Review by Lucas Bell
Getting ten records deep into a musical career on its face seems like an impossible feat. There are so many iconic artists and bands across multiple genres that have never, and likely will never, hit the double digits. Metalcore however, sees this as a pretty consistent trend. With 30 years of history, and a lot of bands in the late 90s and early 00s still banging out releases, it’s more common to see bands that started the scene, hitting the milestone.
And one of the bands I consider on the Mount Rushmore of Metalcore, August Burns Red, have hit this elite club. I’ve been a fan of the Pennsylvania based five piece since 2007 after hearing Messengers for the first time. And while after 2013’s Rescue & Restore, I self admitted fell off the train on these guys, purely to my own music tastes changing pretty dramatically around this time. Ten years later, and with the release of Death Below, I was fully back on board the train, running at full speed. And with the release of Season of Surrender, I’m keen to get into this record.
I’m not trying to oversell the record. But I feel this is the best, and most cohesive work that’s been put forth since Constellations. There are fast, heavy songs. There are slow, groovy songs. And stating off the record, the first two songs are definitely songs that fall into category one. ‘Legions’ immediately is a kick in the face, with the vocals of JB Brubaker and Matt Greiner punishing drums rocking my brain within the first seconds. The track also features an awesome guest appearance from Mike Hranica from The Devil Wears Prada, who are another band I’d put on the Mount Rushmore.
‘The Nameless’ is a track that does the same thing as ‘Legions’, but in reverse. The vocals and drums aren’t as hectic and in your face, but the guitars are loud and very much at the forefront of the track. ‘Behemoth’ is the album’s first single, and despite me having the most time with it so far, it’s definitely an album highlight. Reminiscent of the Constellations era of the band, you could easily have convinced me it was written 20 years ago. Which feels insane to think about. ‘Den of Thieves’ is definitely a track that takes the building blocks of the last 20 years of art August Burns Red have created, and feels like a showcase track almost, of what bands of such legacy can pull out just by leaning a little into the past, without feeling nostalgic.
The next two songs that are up, are what I am calling the ultimate Aussie Double Up. ‘Sonic Salvation’ dropped right before the album dropped, and features Jamie Hails from Polaris on the track. August Burns Red were here a few years ago, opening for Polaris. So it’s cool to see Hails jumping on a track with them, seeing as I think Polaris are one of the most important bands in Australian metalcore right now. To then follow it up with ‘Cerebral Malfunction’ with Make Them Suffer though, holy shit what a one two punch of insane quality, and a showcase as well of just how good it is to be a fan of Australian metalcore.
After the short interlude track ‘Tear of the Clouds’, ‘Whispers Like Splinters’ feels like a reset point for the record. ‘Tear of the Clouds’ almost feels like a palette cleanser to get us back onto nothing but August Burns Red. ‘Whispers Like Splinters’ feels like it’s going to be the record’s most underrated track. This is, what I would consider, the perfect encapsulation of where 2026 August Burns Red sits in terms of sound. It’s fast, heavy, methodical, intentional, and 30, a fun track to listen to.
The final three tracks, ‘S.O.S.’, ‘New Horizons’, and ‘Forged by Failure’, all provide distinctly different vibes. ‘S.O.S.’ is pure speed, ‘New Horizons’ is pure heavy, and ‘Forged by Failure’ is a track that shows while heaviness and speed in metalcore rules, the beauty comes from the underplaying and raw emotions that funnel out in the standard ‘final track of a metalcore record’ meme. Beautiful in its simplicity, ‘Forged by Failure’ feels like the perfect way to cap this record.
As I mentioned at the start, Death Below firmly brought my love of August Burns Red back in a big way. Season of Surrender is a continuation of the blocks set up by Death Below, and builds on top of what was an incredible record, and makes something even better. Bands have used August Burns Red as a road map of what to do, to make quality tunes and records. And this record will become a blueprint record for how to continue the quality and success, 20 years into a career. A brilliant record that sits on the same level as Constellations, Messengers, and Leveler.
Score: 9.5/10
Album Highlights: ‘Behemoth’, ‘Whispers Like Splinters’, ‘Sonic Salvation’
