Maximum Metal Rating Legend
5 Excellent - Masterpiece. A classic.
4.5-4 Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a lacking.
3.5 Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler.
3 Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio.
2.5-2 Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors.
1.5-1 Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0 Terrible - Waste of your life and time.

Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun.

Demos and independent releases get some slack since the bands are often spent broke supporting themselves and trying to improve. Major releases usually have big financial backing, so they may be judged by a heavier hand. All scores can be eventually adjusted up or down by comparison of subsequent releases by the same band. We attempt to keep biases out of reviews and be advocates of the consumer without the undo influence of any band, label, management, promoter, etc.

The best way to determine how much you may like certain music is to listen to it yourself.
Band
August Burns Red
Title
Leveler
Type
LP/EP
Company
Solid State
YOR
2011
Style
Metalcore/Hardcore
5/5/2011 - Review by: Eric Compton
Another punishing display of brutal breakdowns and abstract riffs
It’s hard to find a more abrasive band than August Burns Red. ‘Leveler’, the PA act’s fourth to date, is another punishing display of brutal breakdowns and abstract riffs. The band chose Jason Suecof (Death Angel, Whitechapel) to produce again, a wise choice for this polished delivery that helps mollify a band that could easily go berserk. Like fellow genre staples Suicide Silence and Bring Me the Horizon, August Burns Red burkes any attempt for clean passages in favor of a hardcore stance that hasn’t changed much over the course of their career. The breakdowns are everywhere, groovy wash-machine riffs placed on heavy load for a full cycle. I love this stuff for a few songs but the habiliments of a metalcore band in 2011 still leaves plenty of room for innovation and diversity, two traits you won’t find here.
  • 1 :REVIEW COUNT
    3 :AVE RATING

ALL REVIEWS FOR: AUGUST BURNS RED
TITLE
DOR
COMPANY
REVIEWER DATE MADE RATING
Leveler
2011
Solid State
Eric Compton5/5/2011
3
Phantom Anthem
2017
Fearless
Eric Compton12/22/2017
3

ALL INTERVIEWS FOR: AUGUST BURNS RED
INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER DATE TAGLINE


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