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August Burns Red's JB Brubaker On Being A Part Of 'The Spirit' Of Christmas

Just a few days after returning home from their 70-date, 18-country headlining tour, ABR's breakdown-infused cover of "Carol of the Bells" hit the 'net in a Christmas-themed commercial for Frank Miller's "The Spirit."

"It's an honor," said JB Brubaker, guitarist of August Burns Red, "This is not the kind of thing you expect to happen when you're practicing covers in your garage."

Being selected to promote such a highly anticipated (if hotly debated) film is no small feat for a band whose scream-heavy brand of metal isn't exactly created with commercial usage in mind -- especially since the song was chosen by Frank Miller himself from among a bevy of other holiday themed music submissions.

"We were sitting in a club in Prague in the Czech Republic when we heard the news," said Brubaker, "We were all just super stoked."

Brubaker and the rest of ABR first learned of "The Spirit" movie when its trailer ran before a screening of "The Dark Knight." Brubaker is a fan of Miller's work, citing "Sin City" as one of his favorite films, so a few months later when the band's A&R rep told them he wanted to submit their song to promote "The Spirit," they didn't expect things to manifest they way they have.

ABR's cover of "Carol of the Bells" debuted last year and has since appeared on a holiday compilation and the band's MySpace page.

"It's crazy to have your song played with not just a movie, but (what could be) an actual Hollywood blockbuster," said Brubaker.

Though the song does not appear in "The Spirit" film or its soundtrack, Brubaker said Miller has permission to use it in other advertisements and even a full trailer.

The band is currently home for the holidays working on its followup to 2007's "Messengers" through Solid State Records. Brubaker revealed that the band has also planned to record an entire Christmas music album for some time, but will likely have to wait until at least next year to seriously work on it.

ABR's instrumental version of "Carol of the Bells" is currently the second most popular cover of the song on iTunes, topped only by powerhouse Manheim Steamroller. Even with the buzz surrounding "The Spirit," Brubaker doesn’t expect to unseat the Christmas giants, but joked that doing so would be cause for mild celebration.

"Maybe we'd have a beer," said Brubaker.

Are you an August Burns Red fan? Were you happy to hear their music in the latest "Spirit" trailer? Discuss in the comments.

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