Death metal guitarist learns August Burns Red

[@augustburnsred]

Honestly we’ve been trying to learn this riff for 15 years.

[@JxyDBD]

JB Tutorial when?

[@TheHumanSantapede]

To the eggroom!

[@Juice_Gone_Wild]

You should give those Timo and Gustavo guys a call. I'm sure they'd nail it.

[@DeanLamb]

🤣

[@charliemackenzie7336]

After listening to ABR for near on 15 years now there is one word to describe trying to learn anything they play and it's "uncomfortable". it's like there are 3 people playing by themselves and then Matt Greiner comes in and plays some stupid ass thing on the drums and it just sounds amazing.

[@tylerwilson4951]

August Burns Red's Christmas music is a staple for me every holiday season. It's genuinely good holiday music.

[@christiankoke7969]

Haha, our mother forced us to listen to Christmas music every year on the drive to our grandparents (7 hour drive). So it was Last Christmas and Michael Bublé on repeat. Because it was her car and so her rules. Now we own the cars and it is ABR Christmas classics on repeat! (Glad she made her peace with it)

[@ChrysTheMusicianReacts]

Composure was the first time I heard ABR and I was locked in. I’d never heard such diversity in the breakdowns and the drumming was insane!

[@JyggalagTheGrey]

I've made it my mission to play Composure on guitar note perfect this year, and while it's far from their most intricate song, it's tough to nail. It doesn't let up start to finish. The riffage on Messengers is just unbelievably addictive. The drums and breakdowns make me want to break shit every time.

[@ChrysTheMusicianReacts]

@@JyggalagTheGrey when I learned the first breakdown from Composure on the drums, I was practically bricked up it was so exciting! 🤘 😤

[@njsteere]

That intro riff from the 1st to 4th string and back is such a weird angular jump for me, but so fun to nail

[@WeAllFloatHere]

@@JyggalagTheGreyi bought the tab book and learned the entire album, and have covered over half of it so far on my channel. It’s been a dream of mine to learn it since i picked up guitar in about 2010. I grew up on that album (first full metal album i owned). Let me tell you, learning that album was the biggest challenge of my guitar playing life so far. It’s absurd how oddly put together the songs are and how difficult some of the riffs are. Yet, it remains a masterpiece to this day

[@kirisutegomen12]

August Burns Red is great. Phinehas too

[@brimzw]

You should do an interview with JB Brubaker. There are a lot of ABR riffs that are fantastic and really interestingly written just like this song.

[@Jess3THPS]

2nded. Jb is easily one of my favorite guitarists and it was incredible seeing Dean tackle some of his writing.

[@adamdriskelldriskellmusic]

I love and will stan ABR for the rest of my days. It is also fun seeing such a talented guitarist's approach to learning another hard song. While ABR isn't underrated, their lead player certainly is. One of the bests in metalcore. This was a very fun watch!

[@jordanarriola8649]

Ironically their best guitarist and songwriter is their formal bassist Dustin Davidson lol. JB and Brent are sick with it too of course

[@andrewfoster35]

That entire album is full of non skippable songs. Really awesome record

[@lovefillsthevoid]

Watching you in this series of videos is incredibly affirming and encouraging as a guitarist who struggles with motivation around practice and growth. As a full time employee, student, father of 3, etc. sometimes I struggle with feeling like it's not worth it in the minimal time I have to play at this stage of life. But watching you work through things (even riffs that seem relatively straightforward compared to Archspire material) and seeing that you, in your virtuosic reality also have to work through things with repetition is so affirming. Thank you for being a human, sharing your journey and inspiring me to continue playing.

[@metalmikebot]

I just want to say this comment is one of the most relatable things ever. Dean plays some pretty godlike stuff, so seeing him learn and struggle and recognizing that it's a process no matter where you are? That's encouraging af.

[@seanempson1099]

this!

[@electromancer2645]

This is a major issue among modern musicians. We only see the results of many takes or many many hours of practice and weigh ourselves only against the RESULTS of those many takes or many hours of practice. Modern tech is both a help and a hinderance, a blessing and a curse.

