August Burns Red brought the heat to a cold Minnesota Monday with the “Rescue and Restore” 10 year anniversary tour. This powerhouse line-up included Japanese metal band, Crystal Lake, Spite, and Brand of Sacrifice.
This was a unique tour for August Burns Red. I am used to seeing them pair up with other shreddy metalcore bands such as Killswitch Engage or Erra, this line-up was different. ABR was the least heavy band on the bill… by a long shot.
Snowflakes filled the air as I rushed to the box office at The Filmore to grab my photo pass. I had traveled from Des Moines, where my last show was, to catch this monster line up, and I made it just in the knick of time. I walked in the room while Crystal Lake was performing their opening song.
This was Crystal Lake’s first U.S. tour with new vocalist, John Robert Centorrino, formerly of The Last Ten Seconds Of Life. He replaces Ryo Kinoshita, who exited Crystal Lake last fall, to address his mental health struggles. I never got the chance to catch a Crystal Lake show before but John seems to be a perfect fit for the group. They brought the perfect energy to get the room going into the rest of the evening.
Spite took the stage next with my favorite support set of the night. If Crystal Lake didn’t get you moving these guys absolutely did. From the second Darius Tehrani stepped on stage in a slipknot-esk jumpsuit, the room was charged. Every member of this band carried their own intensity. You can tell that these guys really believe in the music they’ve created, they embody it. Their presence emanates anger and violence in a way that makes it hard to not want to jump into the pit, even on a Monday night.
By this point, I was already noting how much heavier the line-up was compared to a typical ABR show. Then, Brand of Sacrifice took the stage. Spite was merely a warm up for these guys. Vocalist, Kyle Anderson, commanded the room (There was no asking nicely), with his intense and downright intimidating presence. From start to finish there were slamming gutturals and had bodies flying over the barricade.
Last and certainly not least, The iconic flaming “u” lit up at the back of the room and August Burns Red takes the stage. ABR never misses. After all these years, the Pennsylvania metalcore outfit continues to provide a show you would expect from veterans of the genre. From the opening track, “Provision” to the closing track, “White Washed” the band didn’t miss a beat.
Although they were significantly less heavy, they had flawless instrumentation, a fantastic light show, and a super lighted hearted fun performance. I personally love when bands don’t try too hard and just have fun doing what they love. You can tell this is ABR’s philosophy. From JB’s flip-flops to Jake Luhrs shuffle step dancing in his hockey jersey, you can tell they are way past their days of trying to cut their teeth by showing off.
The band walked off stage as the crowd waited for an encore. ..We all know it’s coming. We haven’t heard “Composure” or “White Washed” yet. The band returns with “Carol of the Bells”, suitable for this time of year, which Luhrs said is one of many songs played on this tour that the band has never toured with before. He even mentioned the process of having to relearn a few tracks for this tour. This was followed by their heaviest track, “Bloodletter.” and finally the night capped off with their biggest hits everyone had been waiting for.
This tour proved that August Burns Red is still a staple in the community and a force to be reckoned with after all these years. Between their virtuoso-like playing and an arena worthy light show, they continue to put on shows that will leave any metalcore fan leaving the venue fulfilled.
