There are certain things that just shouldn’t go together. Fish and ice cream. Snow and bicycles. And metalcore mixed with late ’90s TRL-style pop. But somehow August Burns Red, the loud thrashers from Lancaster, Penn., took Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” and turned it into a screamo concert set piece. The band, which currently contains five members, plays loud and heavy. Even when covering the Christmas classic “Carol of the Bells,” it feels like these nice Christian boys just might punch you in the mouth if you cross them wrong.
Of course, while covers are nice, the band has plenty of originals. “Identity” off 2015’s Found In Far Away Places features an almost spaghetti Western-like guitar breakdown followed by a completely different beat-down of a guitar solo and a raging refrain of “Stop living in denial / Stop loving the lie.” Its video shows an animated sea of angry creatures with live action band members. It’s another strange juxtaposition that the group has somehow made work.
Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq, 6 p.m. Jan. 26, starting at $23 plus fee. 702.862.2695
