Artista: Sobre Todo Nombre
Album: Abba Padre
Fecha de Publicación: 29 de junio 2012
Discográfica: Ven y Vive

Procedente de Bogotá, Colombia, Sobre Todo Nombre han irrumpido en la escena del metal cristiano con su álbum de debut de Abba Padre, que la banda dice que el nombre "porque queríamos mostrar a cada persona que escucha, que somos hijos e hijas de un Padre que nos ama sin límites ... " El nombre de la banda en sí viene de Filipenses 2:9-11 "Por eso Dios lo exaltó hasta lo sumo y le otorgó el Nombre que está sobre todo nombre (Sobre Todo Nombre), que en el nombre de Jesús toda rodilla se doble ... " Los chicos de Todo Sobre Nombre no se avergüenzan de lo que esta banda está a punto, o lo que es su mensaje y eso se nota en cada canción.

Artist: Sobre todo Nombre
Album: Abba Father
Release Date: June 29, 2012
Label: Come&Live

Hailing from Bogota, Colombia Sobre todo Nombre have burst onto the Christian metal scene with their debut album Abba Father, which the band says they named "because we wanted to show each and every person that listens to it, that we are sons and daughters of a Father that loves us without limits..." The bands name itself comes from Philippians 2:9-11 "therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name (Sobre todo Nombre), that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow..." The guys in Sobre todo Nombre do not shy away from what this band is about, or what their message is and it shows in each and every song.

We talked with JB Brubaker of August Burns Red on Warped Tour this year about their new album, and music videos. (Interview took place on July 17th, 2011)

 August Burns Red 2011 by Christian Rock Rocks

Vans Warped Tour 2011, July 17th, at the Comcast Theater, Hartford, CT

Chances are, if you've ever been to the Vans Warped Tour before, you could use these words to describe it: long, hot, and tired. This year's Warped Tour fit that description perfectly, but was also a day filled with great music, filled with many genres spread about the tour's seven stages.


Moving Mountains

After arriving a bit after 12 to the Comcast Theater, I made my way to the amphitheater of the venue, to the Nintendo 3DS stage, where indie rockers Moving Mountains were playing the stage's first set of the day. The band played a very impressive set, composed of some older material, mixed in with some new songs off their new album Waves, which released only two months ago, including the standout "The Cascade." The guitar work from the band sounded very experimental and atmospheric live, which was a pleasant surprise, standing out from all the other bands of power chords and chugging. Moving Mountains are one band that you need to check out on Warped this year, if you are looking for some new and creative music, in the vein of bands such as Thrice.

A few more bands followed after Moving Mountains on the split stages of the amphitheater, which not only housed the Nintendo 3DS stage, but also the Alternative Press/Tilly's stage as well, featuring a good amount of smaller punk, pop, and rock bands, including the likes of Lionize and Simple Plan. The Nintendo 3DS stage housed bands such as rockers The Dangerous Summer, the high energy Go Radio, and the spastic, terrible-sounding I Set My Friends On Fire (whose vocalist seemed like he was screaming in pain, but for no real reason, at some point).

After three interviews for the day were done, including one with a few members of The Devil Wears Prada, I headed out into the dusty tour grounds to check out some merch tents, including Relient k's and the Tooth & Nail/Solid State one. I picked up this summer's edition of Tooth & Nail's annual Fuel Magazine, which is pretty cool, since it has in depth features in it on Run Kid Run and Oh, Sleeper about their new albums, out this fall.


Relient k

I then had time to watch most of the energetic, pop punk set from The Wonder Years, who played heavily from their album The Upsides, but also played some songs from their latest release, including the hook-heavy "Don't Let Me Cave In." Next came some time to talk with piano-driven indie rockers Windsor Drive, who's set we unfortunately missed. After speaking with the band for about 15 minutes, I headed back into the amphitheater for the last time of the day, catching the tail end of the punk band Street Dogs, who brought a positive message. Finally came the band I've been waiting years to see, one who have been a big name in the Christian rock community since their beginnings: Relient k. They ripped into their set with fan favorite "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been," followed by "Sahara" and their cover of the '80s' hit "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." They continued into "Forget And Not Slow Down" and "The Lining Is Silver," among a few others that had the fans all singing along, before concluding with "Be My Escape," which I heard most of as I left to head to the main stage.


