“Ancestry” by August Burns Red
JB Brubaker has described the wording of “Ancestry” as being “perhaps the most painful and personal” that Jake Luhrs “has ever written”. And that’s understandable considering that, based on the second verse, the addressee would actually be a family member and furthermore, as implied elsewhere, one whom Jake is intimately familiar with. On top of that, the thesis sentiment revolves around Luhrs more or less damning this person.
And what it appears the lyrics are putting forth is this. At some point in time, said individual decided to forsake his “ancestry” which, in context, is a term synonymous with family. But this selfsame addressee has self-destructive tendencies which eventually put him or her through a lot of pain.
The implication is that when that transpired, maybe this person sought some type of sympathy or help from Jake and the rest of the fam. But as for the vocalist, he has apparently given up on the idea of having a meaningful relationship with the addressee. This is because his or her actions went on to negatively affect the family unit as a whole. However, it is not specified if that pertains to the addressee just leaving or perhaps something he or she proceeded to do afterwards.
In Conclusion
Reading in between the lines and put into layman’s terms, this is basically the case of a vocalist being mad at a family member for bouncing.
Said member, at the time they bounced, was apparently under the impression that s/he would not need the family again and perhaps proceeded to diss them in some way, shape, form along those lines. But now that this person has discovered that living on his or her own is a challenge they are not up to, JB is like don’t come looking at me for any type of compassion or assistance.
August Burns Red
August Burns Red (ABR) is a metalcore act from Pennsylvania that has been around since the early aughts. They dropped a prolific nine studio LPs between 2005 and 2020. In the process of these albums, they reached number one on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart on six occasions. Their tenth studio full-length is a 2023 project titled “Death Below”.
Release of “Ancestry”
“Ancestry” was officially released via SharpTone Records on 3 November 2022. It served as the lead single from the band’s “Death Below” album.
Credits
The primary writer of this song has been recognized as Jake Luhr’s, ABR’s lead singer, though he is also credited alongside JB Brubaker, the band’s frontman.
Meanwhile, Jesse Leach is the frontman of a similarly-minded act known as Killswitch Engage. And this appears to be the first time he has officially teamed up with August Burns Red.
The producers of this track are Grant McFarland and Carson Slovak.
Fans Share Their Thoughts
Fans have praised the collaboration between August Burns Red and Jesse Leach for this track, calling it “fantastic”. They continue to rain praises as the band’s sound has matured while staying true and consistent with their style.
On a more serious (and sad) note, some fans have shared their stories of grief of losing their loved ones or seeing them dying in front of their eyes. One fan’s story around “Ancestry” is about how he had to go through the passing of his mum and later on, his grandmother, without having the chance to resolve their issues. The thought of them dying thinking he hates them fills him with regret daily. This song has “hit (him) like a ten ton truck”.
Another fan shared how his father was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and doctors gave him 2 years to live. In the next few hours, his life expectancy dropped drastically and he passed away 2 days later. He continued on to say that ABR’s “Ancestry” has shown that he’s not alone in such painful situations.
