Line-up

Headliner
August Burns Red Last time in Auckland: 12 years ago

Venue

The Powerstation

33 Mount Eden Rd, 1023, Auckland, New Zealand

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Additional details

Doors open: 20:00

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August Burns Red biography

August Burns Red is an American Christian metalcore band from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, U.S., and was formed in March 2003.

Formed of members Jon Hershey on lead vocals, JB Brubaker on lead guitar, Brent Rambler on rhythm guitar, Matt Greiner on drums and piano, and Jordan Tuscan on bass guitar, the band began practicing during high school in bassist Matt Greiner’s basement. After a number of local shows in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S., area the band released their first EP named “Looks Fragile After All” on the label CI Records in 2004.

Soon after, lead singer Hershey quit and vocal responsibilities fell to Josh McManness and the band signed to the Christian label Solid State Records in 2005. On November 8, 2005 the band released their debut album “Thrill Seeker” along with a video for the single “Your Little Suburbia Is In Ruins”. The album’s release marked the departure of vocalist McManness and bassist Jordan Tuscan, who were replaced with Jake Luhrs and Dustin Davidson respectively.

Luhrs’ debut album with the band “Messengers” released in June 2007 became August Burns Red’s breakthrough album charting at No. 81 on the Billboard 200, and allowed the band an extensive tour schedule across North America and Europe. During which the band played alongside the likes of A Skylit Drive, Sky Eats Airplane and Greeley Estates. August Burns Red also appeared on the 2009 “Punk Goes Pop 2” compilation album covering Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time”.

The band’s sound is referred to commonly as metalcore, although due to the precise and powerful breakdowns, blissfully melodic guitar riffs have often been identified as melodic metalcore.

In 2009 the band released “Lost Messenger: The Outtakes” a multitude of material not thought appropriate for the “Messengers” album, as well as their third full-length LP “Constellations” which was available to stream via their MySpace before its release on July 14, 2009. The album charted at No. 24 on the Billboard 200 and led to a U.S. tour alongside Blessthefall and Enter Shikari and Australian tour with Parkway Drive and A Day to Remember.

August Burns Red’s fourth album “Leveller” continued and expanded on the commercial success of the band charting at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, only bettered by their fifth album “Rescue & Restore” which debuted at No. 9.

Live reviews

Isn’t it funny how so many Christian rock groups seem to do so much screaming and concern themselves so readily with dark lyrical themes that obsess over the spectre of death? August Burns Red, from Manheim, Pennsylvania, are another such outfit; sonically, they’re straight-up metalcore, and thematically, they share their outlook with Christian contemporaries like As I Lay Dying and The Devil Wears Prada. That hasn’t stopped them, though, from crossing over into the more mainstream side of the American punk and alternative scene, thanks in no small part to their appearances on the Warped tour last year, alongside the decidedly different likes of 3OH!3 and Bowling for Soup. They’ve a fervent cult following in the UK, too, with their most recent tour over here, back in February of this year, an extended run that took in sold-out rooms in the likes of Colchester and Portsmouth, as well as the usual big-city stops. On stage, proceedings are as you’d expect - a high-octane, no-frills affair, with frontman Jake Luhrs acting as a conduit for the crowd’s energy. Touring seems to be their bread and butter, so expect them back before long; they’re living proof that the metalcore trend has yet to die out.

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