Defender

Album: Guardians (2020)
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Songfacts®:

  • This raucous track is about August Burns Red drummer Matt Greiner's divorce from his wife Megan. Greiner explains how he reached out to his father in that time of need.

    Tonight I saw a father's love, in waves, start to rise
    I will not stand by and watch what I made be demonized


    Guitarist Brent Rambler told Apple Music Matt's dad kept his son grounded throughout the entire process and even took some punches for him. "He was, for lack of better words, his defender," Rambler explained, "the one who was there for him, to make sure he was level-headed and making good choices and not letting anger guide him through an extremely difficult part of his life."
  • Rambler is a comic book fan, and he saw the potential for the lyrics to become an animated short story like a comic come to life. His bandmates agreed, and they recruited Dan Fusselman (Pierce the Veil's "Dive In," Neck Deep's "Happy Judgement Day") to direct the video based on his concept.

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