Kicking off their co-headliner tour in Sayreville, New Jersey, August Burns Red and Between the Buried and Me amaze and deliver a one-of-a-kind experience despite having one of the opening bands drop the morning of.
Things were seemingly off to a rough start when everyone realized The Faceless dropped from an entire tour. With their canceling, it set an aura of disappointment right before the doors opened at Starland Ballroom. “Ugh, why did they drop?!” the disgruntled fans roared, “They were part of the reason I came!”
The moment they stepped foot inside the venue, however, The Faceless became an afterthought to the concertgoer. An interesting yet realistic pairing, Between the Buried and Me and August Burns Red were embarking on a co-headlining tour, coupling the two based on their modern take on progressive metal and metalcore respectively. And even still, it should not be a surprise that the bands have not crossed paths prior: Tommy Rogers of Between the Buried and Me is featured on August Burns Red’s song “Indonesia,” and August Burns Red have gone on record saying Between the Buried and Me is one of their main influences.
To accompany the two technical monsters is Good Tiger, who consists of former members of The Safety Fire and TesseracT. Essentially, the entire tour is composed of some of the most accomplished musicians in the modern metal scene today, and any musician should feel at home at this show based on their technicality alone. In Good Tiger’s case, however, this was going to be their first show on U.S. soil.
Due to the early time for the doors opening, however, the show did not start for another two hours. Presumably, Good Tiger were moved up to start when The Faceless were scheduled to begin, so anyone who got into the venue had to patiently wait for the first band to take the stage.
In the end, however, this worked favorably for Good Tiger, as the room filled up considerably quickly for them. Having only released their debut album a few months prior, Good Tiger were the lightest of the three bands, playing their own blend of rock music, of which is best described as “hard progressive rock.” It’s aggressive, but melodic and technical, all benefitting frontman Elliot Coleman, whose voice was only second to his demanding stage presence. It was a little way into their set that Coleman jumped down onto the barricade, giving his full attention those in the front who were singing along with him.
And while Coleman went above and beyond with his on-stage persona, the remaining band members did not let him occupy the spotlight entirely. Guitar duo Derya Nagle and Joaquin Ardiles mechanically grooved their way through the set, all the while striking poses and owning up to the rockstar persona, all without the snobbery that some feel to be entitled to. Sitting nicely in between the two of them were the very much accomplished drummer Alex Rudringer (Formerly of The Faceless and numerous other acts) and bassist Morgan Sinclair, who flawlessly played through the entire set without so much as blinking out of rhythm. When the band wrapped up “Where the Birds Are.” each member could only thank the crowd and smile: the cheering crowd left only good vibes between them.
A short fifteen minutes after Good Tiger left, the lights dimmed and Between the Buried and Me frontman Tommy Rogers took the stage, standing alone at his keyboard. A few familiar chord on the instrument and the crowd erupted with cheers, as he began with “”Foam Born (A) The Backtrack.” As the band took the stage for a quick crescendo, transitioning between grooves and soaring melodies into “”(B) The Decade of Statues,” the crowd changed into a violent, spiraling maelstrom around the floor.
Between the Buried and Me’s set was sure to please any fan of the band, including longtime ones such as myself. Over the hour of their entire set, the band managed to hit every note through their career, ranging from their recent material from Come Ecliptic, to older songs from their pre-Alaska days. (The specific song I want to not mention, but it will surely make the most diehard fans happiest) And all were chosen in excellent taste, as well, helping form a cohesive, constant flow through the entire hour long set.
Remarkably, yet unsurprisingly, the band refused to miss a single note. The guitar duo that is Paul Waggoner and Dustie Waring remains to be among the greatest in this generation of music, and in a short period of time will go on to be remembered as such. The moments that shine between the two are when they abandon their rock-star auras and focus heavily on the guitar parts in front of them, in which they end up harmonizing lead parts. Without any eye contact, the two plow through riffs that anyone could only dream of playing, and the end result is nothing short of a spectacle.
With Between the Buried and Me leaving the stage with a sense of completion, the techs were already scrambling to move everything out of the way. Just as quickly as it was for Between the Buried and Me to assume the position, August Burns Red marched onto the front, breaking right into “Martyr” from their most recent release, Found in Far Away Places. Taking advantage of the stands placed at the front of the stage, vocalist Jake Luhrs wasted no time in getting close to the fans on the front of the railing, screaming the words with them in unison.
A few songs into their set, August Burns Red played a wildcard: their lead guitarist and bassist switch instruments. Causing eyebrows to be raised among myself and others, it was even more surprising to hear that the band was playing a song for the first time live. “Everlasting Ending” kept the show’s momentum going, and bassist Dustin Davidson handled himself exceptionally well. Recalling the song, no difference between his and JB Brubaker’s playing could be found; the band proved to be full of surprises so early on. Davidson even went on to handle clean vocals later in the set, as well, filling in for the lack of a guest vocalist to sing it. While the entire night was filled with talented musicians, Davidson quietly proved to the crowd that he definitely had more to offer than initially believed.
Following Matt Greiner’s technically impressive drum solo, the band returned to the stage, playing familiar notes as Luhrs announced that this was their final song. “White Washed” came like a flood to the crowd, sending people over the railing and into security’s arms, as well as into the chaotic pit that was still raging in the center of the floor. Even after constantly running around the entire set over the stage the entire set, (It was rare to see any of the band members standing still) August Burns Red managed to stay as energetic as they were when they came out an hour prior.
There is without a doubt something special about this tour: two technical and musically intelligent bands, both successful and appreciative of one another, successfully able to tour together, all the while providing a band like Good Tiger the opportunity to shine with them. Even though the tour had started on a slight down note with The Faceless dropping, the three remaining bands prove that this is bound to be one of the most talked about tours of the year.
