To misquote Morrissey, “August spawned a monster.” Metalcore titans August Burns Red teamed up with technical death metallers Born of Osiris for this tour for August Burns Red’s latest record, Phantom Anthem, and they just so happened to land at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, the night of Super Bowl Sunday, February 4. It’s typically not a night when any band would want to face the unenviable task of prying fans away from TV screens to come out to a show, but there’s one caveat to that: August Burns Red are natives of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and this year’s Super Bowl showdown just so happened to feature the Philadelphia Eagles.
I’m sure by now most everyone on the planet knows the Eagles defeated the New England Patriots to win their first Super Bowl title ever. Thankfully for August Burns Red, they were still waiting to go on stage when the news broke. It happened during the opening set from Born of Osiris, who prepped the audience like no other could. Frankly, BOO should be headlining shows at this point in their career, so it never felt like they were keeping the seat warm for their tourmates.
Their career-spanning set ran the gamut of what Born of Osiris does best. Pure happenstance led to BOO performing their classic deathcore anthem “Bow Down” right as the Eagles clinched the win, and it was one of the most perfect coincidences imaginable. The Austin audience lost their minds for the track and set the tone for a celebratory night.
August Burns Red, now eight albums deep including a Christmas album of all things, over a decade into their career and Grammy nominated, have their own personal reasons to celebrate. At this point, new albums from the band like Phantom Anthem are in a comfortable zone. The band has figured themselves and their sound out. Now it’s time to reap the rewards.
Having finished a throwback tour celebrating 2007’s classic Messengers, the band’s breakthrough, last year, August Burns Red put a heavy focus on new material. Judging by the ravenous fan reception, Phantom Thread’s comfortability has not turned anyone off. While on the whole their output can tend to sound similar, their fans were clearly loving every moment of it. That Grammy nominated track, “Identity,” particularly stood out as a highlight of the night.
Just as one would expect, the Lancaster band came out to an array of green lighting, decked out in Eagles gear for the duration of the night. Taking the stage for an encore to the Eagles’ theme “Fly, Eagles, Fly,” the band finished out the night with the triumphant Messengers track “Composure.” One has to believe that the win gave them an extra boost on stage, playing their hearts out for adoring fans, and celebrating not only their team’s win, but their own increasingly unimpeachable legacy in the scene.
