When a founder member leaves a band, especially after 20 years, especially if they were a lead singer, then there is always concern about what this might mean for the next album. However, they have always used two singers and Brandon Saller has been increasing his role over the years so there is no real surprise that he has now taken the lead role, with bassist Marc “Porter” McKnight now taking on the unclean vocals . They have also brought in a drummer, Kyle Rosa, so that Brandon can concentrate on the lead role. The line-up is completed by Dan Jacobs (lead guitar) and Travis Miguel (rhythm). Even though they have been going for some 25 years now, they have had incredibly stable line-ups during this period and this is the first personnel change since 2004, so perhaps there is no real surprise that this album continues the story without any dramatic shift.

I first came across the band with their second album, 2004’s ‘The Curse’ which I loved, while their 2007 compilation must have one of the most twee, and disturbing, covers I have ever seen. They are a band who have always defied categorisation as while they are metal they are also hardcore, commercial, poppy, metalcore, and contain elements of emo, thrash, punk and loads more. What this means is that they have a real crossover appeal to anyone who enjoys their music good and loud, no matter what genre they normally listen to. As with any Atreyu album there is plenty of material on here which could be played on the radio, such as the incredibly commercial “Dead Weight”, but there are plenty of others when they come in really hard.

I have not heard the last couple of albums, and this has made me realise just what I have been missing out on, so I think perhaps I am going to have to investigate further. Atreyu are back with yet another banger and you don’t want to miss out on this.

Rating: 8/10

Links:
https://www.atreyuofficial.com/
https://www.spinefarmrecords.com/