No one taps into the dark and bright side like Atreyu. A band that has been credited several times as the pachyderms of metalcore, their journey has been incredible to witness. Music that has been a defining echo for more than a generation of fans, they return with an exciting, fulfilling aura on their album, The Beautiful Dark of Life.
One of the first bands to use a “clean” and “unclean” vocalist, they redefined how metal melodies would be written. Along with bands like Arch Enemy and In Flames, they knew their influences and how to learn from them. Former frontman Alex Varkatzas has always stated how they pretty much started metalcore, and that’s a debate y’all can start in the comment section. I’m here for the music.
The way they treat the rises and falls will always Atreyu’s golden goose. Drowning is a delicious combination of inspiring melodies contrasting with the aching feeling of it all going away. The band is as tight as ever, and they have been at it since 1998. More than 2 decades later, they’re still spilling gold and diamonds from a treasure trove of metal. The cinematic edge is something they return to in songs like Insomnia.
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I know this is controversial, but Atreyu is one of those bands that can be as expressive as a broadway musical. That might not be your first thought when you listen to spine stirring metal, with guttural screams that are a danger to your Borosil. Yet it all works out. There are songs where you’re taken through unexpected catacombs of sonic secrets before the valve is opened. All hell breaks loose, but melodically.
Darker riffs like Capital F show us that the band is still branding with iron. The brilliant blending of screams with melodic vocals (reminiscent of bands like Breaking Benjamin,) will take a back seat once in a while, while they engage in the chaos. You can align their journey sometimes to Bring Me the Horizon. They went pop just to oiss the “hardcore” fans off, and promptly returned with some of the heaviest music of the decade. Atreyu are known to mix in electronic and “trap” styled beats in their verse sections, but it tends to detonate in a war cry that would wet the beige of any man aware.
This band is open to experimentation even after so many years, and ensure the synergy between members is shown with the same tenacity from 1998. God/Devil and songs of these kinds lean into the electronic, darker pop effects to almost feed off the contrast to make something explosive turn out.
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With a tectonic shift in styles
So why don’t we do a little recheck on their debut, Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses. Inspired by the fantasy book called The Neverending Story, they were off to an immense start. From fantastic lyrics to melodic inspiration that were ahead of the contemporaries, Atreyu became known for their melodic strains within metal more than any other band. They have travelled to punk and when that battleship sunk, they regained control on metal instantly. Keyboardist Brandon Saller has had a massive impact, appearing for almost all the records and programming for the albums as well. Post the departure of Alex Varkatzas, they have tapped into a different source of energy for more music that showcases their ability and their will to grow.
You would have heard every kind of style being explored by Atreyu in their songs. It is like watching a Clint Eastwood movie, written by Tarantino and scored by John Williams. The band tries to create a web of inspiration and experiences, and that is what has kept their music linked to the times.
From 2021’s Baptized, their vocals have been linked to Saller, owning the clean part while bassist Marc McKnight has taken screaming vocals. Though Alex has had a massive impact in shaping the albums of the past, the band has treated the change from a welcoming standpoint, seeing how the tides might have shifted. The metal is still strong, and the net seems to be catching different kinds of fish now.
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Sierra Deaton gives her vocal finesse in Death or Glory. While collaborating, the band tries to find musicians with similar views and styles to create this easing flow that gels with their views on music. It is one of the highlights of the album, and waits for the surprise for the desired effect.
November saw the release of their album A Torch in the Dark. A thematic escape, it shows how comfortable the band is with each other now to create this melodic departures into one style or the other. You’re going to watch the band have a lot of sonic voyages to dive into, and we can’t wait to hear the result of it all.
Listen to Atreyu bring it back home in their blockbuster closer:
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Self professed metalhead, moderately well read. If the music has soul, it's whole to me. The fact that my bio could have ended on a rhyme and doesn't should tell you a lot about my personality.
