Reviews

The second full length from orange county emo-hardcore-goth outfit Atreyu comes out in late June. You will know, because they will be on mtv, ozzfest, and commercial radio. This release is geared completely towards attracting a main stream audience and earning this band more money than they can count. For some background, Atreyu’s last effort “suicide notes and butterfly kisses” became amazingly popular with its combination of dark, afi-like themes (oooh vampires!), emotional lyrics, and hardcore approach (as in screaming, double bass, and triplets). They have two singers, one with a scream that sounds like he is vomiting on the microphone and the other (the drummer) who throws a effects-bolstered melodic singing voice. The last record stayed pretty gnarly for the most part, with tons of screaming and metal riffs to keep the average hardcore fan pretty happy with it, while at the same time appealing a little more broadly than most hardcore bands do, with a gothic vampire/immortality/etc theme and emotional, personal lyrics.This new record, however, has almost completely done away with its hardcore identity to become a genre-bending band with some hardcore thrown in. The breakdowns are not bone-breaking anymore, and instead go into this wishy-washy pop formula. There are some remnants of the hardcore band they were, like the fifth track (you eclipsed by me) and the last track (five vicodin chased with a  shot of clarity), but each one is soon overtaken by a more main-stream friendly formula, first with the sixth song (the crimson) and the ending of the last song. The screams stay for the most part, but are interspersed with far more melodic singing than the last effort, which for the most part sounds like the Finch voice. Basically, the superficial efforts to make this still appeal to a hardcore audience are pretty easily ignored to see that this is meant for the masses of twelve year old girls that AFI has brought into the main-stream. If you like POD or Papa Roach, pick it up. If you’re looking for a less accessible, more hardcore oriented release you may want to save your money for something else.