very familiar sound – catchy riffs, lots of china, and a quick double kick, all blended in with the harsh scream of Jake. The second track is “Mosley”; this is my favourite track by far. This song is filled with defining riffs, catchy breakdowns and all-in-all just sounds like one of those catchy ABR songs that has made them what they are in the metal-core genre today. The third track is “Carol Of The Bells.” I first heard this song for a movie trailer awhile back. It’s a catchy remix of the classic Christmas tune spiced up by ABR’s heavy drumming and guitaring. “To Those About To Rock” is the fourth track, this is a very short song – only one minute long – and includes a lot more chanting than screaming while lacking melody.  It’s kind of just a steady breakdown with a mediocre guitar riff.  “Piano Man” is the fifth track, this is a very original song and shows a different side of ABR. This one minute and forty-three second instrumental consists of a piano, a man (I would assume they would need one to play the piano) and a soft beat from the drums. This was a very nice addition and I enjoyed it a lot as it shows a softer side of ABR and proves they can have a wide range of style. The sixth and seventh tracks are demos of the songs “Truth of a liar” and “Vital Signs” which were originally released on their previous album, and believe it or not the demos are different enough that they almost seem new again.  The screaming sounds different, the breakdowns start or end differently and they change up some of the guitar riffs from the original. I enjoy listening to these versions of the song again and I will end up listening to them as much as I did with the previous CD – I really enjoyed them.

I first thought there was going to be more full-length original songs sounding similar to songs on The Messengers, but the variety in the EP has made it a delightful surprise. I definitely recommend this if you enjoyed The Messengers.

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