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Atreyu

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Atreyu
File:Atreyunewpromo.jpg
Background information
Years active1998 - present
MembersAlex Varkatzas
Dan Jacobs
Travis Miguel
Marc McKnight
Brandon Saller
This article is about the band. For the character from The Neverending Story, see Atreyu (character).

Atreyu is an American Metalcore band from Orange County, California. The band is signed to Victory Records, an independent record label, and has released three records under its supervision.

Members

Current

Past

History

The band originally started in high school under the name Retribution[1], playing a mixture of third-wave and street punk. They played for about a year under that name, releasing one casette tape. Sometime in 1998, the band discovered that another band from Hemet, California had been using the name Retribution. The decision to change their name took place seemingly at the same time as the decision to change to a more hardcore sound. The name they decided on was Atreyu, after a character in the movie The Never Ending Story.

Atreyu was formed as a band sometime during spring break 1998 and 1999. Shortly thereafter, they released their first EP, entitled Visions while the members were in their senior year of high school. The record garnered the band some success in the Southern California metalcore scene and they constantly performed to support the seven-track release.

Atreyu released its second record, a five-track EP, also entitled Fractures in the Facade of Your Porcelain Beauty, in 2001. The record featured early versions of the songs "Living Each Day Like You're Already Dead", "Someone's Standing on My Chest", and "Tulips Are Better", which were re-worked for the band's third release. The record also caught the attention of record executives at Victory Records, who quickly signed the band and added it to its roster.

Atreyu recorded and released its first full-length album in 2002. Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses would become an instant fan favorite and was noticed by a wide spectrum of music fans. The record broke down the walls separating the genres of heavy metal and hardcore, allowing the band to push itself into the forefront of the metalcore scene. Critics from publications such as the L.A. Times, Guitar World, and Metal Maniacs commented that the "Southern California five-piece brings new definition to overnight success." Since then, the album has sold over 200,000 copies and has produced two popular singles, "Ain't Love Grand" and "Lip Gloss and Black."

At the end of 2003, the band went home to record its follow-up to Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses. In early 2004, Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses was re-released. The new edition of the album shipped with a bonus DVD that featured a live concert. The band was also on the second stage of the Ozzfest 2004 tour across the U.S. alongside such bands as Lamb of God, Hatebreed, Bleeding Through and Slipknot. And within a year, the band found itself headlining its own tour, called the "Bitter, Broken, Bound and Gagged Tour," selling out some venues all across the United States.

Recording The Curse took only five weeks, but transformed the band. The Curse saw the band exploring their talents as musicians on their instruments with a more studio-produced approach than Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses. The crushingly grating vocals were supplemented by beautiful ballads. Released during the summer of 2004, The Curse was mildly anticipated and garnered more success than Atreyu had ever had before. The album's lead single, "Right Side of the Bed," was played in heavy rotation on FUSE as well as featured on MTV2's Headbanger's Ball. The album's second single "The Crimson" was more radio-friendly, allowing the band to expand its fan base a little more.

During the summer of 2005, The Curse was re-released. The new edition of the album shipped with brand-new artwork and a bonus DVD featuring four of the band's music videos on one side of the DVD and on the other is an introduction to the band Aiden featuring their video "Knife Blood Nightmare" as well as interviews with the band members.

After playing the 2004 edition of the Vans Warped Tour, the band embarked in spring 2005 on its first headlining tour since leaving the road to record The Curse. The band called its new tour the "Thick as Thieves Tour" and featured other acts like Norma Jean, Unearth, and Scars of Tomorrow. During the tour's stop in New Jersey, it combined with the "Taste of Chaos" tour, a tour featuring The Used, My Chemical Romance, Killswitch Engage, Senses Fail, Underoath, and A Static Lullaby. A "Taste of Chaos" DVD was released and featured performances from Atreyu on those two nights. The band was also featured on the 2005 edition of the Warped Tour, playing the main stage.

Atreyu's video for "Her Portrait in Black" premiered on January 13, 2006. It features many clips from the film "Underworld: Evolution". Though "Her Portrait in Black" is featured on the soundtrack for "Underworld: Evolution", it is not on A Death-Grip on Yesterday.

