Jake Luhrs' Dream Collaborator Has Already Worn Band's T-Shirt

Who is at the top of Jake Luhrs' dream collaborator list? The August Burns Red frontman revealed to Full Metal Jackie on her weekend radio show that it's someone he's already spotted previously wearing his band's shirt, so he's ready to manifest it and put it out there into the world.

"Post Malone used to be a big metal guy and there is a photograph of him, I think, playing guitar in his local metal band that maybe he had started with an August Burns Red shirt on," shared Luhrs with Jackie. "Obviously, he has taken his art form and his craft and gone in a different direction, which I think is great and I'm a fan of that. But I think it would be a pretty wild collaboration to have Post Malone on a metalcore song of ours. But that's wishful thinking, but a cool, cool dream nonetheless." It's your move, Posty!

Speaking of collaborators, the new August Burns Red album Season of Surrender has some good ones in The Devil Wears Prada's Mike Hranica, Polaris' Jamie Hails and Make Them Suffer. We get into the new album with Luhrs and talk about the heavier and more personal nature of the the record.

Luhrs also shares some of what his physical preparation is like for a tour, speaks to his desire about touring with veteran acts as opposed to up and comers and we put him on the spot asking for his Mount Rushmore of metalcore albums.

Check out more of the chat below.

It's Full Metal Jackie, and I'm excited to welcome back to the show Jake Luhrs of August Burns Red. The band, of course, back with their 11th studio album, Season of Surrender. It's one of their heaviest records to date. And I know every band has their own process when it comes to music and lyrics, but was it a conscious effort to take it heavier? Was there something that sort of spurred that direction of this album?

I think coming up to this record, we all kind of sat down and wanted to talk through what kind of record did we want to write. I feel like there's so many opportunities when you're at that door of like, "Hey, do we wanna branch out and go outside of the box here, and go down this path? Or do we want to..." I just feel like there's so many different outwardly things. Follow a trend maybe. And so those are outward looks of opportunities to write something different.

But I think we wanted to just kind of look inward and dig deeper into ABR. Like, what is August Burns Red? And let's dig a little deeper and see what we can find. And so that's what we ended up doing.

August Burns Red, "Behemoth"

Jake, looking at the first two songs that were released for this record, "Behemoth" and "The Nameless," one is about breaking old habits and taking accountability, while the other is breaking free from past mindsets and having the openness to go against the comfortable way of thinking. This leads me to think it's a more personal record for you. Can you speak a bit to where those songs came from and what it meant to have music as your platform to get those messages out?

Yeah. So "The Nameless" is about kind of not being in a box. I feel like I'm in the world where I feel like I'm a black sheep. I don't fit the box, a, political box. I don't fit organized religion. I don't fit really in any of these types of things that I feel like the world is like, "Hey, you need to be like this. You need to speak like this. You need to think like this."

I think when we put ourselves in a box like that, we start to strip away the uniqueness of who we are as a person. And I think that that uniqueness is actually what we should be striving to find within ourselves because that uniqueness is what I believe we were created to live out. I feel very strongly about that. And so that's kind of where the lyrics came from. I'm tired of trying to be something I'm not. I wanna be myself and I wanna encourage others to be themselves.

And then with "Behemoth," that was really kind of talking about how I was raised and the traumatic experiences I had as a kid kind of almost telling me how to live my life.

And I guess with kind of like death being in the song, we're talking about death being my father. So it's almost like these negative experiences kind of created me to be something. And then as I grew up to be a man, I realized I didn't want to be those things and I didn't want my past to create my path forward in the future and my identity. And so I had to face a lot of the stuff in my life, either heal from them, cut ties with them in order to be the person that I wanted to be, right? And not let my pain live out my life but be more of who I am, be able to do that. So that's really where those songs come from.

They're very much real experiences in my life personally. I just wanna encourage other people to look in deeper into themselves and see that there's an invitation for a decision to be made here and I wanna encourage them to do that.

Jake, we were just talking a bit about the, the power of music as a platform and one of your more recent songs from the album, "Sonic Salvation," feels like a love letter to music itself. While, yes, music is your job where you make your living, it can be so much more than that. Outside of what it's provided you as a career, what has music meant to you in your everyday life?

Man, music is therapeutic for me. It's definitely something that I listen to throughout the day, very dependent on what I'm doing. If I need to be encouraged, if I'm trying to calm down, music is a powerful tool. And I think we see that it has a lot of power to unite people, right?

I mean, look at shows, for example. Look at all these people are in one room all together. They have no idea who they are. They don't know each other. And they're all fixated on this song because it's done something to them. It's connected them or maybe it's encouraged them or made them feel a certain way about life and they resonate with it.

And I think that that shows That's a testament to the power of music and how it shapes and can encourage us in our lives. And so, yeah, I think music is a source of therapy and I think it's a good tool for community and unification.

This album features a trio of pretty cool collaborations. Obviously, the guest has to fit the song, but assuming all factors were to fall into place, do you have a dream collaboration? You know, someone you'd love to get on an August Burns Red track or you guest on someone else's music? I'm giving you a chance to call your shot and manifest it.

Well, I've been laughed at for this, which is okay. That's fine. But Post Malone used to be a big metal guy and there is a photograph of him, I think, playing guitar in his local metal band that maybe he had started with an August Burns Red shirt on.

