Atreyu
Atreyu |
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Atreyu is a five-member band from Orange County, California that formed in 1998. The band consists of vocalist Alex Varkatzas, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist Marc McKnight and drummer and vocalist Brandon Saller. The band was originally named "Retribution" but later changed their name to "Atreyu" after the character from the fantasy movie The Neverending Story of the same name (suggested by a friend, Scott Lloyd) [1] when they found out that another band from Hemet, California had been using their original name.[2] They are currently set to co-headline the 2008 Taste Of Chaos Tour with Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet for my Valentine.
History
1998-2000: Independent years
In 1998, Atreyu released an independent 7-track EP titled Visions. The album was sold at their live performances. Their second release, Fractures in the Facade of Your Porcelain Beauty was a short 5-track EP released by underground label Tribunal Records and featured tracks that would be re-worked in later releases. Atreyu signed with Victory Records in 2001, and their most critically acclaimed works would be to come from these releases.[3]
2001-2006: Signing to Victory Records
In 2001, Atreyu signed with Victory Records, who were famous for signing young, upstart emocore and metalcore bands and making them successful, later releasing in 2002 their first full-length album Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses.[3] The band also introduced another singer, Brandon Saller, the drummer, who would become more prolific in their later releases, but in this album, his parts were most confined to choruses, and only in certain songs at that.[4] Atreyu's second album, The Curse, was released in 2004, selling 300,000 copies.[3] Atreyu was then featured on the soundtrack to the film Mr. and Mrs. Smith with a cover of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name".[5]
In 2006, Atreyu released their third full-length LP, entitled A Death-Grip on Yesterday that helped further Atreyu's move towards the mainstream, with the hits "Ex's and Oh's" and "The Theft". The album was said to balance of Brandon Saller's melodic singing vocals and Varkatzas's aggressive screaming.[6] The album was met with positive reviews though, as IGN called the album "A brief but potent hissy fit." [7]
2007-present: Signing to Hollywood Records
In early 2007, Atreyu signed a record deal with Hollywood Records for America and Roadrunner Records for the rest of the world, and began to prepare their next album, Lead Sails Paper Anchor. In early 2007, Atreyu released a jigsaw puzzle of sorts on their website, as the goal was to put all the audio clips of their new single, Becoming the Bull into correct order, forming the whole song.[8] The album features very little of Atreyu's trademark screaming, in favor for more melodic singing and less heavy vocals. The American release of the album had a bonus track, a cover of the song "Epic" by Faith No More, while the European and Australian bonus track was a cover of "Clean Sheets" by The Descendants. They will play at the United States and Canadian 2008 Taste of Chaos along side bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet For My Valentine, Blessthefall and Fear Of Infection.
Band members
- Dan Jacobs - lead guitar (1998 - present)
- Alex Varkatzas - lead vocals (1998 - present)
- Brandon Saller - vocals, drums (1998 - present)
- Travis Miguel - rhythm guitar (2001 - present)
- Marc McKnight - vocals,bass (2004 - present)
Discography
Albums
| Title | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses | 2002 | |
| The Curse | 2004 | #32 (U.S.) |
| A Death-Grip on Yesterday | 2006 | #9 (U.S.) #92 (U.K) |
| Lead Sails Paper Anchor | 2007 | #8 (U.S.), #3 (U.K. Rock) #1 (Billboard 200 Rock and Hard Rock) |
EPs
| Title | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Visions | 1998 | |
| Fractures in the Facade of Your Porcelain Beauty | 2001 |
Compilations
| Title | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Best of... | 2007 | #103 (U.S.) |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. Modern Rock | U.S. Mainstream Rock | |||
| 2002 | "Ain't Love Grand" | - | - | - | Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses |
| 2003 | "Lip Gloss and Black" | - | - | - | Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses |
| 2004 | "Bleeding Mascara" | - | - | - | The Curse |
| 2005 | "Right Side of the Bed" | - | - | - | The Curse |
| 2005 | "The Crimson" | - | - | - | The Curse |
| 2006 | "Her Portrait in Black" | - | - | - | Underworld: Evolution soundtrack |
| 2006 | "Ex's and Oh's" | - | - | 24 | A Death-Grip on Yesterday |
| 2006 | "The Theft" | - | - | - | A Death-Grip on Yesterday |
| 2007 | "Shameful" | - | - | - | A Death-Grip on Yesterday |
| 2007 | "Becoming the Bull" | 119 | 11 | 5 | Lead Sails Paper Anchor |
| 2007 | "Doomsday" (UK) | - | - | - | Lead Sails Paper Anchor |
| 2008 | "Falling Down" [9] | - | - | - | Lead Sails Paper Anchor |
Trivia
The track "Ex's and Oh's" is featured in the "Indie Label Pack" Downloadable Content for the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II.
The track "Becoming The Bull" is featured in the video game soundtrack of "Madden NFL '08".
The track "Ex's And Oh's" is featured in the video game soundtrack of "Madden NFL '07".
The album cover for Lead Sails Paper Anchor was in fact influenced by an observation made by a caller when the band was featured on the radio show Loveline. The caller noted that the covers for their studio albums corresponded with the lyrics "live, love, burn, die" from the song "Lip Gloss and Black" from their album Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses. The band said it was unintentional, but it worked well ("Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses" has the butterfly which could represent life, "The Curse" has a girl, representing love, "A Death Grip On Yesterday" has a man on fire, and "Lead Sails Paper Anchor" has the skeleton representing death).
References
- ^ darkstar (2005-07-19). "metalunderground - Interview With Dan Jacobs From Atreyu". metalunderground. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Atreyu History." Atreyu
- ^ a b c Torreano, Bradley. Atreyu. All Music Guide. Accessed Decmeber 8, 2007.
- ^ Taylor, Jason D. Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses review. All Music Guide: 2002
- ^ Phares, Heather. Mr. and Mrs. Smith. All Music Guide: 2005.
- ^ Prato, Greg. A Death Grip on Yesterday. All Music Guide: 2006
- ^ "Atreyu - A Death Grip on Yesterday Review". music.ign.com. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
- ^ Atreyu: New Album Details Revealed. Blabbermouth.net: June 20, 2007.
- ^ http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=16770