''Leveler'' is the fourth studio album by American

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

band

August Burns Red August Burns Red is an American metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, formed in 2003. The band's lineup of guitarists John Benjamin "JB" Brubaker and Brent Rambler, drummer Matt Greiner, lead vocalist Jake Luhrs and bassist Dustin David ...

. It was released on June 21, 2011, through

Solid State Records Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle where it is today. History Brandon Ebel and Michael Knott conceived the label as a joint venture, before Knott backe ...

and was produced by

Jason Suecof Jason Suecof (born April 3, 1980) is an American record producer, audio engineer, and guitarist best known for his work with heavy metal bands such as Trivium, Battlecross, Death Angel, All That Remains, Bury Your Dead, The Black Dahlia Murder ...

Release and promotion

After spending nearly a year touring in support of ''

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'', lead guitarist JB Brubaker announced on July 27, 2010 that the band would be taking a break from touring to begin work on a new album. The band announced that writing for their fourth album was completed on February 12, 2011 and planned to start production two days later. The album's name was revealed the following month. They released the first song, "Empire", on May 16, 2011 on their Facebook page. It was announced on May 14, 2011 that they were shooting a video for "Internal Cannon". They released "Internal Cannon" on May 31, 2011 via Craveonline.com. The "Internal Cannon" video was filmed at an abandoned water pumping station in rural New Jersey that was located four stories underground. They released "Divisions", June 4, 2011 on YouTube and promoted it through their Facebook page. "Poor Millionaire", the ninth track from the album, was released June 14, 2011 on their official website.

Commercial performance

''Leveler'' sold around 29,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 11 on The ''Billboard'' 200 chart. As with their previous album, a special,

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seven-inch vinyl single will be released with the album through their old label,

CI Records CI Records is an independent record label in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, owned by Jeremy Weiss. Originally created to distribute the releases of his band, Stand Up, an early 1990s melodic hardcore band. Weiss also operates the physical record sto ...

, and will be entitled "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". The vinyl is limited to 1000 copies, 400 that are gold-colored, 400 that are white, and 200 that are mixed white-and-gold. The single was released on November 8, 2011.

10th anniversary edition

For the album's 10th anniversary, the band re-recorded it with guest musicians, alternate tunings, and new guitar solos. The anniversary edition was released on May 21, 2021, through the band's own label, ABR Records. On April 21, the same day as the announcement of the 10th anniversary edition, the band released a new version of "Poor Millionaire" featuring guest vocals from Ryan Kirby of

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. On May 6, they released a new version of "Pangaea", that features a guest guitar solo from

Misha Mansoor Misha Mansoor (born October 31, 1984), also known as Bulb after the name of his solo project, is an American musician, best known as the founder of and one of the three guitarists in the progressive metal band Periphery. He is also a part of ...

Periphery Periphery or peripheral may refer to: Music *Periphery (band), American progressive metal band * ''Periphery'' (album), released in 2010 by Periphery *"Periphery", a song from Fiona Apple's album '' The Idler Wheel...'' Gaming and entertainme ...

, as the second single from the 10th anniversary edition.

Track listing

Personnel

August Burns Red *

Jake Luhrs William Jacob Luhrs is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of the metalcore band August Burns Red. He is also the founder and president of HeartSupport, a non-profit mental health organization. Musical background Luhrs was i ...

– lead vocals * JB Brubaker – lead guitar * Brent Rambler – rhythm guitar * Dustin Davidson – bass, backing vocals, additional guitar, pre-production *

Matt Greiner Matthew Wilson Greiner is an American drummer, best known as a founding member of the metalcore band August Burns Red. In 2012, he also cofounded the drum company ''Greiner&Kilmer'' with fellow drummer Kaleb Kilmer. Greiner is an outspoken Chris ...

– drums, piano Additional musicians *

– percussion, additional guitar, production, mixing Additional personnel * Troy Glessner – mastering * Eyal Levi – additional mixing * Jonathan Dunn and Adam Skatula – A&R * Jordan Crane – illustrations *

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– art direction * Ryan Clark – design * Cory Morton – band photography

References

{{Authority control August Burns Red albums 2011 albums Solid State Records albums