Obviously, he has taken his art form and his craft and gone in a different direction, which I think is great and I'm a fan of that. But I think it would be a pretty wild collaboration to have Post Malone on a metalcore song of ours.

But that's wishful thinking, but a cool, cool dream nonetheless.

Jake, I remember a few years back you opened a gym to put focus on both mental and physical wellbeing. And obviously, as much time and effort as you guys put into touring, the physical health needs to be a constant. What is a typical Jake Luhrs day like when you're getting prepared for touring? Is there a routine or anything you do to get yourself ready for the grind of the road?

Yes, there is. There's a lot of cardio involved. And I usually work out on the road maybe three to five days a week. So I like to get to a gym maybe a couple hours before we perform, just to get my body prepared, blood flowing, heart rate going up, get a nice sweat.

And eating is a big deal. I think having some form of healthy food, because you never really know what you're gonna get on the road and you wanna start off strong. So I try to get meals, healthy meals in for at least a month before we hit tour.

it's kinda normal for me to do that, but I'm very much focused a month before tour to try to get my mind focused on don't pick that up. Don't eat that. Don't go to the snack drawer. Because I do.

I'm an entertainer just as much as I'm an artist, and I wanna respect the fact that people are coming to see a show. They want a show and they pay good money for that and it's a part of what I do. So I wanna stay on top of my game and working out and eating healthy is definitely a part of the routine.

Jake Luhrs of August Burns Red is my guest on the show. Lots of touring this year. Obviously, you had the Amity Affliction tour earlier this year, and you're back here with Underoath in November. At now 20-plus years in, I'm sure you've played with some of the greats in your genre. As a music fan at this stage in your career, do you more enjoy touring with bands that have had a similar career longevity and shared experiences, or do you like seeing what the newer bands are bringing to keep metalcore alive and going strong?

I love both because some is nostalgic. Some of the older bands kind of understand maybe our position and where we are. And then there's friends that we've toured with throughout the years multiple times, so of course we love to see them.

But I really enjoy watching these up-and-comers, some of these guys that are really on the map right now and seeing what they're doing with it, because we need that. We need uniqueness. We need you to push the envelope. We need you to go the extra mile. We need you to think outside the box, because that's what keeps the genre moving forward. It's what keeps it fun and exciting. I always think it's cool to admire someone, but if you're gonna be here, I would love for you to be yourself, 'cause that's what I'm interested in.

I'm interested in hearing you write a song or you scream a line or you write a lyric. I'm not interested in hearing you doing something that I've already heard or that someone else is doing. And quite honestly, when we think about it a little deeper, if that person is doing it, they're probably doing it really well, 'cause they're known for it.

So I'd love for you to do something different and I want you to be the best at that. And that's what you are, who are you? Show us that and be a part of the family and grow the genre.

August Burns Red are right there in the conversation of the bands with biggest impact in metalcore over the years. I'm gonna save you having to include yourself, but if you had a Mount Rushmore of metalcore albums, what are the four you'd be choosing?

I think Hopesfall, No Wings to Speak Of. That's number one for me. Norma Jean, Bless the Martyr, Kiss the Child is a number two. I think Underoath, Define the Great Line would be would be up there. As I Dying, An Ocean Between Us.

Now I also understand my picks are very much American metalcore.

There could be anything from Between The Buried and Me, but I would say maybe Alaska.

Put you on the spot here, I know.

Yep, you did. Because there's so many great records, I would say Hatebreed Perseverance, I believe is the record. Yeah, I think that that would be the one because for me, personally, they were in the beginning era of American metalcore pioneering a very specific sound that I think resonated and had a ripple effect in where we are today.

And so I think that those bands would be my four.

Jake, I'm no math major, but with 2005 being the first album and being 11 records in, that's a lot of creativity packed in with little time off. There are highs and lows in every band. I wanted to ask: What was your favorite time being a member of this band? And I ask this question a lot. I'm not asking necessarily for the best album, but more just the best and most enjoyable album and tour cycle that you had.

I would say any time we toured with A Day to Remember, we've had a blast. We did As I Lay Dying tour when they released An Ocean Between Us, and that was just such a great season because at that time, that band was extremely healthy and we just had so much fun on the road.

We were young and we kinda didn't know what we were doing. Bu that dynamic of just kinda being in awe of this lifestyle. But if I can be honest, and I know this kinda sounds silly, I would say it's now. I would say it's like the past two, three years has been great because we've gotten through the crap and we are all adults. We're all adult men and we've fought very hard for each other. And so we're all on our A game, man. Like, we're all excited to be here. We're all sharpening our craft and we don't take it for granted. We wanna make an impact and we're very passionate about who we are.

So I think, honestly, which is very crazy after 20 years, I think it's right now. Honestly, it's like this very moment.

August Burns Red. The new record is Season of Surrender. Lots of touring on deck. Jake, it's so great to chat with you and I really wish you the best. I appreciate you taking the time.

Thanks to August Burns Red's Jake Luhrs for the interview. 'Season of Surrender' is out now. You can stay up to date with all things August Burns Red through their website, Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok. Find out where you can hear Full Metal Jackie's weekend radio show here.

Below, see whatever happened to rock and metal's class of 2005.