August Burns Red preview their new album Season Of Surrender with Sonic Salvation featuring Polaris frontman Jamie Hails as the band prepares for a 2026 Australia and New Zealand tour
by Paul Cashmere
August Burns Red have released a new single and video, Sonic Salvation, featuring Jamie Hails of Polaris, as the Pennsylvania metalcore band build towards the arrival of their next studio album Season Of Surrender on June 5 via Fearless Records.
The track lands as a key early statement from the album, arriving alongside confirmation that the band will return to Australia and New Zealand later this year for a headline tour, their first in the region in several years and their first New Zealand shows in more than a decade.
Sonic Salvation functions as both a musical and thematic entry point into Season Of Surrender. Built around tightly controlled breakdowns, layered guitar interplay and chant-driven choruses, the song reflects a deliberate structural shift aimed at foregrounding vocalist Jake Luhrs while retaining the band’s established technical framework. Guitarist JB Brubaker said the track was the first composition completed for the record.
“Sonic Salvation was the first song I wrote for Season Of Surrender,” Brubaker said. “I set out to write a song that created more space for Jake vocally and leaned a little more into our hardcore influences. I love how this song came out and Jamie’s guest vocal really takes it over the top for me.”
Luhrs positioned the song’s lyrical focus within the broader culture of heavy music. “Sonic Salvation is about finding power and strength in music,” he said. “The fact that music can bring us back to a memory, help us decompress from the outside world and how music is what has created our world that is the metal scene.”
The accompanying video extends that idea by incorporating fan-shot performances and participation clips, reinforcing the band’s long-standing emphasis on community within the metalcore audience. It also reflects a broader trend in heavy music, where fan integration and direct engagement have become central to release campaigns in the streaming era.
Season Of Surrender will be the band’s first album since 2023’s Death Below and marks a return to Fearless Records, the label associated with several of their earlier career peaks. The record includes additional guest appearances from Mike Hranica of The Devil Wears Prada and members of Make Them Suffer, signalling a continued alignment with both established and emerging voices in the genre.
Season Of Surrender Track Listing:
Legions [Feat. Mike Hranica]
The Nameless
Behemoth
Den of Thieves
Sonic Salvation [Feat. Jamie Hails]
Cerebral Malfunction [Feat. Make Them Suffer]
Tear of the Clouds
Whispers Like Splinters
S.O.S.
New Horizons
Forged by Failure
Formed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 2003, August Burns Red have maintained one of the most stable line-ups in modern heavy music, with Luhrs, Brubaker, Brent Rambler, Dustin Davidson and Matt Greiner together since 2006. Their 2007 breakthrough Messengers established their presence internationally, while subsequent albums including Constellations and Rescue & Restore expanded their audience and chart performance.
Across more than two decades, the band has navigated the evolution of metalcore from a niche subculture into a globally recognised touring and streaming category. Alongside contemporaries such as Killswitch Engage and Parkway Drive, August Burns Red helped define a technically driven variant of the genre characterised by complex rhythmic structures and precision-focused guitar work.
Industry recognition has included two Grammy nominations for Best Metal Performance, underscoring their consistency within a genre often defined by rapid stylistic turnover. While many bands from the late-2000s metalcore surge have either reduced output or shifted direction, August Burns Red have maintained a steady release cycle and touring presence.
The collaboration with Polaris vocalist Jamie Hails also reflects the increasing cross-pollination between American and Australian heavy acts. Polaris, one of Australia’s most prominent modern metalcore exports, have built a strong international following in recent years, and their connection with August Burns Red dates back to previous touring cycles.
For audiences in Australia and New Zealand, the upcoming tour will serve as the first opportunity globally to see material from Season Of Surrender performed in a full headline setting. The shows also underline the sustained demand for legacy metalcore acts who continue to produce new work rather than relying solely on catalogue performances.
With Sonic Salvation now released and the album imminent, August Burns Red enter the next phase of a career that has balanced technical ambition with audience connection. As the band prepares to return to the southern hemisphere, the new material will be tested in a live environment that has long been central to their identity.
The Season Of Surrender album is released June 5.
August Burns Red Season Of Surrender Tour Australia & New Zealand 2026
Sunday 27 September, Perth, Freo Social 18+
Tuesday 29 September, Adelaide, The Gov Lic AA
Thursday 1 October, Melbourne, 170 Russell 18+
Friday 2 October, Sydney, Liberty Hall Lic AA
Saturday 3 October, Newcastle, King St Bandroom 18+
Sunday 4 October, Brisbane, The Tivoli 18+
Wednesday 7 October, Wellington, San Fran 18+
Thursday 8 October, Auckland, Powerstation 18+
Tickets from destroyalllines.com
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