[@DogeDelecto]

Oh man, Dean, this makes me so obscenely happy, to the point where i choked up a little. That riff in particular holds a lot of meaning for me, for spiritual reasons mostly. ABR were labelmates with my uncles band ( Solid State, the CM subsidary for christian bands at the time), so i got to see them start out as a semi-local act ( I lived only a couple hours away from their hometown) and know them a little bit on a personal level. That aside, ABR are the Archspire of '00-10 Metalcore, IMHO. I bet if you reached out to JD and Brent, they would be willing to do a "four levels of ABR" video for/with you and Claine. I think you and her would find them to be kindred spirits on both a personal and musical level. Thank you for this, Dean.

[@kris_kwas]

A 4 levels video would be so awesome

[@Lloocii]

They really love to mess around with meter. I mostly play piano with guitar as a side hobby, so I really loved the Boys of Fall piano cover by Zachery Veilleux off their Deluxe edition of Leveler

[@Figerofskzi]

What band was your uncle in? I used to listen to ss bands all the time in my high school years.

[@AugustBurnsSam]

I would probably tear up at 4 Levels Of ABR, man. I don't listen to them a lot anymore but they will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@DogeDelecto]

@@AugustBurnsSam Same. I never got to know them well, beyond our BRIEF interactions, and really didn't appreciate them until i was in my 20's. I was still in the process of exiting my " RAWR, TECH DEATH AND OLDSKOOL ONLY!" phase. 16 year old me would have been stunned by the irony of them becoming one of those "DUDE YOUR MUSIC SAVED MY LIFE!" kinda acts for me in my 20's.

[@danielagu6185]

It’s so interesting to see how a tech death guitarist is struggling with material that is not on the difficulty level of their own material. However, I get what Dean says when referring to different writing styles. To be fair within their respective genre ABR have quite challenging riffs and solos and they are definitely known for their off beat and syncopated rhythms. I’m really exited to see more of the series and I think you did really well here! ABR have been one of my favourite bands for a long time and you giving them praise warms my heart. Please keep it up! 💪

[@donquixote8462]

ABR absolutely has stuff on the level of difficulty of some tech death. They use lots of odd meter, syncopation and polyrhythms with some very odd phrasing. Rationalist for example at the end of this album has lots of advanced stuff

[@edima]

The fact that you've never listened to ABR was fascinating to me. They are such a fast and progressive metalcore band that would sound right up your alley. Learning any of their songs is such a treat because of how they mess with time and meter. One of the bands that taught me the importance of playing to a metronome. Lotta love for those boys.

[@sammy-whirl8500]

Leveler is the album that got my attention. They are top tier metalcore. Still, they're not comparable with prog bands like pth and btbam

[@technicaldeathmetalhead]

​@@sammy-whirl8500 they have metalcore elements but are so different, they're like technical or melodic metalcore

[@sammy-whirl8500]

@@technicaldeathmetalhead yes, adjectives

[@technicaldeathmetalhead]

@@sammy-whirl8500 adjectives do be describing

[@sammy-whirl8500]

@@technicaldeathmetalhead no doubt

[@westos]

Cannot wait for when it lands on Shadow of Intent

[@Urvos]

He did shadow of intent a while ago in a slightly different format

[@havenless3551]

Already got Intervals and Sylosis, I'm holding out for Veil of Maya

[@killahasbigrpk8711]

polyphia gonna kill him lmao. Shadow of intent is gonna be sick tho

[@Wooz36]

Was hooked to ABR the first time I heard meddler. what a banger.

[@Ryo7_7]

Same 🤘

[@elnombre91]

Yeah, when I first listened to Constellations I was sold. What an amazing album.

[@stronk9760]

It was Beauty In Tragedy for me lol

[@DaBoXBabY]

Meddler is forever my jam. Can't wait to hear it again and get in the pit at CBR.

[@richardsager842]

Was really hoping that was the one he would do. Nik Nocturnal did a sick cover of meddler and that’s how I learned how to play it.

