AUGUST BURNS RED's JAKE LUHRS: 'If You Want The World To Change Or If You Wanna Change The World, You Have To Start With Yourself'

In a new interview with Brenton Harris of Australia's A Peek Behind The Lines, AUGUST BURNS RED vocalist Jake Luhrs spoke about the lyrical inspiration for the song "The Nameless", which appears on the band's latest album, "Season Of Surrender". Asked if he is still trying to find places to improve in his everyday life as a human being, Jake said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's how I live my life. I am excited to experience things. I'm excited to grow. I like to progress. I don't like to feel like I'm stagnant. And for me, I am on a journey of just trying to become a better person. And so I'm always looking at and reflecting on things that, like, maybe there's habits that I have that aren't healthy. 'Cause as we grow or we move into growth in our lives, there's old ways that aren't gonna necessarily fit where we're trying to go or who we're trying to be. And so I think that there's a season of surrendering those things and healing or moving past them or growing. So, yeah, I'm a firm believer that if you want the world to change or if you wanna change the world, you have to start with yourself. And if you want your life to change, you have to start with who you are and how you treat yourself and other people, and what are you holding on to, your identity, and things like that. So, yeah."

Jake was also asked if advocating for mental health support and mental health issues and helping other people has had a positive impact on his own life. He said: "Oh, absolutely. I think that there's a beautiful gift in giving. When you give to others, when you help them, or when you encourage other people. I mean, it's cyclical. And it's funny, because sometimes when you share your story with somebody or you're helping somebody out and then they kind of tell you what they're going through, they speak to you. You tend to get something from them as well. You're, like, 'Oh, man. I never really thought of life like that,' or, 'Oh, my gosh, I never experienced something like that. I feel so grateful.' That's just community, my brother. That's what humans are for. They're for connection. And I think if we spent more time in human connection, there would be less of a need for mental health because there would be more love and there would be more unification and more grace and understanding, patience, and less division. But I digress. I do. I get a lot from helping others because everybody could use some love and encouragement, including myself. So, yeah."

"Season Of Surrender" came out on June 5 via Fearless Records.

AUGUST BURNS RED's career milestones speak for themselves: multiple placements in the top 10 on the Billboard Top 200; tours with everyone from BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE to A DAY TO REMEMBER; and an accumulation of 600 million streams. The band was also nominated for "Best Metal Performance" Grammy in 2016 for the song "Identity" and again for "Invisible Enemy" in 2018.

"Season Of Surrender" features guest appearances from THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA's Mike Hranica, POLARIS's Jamie Hails and MAKE THEM SUFFER.

Earlier this year, Luhrs told U.K.'s Rock Sound about AUGUST BURNS RED's mindset while making "Season Of Surrender": "This band has never been as unified as we are right now, which I think is telling of how we are currently. I think we all just want to be AUGUST BURNS RED. There is a sound and an era of metalcore that we are a part of, and we wanted to write a record that basically states that this is who we are, and we're not going to change for anybody."

He added: "Bands get inspired to change their sound, or maybe a trend or something is moving in the water they want to try, and there's nothing wrong with that," he explained. "I am a hardcore supporter of bands creating new sounds. I think that that's beautiful, because it's their own unique identity. But for us, we have our unique identity. We are who we are, and we just want to make it better. So let's just write a heavy, aggressive, passionate, modern AUGUST BURNS RED record."