Hope Of Spark Tour at The Van Buren
Article Written and Photos by Sarai Kelley
Hailing from Yorba Linda, California, metalcore band Atreyu was formed in 1998 in the heart of the Nu Metal wave; but Atreyu brought a different sound to the scene. Their warped, detuned guitars were matched by pounding drums and acidic vocals, which gave the material a distinct metalcore edge. The California band consists of vocalist Alex Varkatzas, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist Marc McKnight and drummer Kyle Rosa, and vocalist Brandon Saller.
In 2002, after signing with Victory Records, the band released their first full-length studio album Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses. The band's aggressive, raw riffs and Alex Varkatzas's mind-blowing throat-led screams made the album extremely successful. The band's second album, The Curse, was released in 2004, selling 450,000 copies, and released their third studio album A Death-Grip on Yesterday in 2006, gaining tracking on Billboard's top 200 sitting pretty at #9 with 69,000 copies sold. In their 25-year span as a band, Atreyu has had their fair share of changes as a band, through losing previous members and taking a short hiatus, the five-piece band has made a reputable name for themselves and have toured with some of the metalcore scenes most beloved artists like Black Label Society, Norma Jean, Bad Acid Trip, Between The Buried And Me, Walls of Jericho, Every Time I Die, and Silverstein.
Over the years, I’ve heard of the heightened energy Atreyu brings to the stage at their live shows, and I finally got a chance to see what that meant. Their music is a breath of fresh air to anyone considering rock a lost art. The Orange County, California band's riffs, hooks, melodies, and passion are essential parts of the emergence of a vibrant subculture across theaters, clubs, and festivals. Adeptly combining the sounds of thrash, hardcore punk, and death metal, merging into sounds much like Linkin Park and Lamb of God- Atreyu is described plainly as a really loud rock band- and they sure lived up to that. The energy on the stage matched every expectation I had set walking into the band’s headlining tour. Staple Atreyu hallmarks like the dual vocal interplay between singing and screaming, big riffs, guitar solos, harmonies, and big arena rock grandiosity persist throughout the entire performance.
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