To start the review I like to mention a phone conversation I had with a friend last week, the friend had decided to ring me at 1am and proclaim to me that 'Constellations' by August Burns Red was probably his favourite record of 2009 so far. Considering that friend is a bigger fan of metalcore than me I thought I’ll keep it in mind for when it came time for the review.

August Burns Red first came to my attention with their cover of Britney Spears on the ‘Punk Goes Pop II’ compilation and all things considered [given the context] it was a funny re-imaging of the song but, would August be able to keep that momentum going for a full album?

As soon as ‘Thirty And Seven’ kicked in I knew that the doubt was going to go away, the breakdowns created by Matt Grenier’s drumming and the guitars of JB Brubaker and Brent Rambler create not just a metal core effect but on songs such as ‘Marianas Trench’ and ‘Indonesia’ a slightly progressive vibe.

Vocally Jake Luhrs has improved in diversity since the cover I heard and having Tommy Rogers from Between The Buried And Me on Indonesia shows he can go well alongside his peers.

It sounds like August Burns Red have taken Between The Buried and Me's style and adapted it in their on way and into their own terms, making an album that shows excellent growth and is a worthy contender to the "best of" lists later in the year.

A very good album from rising stars.