Band: August Burns Red
Title: Home
Label: Solid State Records
Release Date: September 28, 2010
Review By: Steve
Track Listing:
1. Intro
2. Back Burner
3. White Washed
4. Your Little Suburbia Is In Ruins
5. The Eleventh Hour
6. Meddler
7. Truth Of A Liar
8. Mariana’s Trench
9. Thirty and Seven
10. Existence
11. Meridian
12. A Shot Below The Belt
13. Up Against The Ropes
14. Composure
15. The Seventh Trumpet
This may be one of the easiest reviews I have ever had to write. Reviewing a “Live” album is pretty much like reviewing a “Greatest Hits” with a few differences. The biggest difference is, “does the quality of the music and vocals compare to the studio version?” This question is usually answered with an emphatic “NO” in most but not all cases. For Home, I would say the music stands up great against the studio recording, but the vocals aren’t bad (like I read on the comments to Home on iTunes).
The song selection for this show was great. ABR did a great job of covering all their bases as far as their Solid State releases go. Since the album was titled “Home” and was a going back to the roots type of show, I would have loved for them to have played a song off their CI Records EP Looks Fragile After All. I also believe it would have been fun for them to play their cover of “…Baby One More Time” from Punk Goes Pop, Vol. 2., but maybe that is just me.
I have had the pleasure of seeing ABR live twice, and each time they were amazing. I am firm believer that not all live shows are created equal. And ABR is definitely a cut above 99.9% of all bands. They play with so much energy and passion that words cannot describe it, and that also means that a Live CD does not do them justice. Luckily, ABR put a live DVD with the package, which I am sure is great but unfortunately, I only got the audio portion from Solid State.
A great part of Home is after playing “Marianas Trench,” Jake tells the crowd that without them and Christ they would not be where they are today. I am not a fan of preaching at live shows, but I do love to hear a band tell the crowd that Christ is the reason for their success.
Overall: this is what you would expect from a live album—great music and decent vocals. Die-hard ABR fans are definitely going to want to add this to their collection, but I do highly suggest Home to those who haven’t seen or heard ABR much. If you see them play live you are going to become a die hard-fan.
I originally rated this album a “7;” however, after much thought and Evan’s comment, I believe that I can’t really grade a live album or EP on our regular rating system. While this is a good live album, I have never listened to a live album that was just amazing, and mostly die-hard fans make up the majority of people that purchase them. From now on I will just be leaving the score for live album and EP’s with less than 5 songs on them. I just don’t feel that there is one rating system that can accurately rate all type of albums.