[@goblin3810]

2 complete different eras of my life combined. Crazy. Not the riff I would chosen for sure.

[@Thevitamindealer]

Being the old man that I am I would’ve chosen something off of Messengers lol

[@goblin3810]

@@Thevitamindealer thrill seeker for me

[@Thegearsofwar2268]

Yeah I would've chosen back burner or Indonesia for sure lol

[@C_GOODIES]

@@goblin3810 yup, Consumer!

[@AugustBurnsSam]

Dude ten thousand percent me too. ABR was my real introduction into metal and my taste has only grown and evolved since 2013.

[@ThtGuyWtThBeard]

ABR was the band that got me into modern metal, that was sick to watch. I love this series so far!!

[@poino87]

Hearing you say youve never listened to ABR made me realise... I've never listened to Archspire and ive been watching you for about 6 months 😬 fixing that now

[@Smallsguitarshop]

Yes you need to fix yourself 😂

[@shaharbar]

Wear some adult diapers, because it will make you shit yourself

[@technicaldeathmetalhead]

Check out "Reverie on the Onyx"

[@AugustBurnsSam]

SACRILEGE jk, enjoy bro ❤

[@EeekItsSnek]

​@technicaldeathmetalhead thats been my morning alarm for almost a year

[@duhmeir]

I love this. Dean, you’re the reason I got back into playing guitar back in 2020. Your hour long videos where you learn riffs gave me a perspective on how to break music down and make it not so overwhelming. Plus watching someone as good at the guitar as you struggle with riffs gave me the motivation to play stuff out of my comfort zone. I learned about sheet happens through you and over the course of a year managed to learn August Burns Reds Messengers album all the way through, so thanks! It’s funny, the issues you ran into with this riff are all the same issues I had as well. Hope to see more ABR in the future!

[@sparkyhobo1]

30 and 7 was a wild choice wow, I'm happy with it I love Dean and ABR so I am happy

[@toemasmeems]

DEAN i honestly think you might've stumbled on something special here it was awesome to watch you learn a metal genre that youre not so familiar with but that was still challenging, almost like a more interactive "reaction" video

[@tristanyoungquist]

I’m blown away that Dean can play guitar with armrests on his office chair.

[@toemasmeems]

THIS bahaha very good point sir

[@deadtotheworld936]

JB is underrated as a guitarist so much. I wouldn't even try honestly. Been a fan since Messengers. Love you man and Archspire as well. New sub

[@jonathanmason2297]

ABR helped me see that metal could be more than Slipknotesque personality defining bands. I could just be a guy who likes metal and didn't have to wear a certain kind of clothing or change my hair or whatever. As a budding drummer in the early 2000s, it was inspiring to see regular dudes killing it in the metal world. I was young and impressionable and hadn't gotten that from NuMetal or black metal bands or all the scene stuff back then. I could just focus on being a better musician and forget the image.

[@ModernBuilds]

Constellations is on of my favorite albums and I’m glad you approve 🤘🏼🤘🏼.

[@suckslip]

Awesome to see you here Mike!

[@StahliCell]

August burns red gives me goosebumps in a way it's hard to find nowadays, i'm so happy you got to listen to even just a small section of their music...

[@reptilianaliengamedev3612]

Yeah August Burns Red been beast for a long time. Amazing to see live. You should check out their whole album Messengers it is one of the best metalcore albums of all times. Cover to cover not a bad song on it.

[@MrKrazyKap]

I love JB's writing and unique riffs, ever since the first album. Combined with matt's drumming they have so much good stuff in the band

[@PeJota615]

Great choice. Their lead guitarist is oftentimes playing leads throughout large chunks of the song, so much melody is layered into their songs. Memorizing all that is pretty nuts.

[@Aleblood]

Man, I LOVE ABR. Constellations blew me away as a lad, I finally got to see those guys in 2014 for Self Help Festival. I already really liked them, but when I saw Jake river dancing while whirling the mic overhead during White Washed, I was a fan for life. I see them every time I can now

[@sammy-whirl8500]

Probably the most respectable band I saw at warped tour 2014. Besides the aquabats obv

[@jnthxn_]

yup!! this band, black dahlia & volumes were the bands that blew me away at warped tour 2014

[@PrestigeWorldwideNAM]

Dean taking the words out of my mouth when it comes to learning ABR songs. Very flowy and finger position is key to maintain that flowy-ness.

