I’m really glad I waited to see Atreyu live before writing this review. The CD simply did not impress me upon first listen, but their live energy made me go back and listen. Their name comes from the Never Ending Story, thank you Lauren because I did not know that and was pronouncing their name all wrong for ages! This isn’t one of those reviews where I can song by song; it’s best to sum this up as a whole record. This band combines many, many different elements into their music. There are screaming vocals and tender, softer moments. The guitar is pure on thrash. This turned me off on the record, live it opened me up. This music if fast and emotional, some are calling it a new kind of emo. I can see that. I just don’t know how many people would really get into it because of its harshness. I don’t know if I really prefer Alex’s voice as far as hardcore voices go, it seems a bit croaky. That’s probably not a word. Sorry. This is definitely a dark band. It’s not what I would go around listening to everyday. For hardcore, I prefer something like Madball. As a metal band, these guys rule. The guitar licks are sensational. It’s not often that elements like that get paired up with straight up hardcore. The standout tracks for me are “At Least I Know I’m a Sinner” and “Lip Gloss and Black”. The more melodic pace is brought in, but I think that side of the band makes them look all the more talented and introspective. Combining hardcore, metal, emo and an experimental side makes them infectious. I did not know much about these guys, but a big thank you goes out to Heather at Victory for sending me along a fucking huge press packet, showing me just how many people care about this band! I’ve been a little slow with new music lately, but I’ve been a busy girl. This record is also another example of Victory’s branching out as not just a hardcore label, signing bands like Taking Back Sunday, Thursday and Count the Stars. On the other extreme comes Atreyu. I believe agnosticism is a big theme in Atreyu’s music. One might take it as Atheism, but I really don’t think it is. I believe it’s more of a “blame yourself and not God” type of attitude. I’m Catholic, and it sounds right to me! This band is strong in every department. Lyrics, musicianship, production, songwriting and so on. This is a strong record that comes with a strong live show that will undoubtedly keep winning them fans all over. The badass guitar dueling live probably won’t hurt either!
