AUGUST BURNS RED's JAKE LUHRS: 'We're A Technical, Progressive American Metalcore Band' Which 'Tries To Shine Some Hope'

In a new interview with Tony Evans of Australia's Metal Roos, AUGUST BURNS RED frontman Jake Luhrs was asked if he would agree that the band's recently released eleventh studio album, "Season Of Surrender", is a "heavier" record that its predecessor, 2023's "Death Below". Jake responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think you're right in saying that it's heavier. That record, 'Death Below', felt very dark and gloomy. And this one is just very passionate and emotionally driven. And I think what we did was we set up our breakdowns to really pay off. That was kind of in the back of our mind, was, like, 'Okay. Let's make this a thing.' We want it to be an experience when you feel that breakdown hit. So what is something that we can do? How can we make this moment special before all hell breaks loose? And so I think it gives that feeling, so when it gets heavy, it gets really heavy feeling, because there's this whole thing before that we're just kind of getting positioned to do it. So, yeah, I agree. I think that this record is definitely heavy instrumentally, and lyrically it is as well, with some of the topics and things that I was trying to share."

Jake continued: "Honestly, I feel like we're a technical, progressive, American metalcore band, and lyrically I think we've always been that band that tries to shine some hope or dig a little deeper into something of substance, something that carries a little weight versus just maybe a very basic topic or formulaic style of writing. But what is my favorite part is that it comes from my heart. It's who I am. It's a part of me. And so I think that that, as an artist, is what I really enjoy, is that I'm genuinely getting the opportunity to share my life with people who listen, and my hope is that they can resonate with my stories or my experiences and use it for good in their life."

"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.

"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."