[@heavenly2k]

5:34 lol wtf is this wholesome ass smile as you play angelic music

[@Dyerdrummer]

love ABR top 5 live bands I have ever seen. Also Matt is one of my favorite drummers. Drum parts are always very thought out and creative. Great content brother blessings

[@ethereal2706]

That was sick! Brings back a lot of memories learning some ABR riffs!

[@alispie]

Learning one riff from an August Burns Red song is smart. Saves you the trouble of having to learn the 4-5 different variations of the same riff that they love to do throughout their songs😅. Learning ABR is a pain in the ass

[@bphil1994]

I love that even with a sheethappens sponsorship you're honest about taking learning off paper to really internalize stuff. Awesome stuff! 🤘

[@greglane334]

Unexpected but awesome. I love ABR. Still waiting for the wheel to land on Protest the Hero damnit.

[@dannycook4393]

This is my go to song to play when I’m bored. A rollercoaster all the way through. Never really repeats and is insanely fun too play

[@BaldorfBreakdowns]

Seeing really highly skilled guitarist struggle with an "easier" riff has always been interesting to me. As a self taught guitarist, I always found it odd that the learned guitarists I played with would struggle with riffs I wrote, but it's probably for the same reasons Dean mentions here. My writing style is just very different than how a learned guitarist would write. Very cool!

[@ssj20over]

It's so interesting how you hybrid pick those fast alternate picking riffs. It looks easier on the stamina, for sure

[@kodileecalvert7139]

Live they are one of the most talented/disciplined bands for this style metal they literally sound identical to there albums maybe even better without all the backing tracks, highly underrated band

[@alvarobriceno4500]

This was awesome. You’re the best. One of my favourite songs off one of my favourite albums. They fucking slap.

[@BennDover653]

The fact they never run out of ideas for interesting lead parts like this after all these years is wild

[@neilkennethofficial]

And the fact that Dustin always has his bag of tricks (yes, he also plays guitar and you better listen to Pangea, Count It All As Lost, Sincerity, Everlasting Ending, Lifeline, Ties That Bind, etc.) keeps the longevity of this band!

[@TerminalM193]

My best friend has played bass for abr for years and years now! I'll never forget when he was accepted, I was so proud of him! Sadly I hardly ever get to spend time with Dustin anymore...

[@GuyManley]

Dean learning some metalcore. Neat.

[@metalcorefan93]

It honestly should've been the opening riff to this song that you learned, still one of my favorites to play and flows so nicely. Every song on this album has incredible riffs worth learning!

[@martynelson3013]

That was great! Thank You so much! 🩸😎🗝

[@Lectwar6]

I'm a HUGE august burns red fan because of how important they've been for me with learning guitar. And for similar reasons I love Protest the Hero. I was smiling ear to ear through this whole video.

[@seditious1627]

Great video and playing! ABR would suit a 4 Levels video really well as they’ve got a huge variety of riffs in their discography. Would love to see that happen

[@spishyofficial]

This is why music has always been fascinating to me. If you asked me "Hey, Dean Lamb is about to learn an ABR riff. Do you think it'll be easy for him?", I'd have immediately said YES. ABR are phenomenal musicians, but Dean is an absolute powerhouse and I'd so quickly assume he'd coast right through. Well, here he is going 'Wait a sec--' and 'Oooh... I'm not gonna worry too much about that part' 😂 This is amazing and anyone who assumes that one genre is just automatically less or more talented and skilled than another... doesn't know what they're talking about. If a metalcore band can make Dean Lamb go 'Dafuq??'... well, that's simply the power of music!

[@technicaldeathmetalhead]

It's about time!!! My most played bands intersect!!

