ATREYU
In Our Wake SEARCH AND DESTROY OC metalcore stalwarts seek a new chorus of approval
over the last
two decades Atreyu have proved to be incredibly resilient. In 2015 the veterans were warmly welcomed back after a four-year hiatus, despite returning to a metalcore scene that bore little resemblance to the one they left behind. While comeback album Long Live did a good job of recapturing the angsty fire of their earlier material, In Our Wake picks up where their arena rock effort, Lead Sails Paper Anchor, left off. Although that album divided their fanbase, it remains the most experimental moment in their canon and that ‘change things up’ mentality is splashed all over the place here, too. Producer John Feldmann has been drafted back in for Atreyu’s most melodic album yet. The band have used the intricacy of their more aggressive work sparingly, paring back frontman Alex Varkatzas’s growls and barks and playing to the skills of drummer/ clean vocalist Brandon Saller. The Time Is Now, No Control and Nothing Will Ever Change could easily sit on Asking Alexandria or Papa Roach’s most recent records, while House Of Gold’s chorus provides an instant sugar hit, as well as following in the anthemic footsteps of one-time peers Avenged Sevenfold. It’s fitting then, that M. Shadows adds a raspy verse to closer Super Hero, a cheesy ballad with real emotional clout. Those who loved the nostalgia of Long Live may be disappointed to see the band stepping away from their signature sound again, but Atreyu have proved here they can still boss a field-filling chorus with the best of them.
FOR FANS OF: AVENGED SEVENFOLD, PAPA ROACH, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE