Atreyu

Southern California is celebrated for its sunshine and renowned for continually producing some of the world's best rock bands, proving this once again with Atreyu. Coming out of Southern California during the rap-metal explosion around the turn of the century, Atreyu crafted a sound more hardcore than rap, more melodic than metal. Depression, pain, desire and retribution procreate in a dark, lonely corner of your psyche. It's that sordid piece that you try and hide, deny and bury. With warped, detuned guitars matched by pounding drums and acidic vocals, Atreyu is embroiled in the struggle to break free from this disenfranchising abyss. Atreyu has taken a new direction in the world of melodic hard rock. They make extreme a little more accessible, emo a little more haunting and severe, when backed up with a powerful hardcore foundation. Since their arrival on the scene in 2001, Atreyu has garnered a dedicated, ardent, underground following on the West Coast. In December of 2001, Atreyu released their debut EP on Tribunal Records entitled, Fractures in the Fade of Your Porcelain Beauty, recorded with producer Paul Miner, bassist of Death By Stereo. The album has been extremely well received and immediately garnered rave reviews. Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses is a wrenching window into the mind and heart of bandleader and lead vocalist Alex Varkatzas. Varkatzas' rich allegorical songwriting focuses on dealing with the human struggle and the pain and desire of relationships. Accentuating Atreyu's unconventional aura is the two-headed vocal delivery of Alex and drummer Brandon Saller. Alex is the ferocious, menacing, caustic and seething skull while Brandon is the tranquilizing, harmonious, Elysian cranium. This vocal duality migrates the gamut of melodramatic expression creating an ethereal, yet turbulent soundscape. Atreyu's musical alloy can best be described as a complex, passionate, emotional maelstrom of torment, revenge, vindication and release. The musicianship is technical yet fluid with a precise, thunderous rhythm section.