[@jasterbobafett555]

This was an awesome one. Love you and archspire but this is one of my all time favorite bands. Glad you covered it!

[@Law0fRevenge]

Man, ABR riffs just have so much character. So technical yet melodic. Also, kind of a common thing for them to basically play a guitar solo as a rhythm part lmao

[@benjaminmarks9604]

ABR my favourite band. I hope you checked out more of their music after this and how wild some of JBs riffs get.

[@brandonlyman7256]

5:10 almost sounds like the ending to "hearts burst into fire". Same tone, crazy.

[@JUSTSOPISSEDOFF]

I love your band! You guys are great! I am NEVER going to look at your bands tabs Dean. Most of us never will.

[@CyberManor]

Please try to learn a riff from Messengers like from Composure or Up Against The Ropes!

[@BelugaTheHutt]

9:25 JB has stated in interviews that his writing process - at least early on during ABR's career - was tab-first, learn second. This is likely part of why his musical ideas sounded very different from most other prominent guitarists of the genre, but also why many of the riffs are surprisingly difficult to play. Nowadays, it's more common for a certain branch of guitarists to favor writing by tab and then learning later, but it wasn't so common to do that back in the mid 2000s. I have a similar experience every time I have to learn one of my own riffs, because I write primarily on piano, which is my native instrument. Writing new material comes so much more naturally on piano, and I don't want to hamper my own creative process by forcing myself to stick to an instrument which I've never felt totally confident writing on. So as a result, the riffs I come up with can sound cool, but they are frequently awkward to play, and take longer-than-average to learn.

[@heylookitsn0ah]

YES!! Abr has been one of my favourite bands since highschool, very stoked to see you learning their stuff! I will say though, a song like provisions, empire, or marianas trench might have been more fun!

[@stronk9760]

ABR is the band that transitioned me in to “heavier” stuff. They remain one of my favorites

[@cosmicowl4799]

I’ve seen ABR live a bunch of times, and aside from being incredible, I’m always impressed that they can keep track of so many of their riffs. They write so melodically that some of their songs are like 4 minute solos. I don’t have the patience to try to learn them note for note

[@DinkyMax]

Such an iconic album!! You should definitely give a listen to some more ABR Dean!

[@gabrielaquino734]

I’d love to see Dean learning Rationalist by ABR, what a busy song to play. Great video!

[@SamuelSalo]

Watching dean learn some of their more "techy" riffs from something like backburner/mariana's trench would be so sick!

[@TheNotDone]

Dean with another banger comin' in hot from the top rope! Hope we can see the monster riff from Leprous "Red" make an appearance at some point.

[@XBlaqKrowX]

Very nice dean, appreciate the tips on learning complex stuff quickly. Getting it off the page is super important

[@shadowsmustfall1]

Lots of great ABR riffs. One of their best is the opening riff to the Escape Artist. Very death metal.

[@samman623]

The August Burns Red Christmas metal album Sleddin Hill is rad, check it out for the holidays.

[@bestvolibearuseast]

this album and the devil wears prada with roots above and branches below are my all time favorites

[@HCollard17]

WE WANT MORE ABR !!!!!

[@Markenzie]

Awesome to see you play my favorite band and a song ive covered. 🎉

[@NandoGilMetal]

ABR put on 1 of the best live shows I've ever seen. Fantastic band! 🔥

[@AndreasJacobson]

In my humble opinion, this is the GOAT metalcore album. I'll never get tired of it, and never get tired of playing indonesia on guitar.

[@777malkavian]

Ah man, if it's SheetHappens-sponsored, that means the Dahlia riffs will only be from Verminous, since that's the only tabbook they have :( I like it, but there are soo many bangers in the older albums.

[@Doombot2point0]

Ah man :( So many of them are really fun to play too! But still good choices as always!

[@proletariatbourgeoisie9929]

I would be absolutely pumped to see Dean do one of these for Forgotten Arrows by Gorguts

[@JordanExplores97]

I’ve spent hours and hours playing and learning Thirty and Seven on guitar. One of my favorite songs of all time.

