Set to fire up Soundwave with an explosion of metal, August Burns Red talk up their recent album, ‘Rescue & Restore’, and why the genre needs it.

“There is a song on the record that is all about how, in America specifically, the arts has pretty much gone by the wayside. Society’s culture is based around music, art, entertainment — if you take it all away from these kids, what's left except for robotic mass science?” guitarist Brent Rambler asks.

'Rescue & Restore’ boldly aims to 'warp the constraints of what it means to be a metal band'.

“The only dynamics in a [metal] song nowadays seems to be: 'you guys are screaming here and now you guys are singing'. There's not much that changes other than that.
I think the fact that we've made a conscious effort to add different instruments and ensure that there are ups and downs throughout hopefully means that we can continue to push the envelope further.”

With that said, current fans of the band shouldn't be left disappointed.

“I think that there is enough stuff there that is reminiscent of our album 'Leveler'. Hopefully that keeps those fans’ attention, but I also hope that more stuff in the record makes them think 'huh, that was kind of different, I like that’.”

Rambler also talks about how meeting the expectations of metal-loving fans can be physically draining.

“I don't know who started it but it seems like if you're in a metal band that you've got to go nuts on stage. The only band that kind of breaks that mould is Between The Buried And Me; they put on a great show without going absolutely insane and moving around a lot. I don't know how they got away with it but they did.”

August Burns Red play Soundwave, Rna Showgrounds, Feb 22. ‘Rescue & Restore’ is out now.