Metalcore giants August Burns Red have shared a second taste of their heavily anticipated Leveler: 10th Anniversary Edition with a newly recorded version of “Pangaea.” The track’s new version features a guest guitar solo from legendary Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor. The track’s official stream can be found below.
The Leveler: 10th Anniversary Edition will feature all-new recordings of the classic tracks, with bonus goodies such as new guest appearances, new guitar solos and alternate tunings to add an entirely new spin on the classic album.
“”Pangaea” has always been one of my favorite tracks on Leveler,” says guitarist JB Brubaker. “It may be the most progressive song on the album so it felt like a natural fit to have Misha from Periphery perform on the track. He delivered quite possibly the most head-spinning guitar solo that we’ve ever had on an ABR song. We’re very excited to share this new version of “Pangaea” with everyone, and think fans are going to appreciate the song on a whole new level.”
This single comes as the second glimpse into the Leveler remake, after the group shared the re-recording of “Poor Millionaire” last month, featuring Fit For A King’s Ryan Kirby.
“Leveler is a record we’ve always been proud of, and we wanted to do something special for its ten-year anniversary,” says Brubaker. “We’ve done some cool remix projects for previous albums when they’ve turned 10, but with Leveler, we decided to kick things up a notch. COVID has kept us off the road for such a long time that we found ourselves with a rare opportunity to take on this unique project.”
He continues, “We dove into this record and dissected the songs, rewriting solos, changing the tunings, adding new textures and elements, and got a few of our friends to do some guest spots as well. Our longtime producers Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland handled the recording/mixing and helped us take Leveler to new sonic heights. I think this is the best-sounding ABR record we’ve ever made, and it’s going to allow people to experience the record in a whole new way. I can’t wait to share this with everyone.”
In addition to the album’s newly re-recorded version, the group will also be hosting a livestream concert to celebrate its release. The stream will take place on May 22nd at 5PM PT/8PM ET, and will feature the band playing Leveler in full, alongside an encore of some fan favourites from Constellations. Tickets and merch bundles are available here.
Leveler: 10th Anniversary Edition will be available digitally May 21, and will be self-released via ABR Records. Pre-order it here.