In an unexpected move, August Burns Red have announced today that they’ve signed a deal with Fearless Records, after nine years on the Solid State Records roster. Accompanying this announcement is the confirmation that a new album will be coming from August Burns Red in 2015, which is less of a surprise, since that is in line with their expected release turnaround time.
Guitarist JB Brubaker had the following to say about the signing:
We are all extremely excited to be a part of the Fearless Records Family. Fearless has done an amazing job building a community within the label as well as a bunch of our friends’ bands and careers. We can’t wait to see what they can do with ABR.
This is another big signing for Fearless, and shows that they are looking to aggressively expand their roster. Recently, the label signed multi-platinum rock act Eve 6 to their roster, which is a bit outside of their expected target genre, but still a big deal. Currently, the roster for Fearless also includes Motionless in White, The Word Alive, Pierce the Veil, and many others. With one or two more big signings, Fearless could very quickly become a major player in the heavy music realm.
Still, for August Burns Red to be leaving Solid State after such a long tenure with the label comes as a bit of a surprise. One has to wonder what would motivate ABR to move on after such a long relationship with a label that has always been openly supportive of Christian artists. On Solid State’s side, this is the latest in a series of blows to the label’s roster. which has diminished to a shadow of its former glory. The only veteran established bands left on Solid State’s roster are Demon Hunter, Living Sacrifice, and Becoming the Archetype, with young bands still making their mark comprising the rest of the roster. Hopefully, Solid State can manage to sign a big-name artist soon to help fill out their ranks.
