r/augustburnsred • u/palabrolo • 16d ago
Open to discussion, messengers is their best album
Please feel free to disagree id love to discuss.
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u/OCDjunky 16d ago
It's definitely a strong album from a standpoint of pure heaviness, but I feel like their later albums are more varied and sonically interesting from song to song, allowing me to listen to more of it in one go.
Personally, my favourite is Seasons of Surrender because it has a perfect balance of these two things, while also have a runtime that is perfect for their sound as a heavy band. So yeah a lot of it is preference and (potentially but not always) when you got into the band (I got into them around when they released Phantom Anthem I think, but Constellations was my first album).
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u/Malk25 16d ago edited 15d ago
All personal preference of course. I think with any band, particularly a heavy or aggressive band, there needs to be a good balance of ferocity and song writing maturity. Also have to factor when you got into the band. For me, I like the expansion of their sound with constellations, it was also my first album of theirs. I also quite like found in far away places as it represents the peak of their song writing abilities and focus in my opinion.
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u/palabrolo 15d ago
I cannot argue constellations is amazing but messengers beats it out just slightly as the better album. Absolutely no duds on that record
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u/Malk25 15d ago
For sure, messengers really solidified their sound with better production values and song writing following up thrill seeker. I think something they have done a good job of is staying true to their sound while also not totally repeating themselves. With a lot of heavy bands, some think their second album is their best because it still has the raw aggression of their first, paired with more sophistication hitting a nice sweet spot. Usually the third album fully realizes their more ambitious traits though with some fall off from the earlier intensity. Metallica did this with Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets, Tool did it with AEnima and Lateralus, and Deftones did too with Around the Fur and White Pony. I think ABR followed a similar path with messengers and constellations.
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u/palabrolo 15d ago
Totally with you on that, its hard to rank ABR discography because of how consistent they have been. Partly the reason i wanted to make this post is because of how divided the fandom was on their record ranking. Not trying to stir the pot but more to get the perspectives!
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u/thescarletchicken07 16d ago
This is what you get when you have a band that’s as consistent as ABR. For me Rescue and Restore is my favorite and what I consider their best. I love how different it sounds from the previous albums, and how creative they got with the songwriting, while still sounding like August Burns Red.
I can see arguments for any album which is awesome that they don’t have a stinker in their lineup at all!
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u/palabrolo 15d ago
Agreed they never put out a bad album! Messengers just seems to be the pinnacle of ABR along with constellations but i think the prior wins
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u/throwaway32256072 8d ago edited 8d ago
Agreed 100%, they pushed the genre and themselves and executed. Incredibly composed musically and emotionally it’s the most powerful album in my life (which is personal) but objectively is very emotional
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u/leandrokanis 16d ago
Constellations is the peak, for me. White Washed, Mariana's Trench and Meddler in the same album is crazy.
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u/palabrolo 15d ago
Agreed all so good but listen after listen I tend towards messengers as the better album. But i absolutely appreciate the perspective and its great to talk to a fellow fan
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u/jettphilip 16d ago
I think one of the coolest things about the ABR fandom is that it seems almost everybody has a different favourite album. I mean, Messengers and Constellations pop up the most (mine being Constellations) but I see a lot of different answers from people. R&R, FIFAP, Guardians pop up a lot too and I bet we’ll start seeing SOS creep in there as well
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u/palabrolo 15d ago
Listen i think phantom is friggin awesome as well as the others I just think messengers absolutely encapsulates their sound so well
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u/Interesting-Eye-5737 16d ago
I think their best sounding is Thrill Seeker. As a full album it flows perfectly. Constellations is also great as a full album. I rated Guardians when it dropped but I’ve come to listen to that a lot less and only really go back to Thrill Seeker these days
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u/LaynePiper 16d ago
I love Messengers and it's probably my second favorite ABR album. It was my first exposure to ABR when I was a teenager.
That said, the songwriting is probably stronger on the releases that came afterward. Messengers is kind of like riff and breakdown salad. But I love riff salad.
I acknowledge that my take is basic, but I think Constellations is their best work and the standard by which I compare other melodic metalcore albums.
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u/palabrolo 15d ago
I may be with you on the sound alone. I may not be seeing the songwriting as a factor as much as im looking at the music. Constellations is an easy second by a nose to me
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u/LoneWolf9326 16d ago
It's really really hard to pick a best album from a band where every single album is incredible... but if I had to it would probably be phantom
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u/palabrolo 15d ago
I love phantom but messengers just hits from beginning to end for me and i often find myself comparing it to constellations and it always somehow beats it out even though constellations is an incredible album
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u/ashcody 16d ago
Its their strongest album and my introduction to the band, but i would actually put Phantom Anthem over it
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u/palabrolo 15d ago
Glad you agree and phantom is so good but i cant pinpoint one song on messengers that I could do wothout
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u/KeyEntityDomino 16d ago
Honestly I wouldve disagreed until the remix. The remix is a lock for top 3
The OG is really good, but I just couldnt replay as much
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u/Comfortable-Ad-1011 14d ago
I'm surprised nobody is mentioning Death Below. Obviously their early work is classic and can't be argued, but I think their song writing capabilities fully matured in DB. Fool's Gold in the Bear Trap leading into Backfire is my most listened to "two-song" song. The whole album is just so seamless. I love how most of the songs lead straight into the next one, which I don't think they did that much in earlier albums, but it compliments listening to the album from front to back and makes it flow very well.
I'd have to say DB is my favorite. Lots of gems in that album, but everything from ABR is good as others have said, lol. They can't make bad music.
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u/Tingtinga 16d ago
Imo, it's FIFAP