August Burns Red

My last set of the night to watch would be the Pennsylvanian metalcore giants, August Burns Red. An electronic sample played as the band ran out onto the Teggart Main Stage, in front of a 1000+ kids. Although I only stayed for the first three songs, they put on a very intense set, which was even better than the last time I saw them, last summer at Purple Door Festival. The band's most recognizable song, "Composure," opened their show, to the delight of the crowd surfing and moshing fans. Vocalist Jake Luhrs jumped around a ton during the song, before stopping to introduce the first single from their brand new album, Leveler, "Empire," which was very heavy live, including the passionate screaming of "All You are, is what we want, it burns inside us all!" The slow building guitars of "White Washed" soon followed, setting off the massive crowd into a frenzy of energy, which I watched unfold as I left the venue.

I did enjoy the day, but was disappointed to have missed The Devil Wears Prada yet again (after missing many of their local shows in my area), due to the band playing an early set at 12. It was great to see some other big name Christian bands on this year (August Burns Red and Relient k), in contrast with last year, which did not feature many. For those going to Warped this summer, here are a few tips: Get there early to check the schedule so you don't miss any bands and stay hydrated.

Set Lists:


Relient k:

1. Who I Am Hates Who I've Been
2. Sahara
3. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper cover)
4. Forget And Not Slow Down
5. The Lining Is Silver
6. Devastation And Reform
7. High of 75
8. Be My Escape

August Burns Red (partial set):

1. Composure
2. Empire
3. White Washed

Vans Warped Tour 2011 Photo Gallery (© 2011 ChristianRockRocks.com)

Artist: August Burns Red
Album: Leveler
Release Date: June 21, 2011
Label: Solid State Records

If you've heard one August Burns Red album, you've heard 'em all, right? Wrong! I thought the same thing after I heard the first song released from Leveler, the band's fourth full-length album. I was wrong, as the follow up to 2009's Constellations builds on that, and adds some more new elements to the band's repertoire, and it is a good mix. The guys find a way to make this album fresh, and easy to remember, in a metalcore genre flooded with bands these days. The band has matured a lot since their debut album in 2005, and Leveler certainly shows it.

The guitar work throughout the album is what you've come to expect and love from August Burns Red over the years, and that is some very technical and sharp guitar riffs. Leveler is full of them, and at some points, you can't help but stop and say "oh my!" at how tight and flawless the guitar playing is. If you love fast-paced, get your heart pumping, and fist pounding drums, then this album is for you as well. I am blown away by how good the drumming  is. Maybe I haven't noticed it as much on previous albums, but regardless, the drumming really sticks out to me on this album.

As far as the vocals go, there is only so much that one man can do with his voice, but having said that, Jake Luhrs adds a new dimension to his screams on a few songs. Dustin Davidson (bassist) and Jake trade off vocals on a couple of songs as well, and Dustin even takes on a Mike Hranica (The Devil Wears Prada) type vocal, which is scary good. There are also some parts of songs, such as on "Salt and Light," where it's a full steam metalcore song, and all of a sudden stops into a slower section with some amazing spoken word, and some great guitar playing, before it changes back into a metal song, which kicks you in the teeth, seamlessly.

The experimentation is a theme on Leveler, like on the second track, "Internal Cannon," which starts off with a classic August Burns Red sound, including the good old blast beats, and then goes into an interesting mariachi-type section, and then mixes that sound with the sound earlier heard to just blow the song out of the realm of what you'd expect. However, there are songs like "Poor Millionaire" and "Empire" that are your classic ABR songs, which are still good, but are just what you've come to expect.

Another great way that the band experiments is the expansion of their use of a post-rock/ambient sound to some of the songs, mostly on the second half of the album. It's just refreshing to see this band continuing to grow and revolutionize the Christian metal scene with such greats songs, and lyrics. For a good idea of the ambient vibe, check out the songs "Carpe Diem," "Salt and Light," and "Cutting The Ties."