A Death-Grip On Yesterday, which was released on March 28, 2006, is the band's third full length album. Atreyu is also currently due to perform again on the Taste of Chaos tour in early 2006 across the US and Canada, alongside bands such as Thursday (band), Silverstein, Thrice, and the Deftones.

The album appeared on BitTorrent and P2P sites on February 25, 2006, over a month before the official release date.

The band has just been announced to play as one of the headlining bands on the second stage of the 2006 tour of Ozzfest, sharing the stage with bands such as Black Label Society, Unearth, and Bleeding Through.

Controversy

The band came under criticism from the traditional metal crowd after Alex made some discouraging remarks about other bands. He stated in an interview, "Fuck Black Sabbath, fuck Ozzy, and fuck Metallica. Those bands mean nothing to me and have no influence on me. Green Day was bigger for me than they were."

Noted metal fan and former MTV VJ Iann Robinson took remarkable exception to Alex's words and wrote an extensive editorial for Metal Sludge spouting off against Atreyu and other "metalcore" bands who seem to have no respect for the forefathers of heavy music.

Quotes/opinions about their sound

To many critics and fans listenings of their albums, the listeners get the feel of a mix between rock genres such as goth and hardcore with a metallic edge, as they feature dark, introverted songs that weave through haunting melodies and emotional shouts about issues of alcohol, drugs, relationships, daydreaming, nightmares, and other metaphorical social issues.

"As they've proven on their first album, 2002's Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses and even more so on their new CD The Curse, Atreyu are on to a very cool idea, meshing the taut arrangements and frantic vocal spewing of hardcore with a darker, more sinister goth element, but underneath all that noise and misery lurks what truly is the band's one great trump card: a healthy dose of metal!." ([2])


Discography

Studio albums

Album Cover Date of Release Title Label US Billboard Peak US sales
File:Atreyuvisionscuvr.jpg
 1998 Visions (EP) Die Trying Records - -
November 20, 2001 Fractures in the Facade of Your Porcelain Beauty (EP) Tribunal Records - -
File:Atreyu.jpg
 June 4, 2002 Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses Victory Records - 230,000 +
File:Atreyu.jpg
 February 23, 2004 Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses: Limited Edition Victory Records - -
File:Atreyu curse cover.jpg
 June 29, 2004 The Curse Victory Records #32 500,000 +
File:Atreyu curse cover.jpg
 June 28, 2005 The Curse: Limited Edition Victory Records - -
File:VR267.jpg
 March 28, 2006 A Death-Grip On Yesterday Victory Records #9 100,000 +

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock UK
2002 "Ain't Love Grand" - - - - Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses
2002 "A Vampire's Lament" - - - - Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses
2003 "Lip Gloss and Black" - - - - Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses
2004 "Right Side of the Bed" - - - - The Curse
2005 "The Crimson" - - - - The Curse
2005 "Bleeding Mascara" - - - - The Curse
2006 "Her Portrait in Black" - - - - Underworld: Evolution soundtrack
2006 "Ex’s And Oh’s" - - #37 - A Death-Grip On Yesterday

Soundtracks

Compilations

  • "Lip Gloss and Black" and "Right Side Of The Bed" featured on Taste Of Chaos (uncensored) (2004)
  • "Right Side of the Bed" featured on MTV2 Headbangers Ball, Volume 2 (2004, Roadrunner Records)
  • "Bleeding Mascara" featured on Vans Warped Tour '05: 2005 Tour Compilation (2005, Side One Dummy Records)
  • "A Song for the Optimists" featured on Victory Style: Volume 5 (2005, Victory Records)
  • "Ain't Love Grand" featured on AMP Magazine Presents: Hardcore, Volume 1 (2004, Suburban Home Records)
  • "Taking Back Every Word That I Said" featured on Picking Up the Pieces: Volume 1 (2003, Fall Apart Records)

Magazine cover compilations

Atreyu featured on the cover of Revolver Magazine May 2006 Edition

Videography

Similar artists

See also

ELO Yes Genesis Buddy Holly Triple Six Mafia

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