[@MarkNuuuuuutt]

Would love to watch you learn some of the lead parts from While She Sleeps. Super super unique

[@Rufeorufeo]

Love the videos Dean! Can’t wait to see you guys live

[@thegougler]

invisible enemy has some killer riffs too.

[@grlzPlays]

@DeanLamb you NEED to check out Summoning the lich! These guys are amazing and have two of the catchiest albums I've ever heard.

[@lebarak69]

My two favorite metal genres together! Techdeath and melocore

[@Oh_its_Mike]

I remember trying to learn all of Ocean of Apathy when I was younger and I was like ok these guys are way more technical than I thought

[@Doombot2point0]

Never been a fan of ABR, and the spiritual/religious angle to it didn't help either, but riffs and leads like that are no joke! Incredible song writing skills for sure! Like you said, this stuff may not be the most difficult to physically play, but it's such a headache trying to memorize all of that. An hour for like 5 seconds of one part of a solo/lead lol but it's all worth it!

[@Jimminityjabooboo]

ABR has some of the greatest guitarists of probably the past 20 years. This riff is also from an album 15 years ago and they are sooo much more talented now. Play anything off Found in Faraway Places or Phantom Anthem. Dustin and JB are beasts at writing and playinf

[@tomkruze1304]

This band is great for when you're 1st learning guitar, so much melody in the riffs and songs. Composure and Back Burner are bangers. Also, Protest the Hero is just as good and unconventional

[@Shredder-KJ]

I love Dean lamb.

[@Johnny2Drinks]

Really love this content dude, keep it up. Stay Tech🤘

[@mch2024]

Dean, that's a great photo of you on your shirt!

[@whiteyshred4330]

i was waiting for this one, i was honestly hoping it was something off rescue and restore, if you were doing constellations i would think like ocean of apathy or the escape artist, thirty and seven is still a killer song

[@Iisserul]

Hey dean. Can’t wait for the black dahlia riffs when you get there. Btw I think for Aborted you should decide between Bit by Bit or Termination Redux

[@cmc47834]

Constellations is one of my all time favorite albums

[@metaldrummersonly4402]

Check out the song barbarian. String skipping harmonic melodies

[@tommyjcarpenter]

Bro freaking nailed it man

[@mesmerao]

You should check Persefone for next time, maybe The majestic of Gaia! They're sick AF and their riffs/licks are insane! Cheers from Spain!! :D

[@DakotaStupidhead]

you should definitely do some Invent Animate on this series. they're great

[@cedarjovian7193]

Foaming at the mouth for Caligula's Horse I want that riff dammit HAHAHAHA

[@chee6547]

That whole album slaps so damn hard.

[@koreo9436]

ABR EP was the first metalcore album I ever listened to. Much like the other comment i have been watching this guy for his guitar and never bothered checking out Archspire 😂 gotta change that

[@doinkson]

You should def include CHON's demo material on the wheel!

[@DeanLamb]

What happened to them?!

[@Elias-qj7dq]

@@DeanLamb they quit music and became peruvian sock traders

[@doinkson]

​​@@DeanLamb They had a hiatus in 2022 and then disbanded this year February 😞 Iirc they said sumn about being exhausted with the whole being a band thing. Not because of band drama or anything, just that they'd *only* been making music and touring for/as CHON for like 20 out of the 30 sumn years they've been alive lol. They're making music seperately now, and all the band members have made their own chill lofi projects, where they sometimes collab. Erick Hansel (guitarist) said that he's been working on a chon-style solo album for a while. TL;DR: they quit music and became peruvian sock traders

[@fromdepthswerise3024]

​@doinkson they also happen to be on a crap label that jips their artists

[@ellipsis...1986]

Google thinks I listen to a lot of them because at least once a month I slur out "office lights on" in such a way that it fires up Spotify playing CHON instead.

[@kontritum2861]

Praying you land on Currents and learn the Unfamiliar main riff soon

[@aggressiveground]

3:49 “and I wonder…”

[@SuperSZahir]

would love to see Dean take on some newer Polyphia or Unprocessed compositions. That would be fun!!!