Overall: August Burns Red have found a way to make a fresh, new album for the metalcore scene, and it's going to make some of you rethink your stance on not just this album, but the band themselves. Going into Leveler, I was not too excited, but after just one listen through the entire thing, it has jumped up on my August Burns Red album rankings, and into my top ten albums of the year. There were so many surprised on this album that I did not see coming, and it kept me wondering what was going to come on the following track and blow me away. I was initially going to rate the album a five or six, but it's higher than that now. Leveler is very good, not the best album I've ever heard, but still a very good, very solid, and enjoyable album from one of the biggest bands in the Christian metal scene today.

Rating: 8/10

Recommended Tracks: "Empire," "Internal Cannon," "Cutting the Ties," and "Poor Millionaire"

Reviewed by Michael Small

Tracklisting:

1. Empire
2. Internal Cannon
3. Divisions
4. Cutting the Ties
5. Pangaea
6. Carpe Diem
7. 40 Nights
8. Salt and Light
9. Poor Millionaire
10. 1-16-2011
11. Boys of Fall
12. Leveler

(Buy Here)

Metalcore giants August Burns Red have posted their first single off the forthcoming album Leveler, titled "Empire," on their Facebook page. The pre-order options for Leveler, including the deluxe edition of the album and August Burns Red baseball cards, can be found right here.

The annual Elmira, NY music festival, iMatter, has announced their lineup for this year. The festival will take place on Labor Day weekend, September 2nd-4th, and will feature a great lineup of 12 bands, who are listed below. For more information on iMatter 2011, check out the festival's Facebook page.

iMatter Festival 2011 Lineup:

August Burns Red
Emery
The Ember Days
Impending Doom
Texas In July
A Plea For Purging
Life In Your Way
Hundredth
I, The Breather
The Great Commission
My Heart To Fear
Gideon
To Speak of Wolves

AUGUST BURNS RED announce title and release date for new album

The bands for the annual summer long touring music festival, the Vans Warped Tour, have all been announced. Among the hundred bands, headlining the festival on the main stage will be The Devil Wears Prada and August Burns Red. Other bands of interest for our readers playing are Relient k, Family Force 5, Windsor Drive and The Suit. More info about this year's festival can be found on the Warped Tour site.

Artist: August Burns Red
Album: Home
Release Date: 9/28/10
Label: Solid State Records

I'm not a big fan of live albums. To me, they aren't usually my thing. Well, I'm always willing to make an exception, which was not a hard choice to make after listening to Home, the new live album from Pennsylvania's own August Burns Red. Having seen their live show before, this album came as a treat to listen to, capturing their technical riffs, breakdowns, expertise double bass from drummer Matt Greiner and Jake Luhrs' heavy growls.

The intro track on Home slowly builds up into fan favorite "Back Burner" that explodes right away. Following up is a nice performance of "White Washed," that surprised me at how good it sounded compared to the studio version. I was a bit skeptical when "Mariana's Trench" arrived, as it is certainly a great track, both the studio version and from my prior experience of seeing ABR play it live this past summer. The slow technical buildup started off well, leading into Jake's brutal vocals. They do sound a bit distorted at first, but slowly got better as the track progressed. After the track ends, Jake expresses that ABR would not be where they are now without the support from the fans, and more importantly, their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

One of my favorite tracks was the mainly instrumental "Meridian," which actually happens to be the first time the band had ever played the song live. Another gem on Home would be "A Shot Below The Belt," which has a good, quality feel to it. I was also rather shocked at how nice "Composure" turned out, which "closes" the album, only to be followed be the band's encore, a performance of "The Seventh Trumpet," that opens with the words, "Do you guys wanna hear another song?" "The Seventh Trumpet" serves it's purpose, to close the live album in a memorable way.

Rating: 8/10 August Burns Red have done it again with Home, a great live album full of fan favorites that will be sure to get you moving. Recorded in the band's hometown of Manheim, PA, Home features songs from each of ABR's three albums, which all fit together nicely. Simply put, August Burns Red fans, welcome home.

Tracklisting:

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

(Buy Here)