Atreyu is: (for this album anyway)
Alex Varkatzas – Vocals (screaming)
Dan Jacobs – Lead/Rhythm Guitar
Travis Miguel – Lead/Rhythm Guitar
Chris Thompson – Bass
Brandon Saller – Drums/Vocals (melodic)
Album overview:
This EP is Atreyu before they went main-stream and signed with Victory Records. I really like newer Atreyu, but this stuff is definitely better. It features some tracks which are on SNBK plus some older stuff. The recording is a bit more raw than that on SNBK and The Curse which I like (I found The Curse to be a bit over-produced.) Overall, I really enjoy the album.
I’ll start off with the vocals. Alex’s scream sounds fairly similar to their newer stuff, but Brandon’s voice is much different. I find his voice to be stronger on their newer stuff. The lyrics aren’t as good either, I found. They focus less on relationships and hate like their new stuff but overall I find the quality of the lyrics to be not as good.
The guitars, like pretty much all of Atreyu’s work, is based around power chords and not much else, especially here. It still seems to sound good though. I’ve always liked the original tone of the guitars in Atreyu.
The drums are still really good on this album. I’ve always been impressed by the drum work in this band. The beats are always in standard timing but I find his drumming to be very original sounding. The bass is very standard and special. Chris Thompson is not a good bassist, I was glad when they got rid of him and brought in Marc McKnight.
1. Living Each Day Like You’re Already Dead – 3.5/5
This is a fairly short song that was on SNBK. Features a fairly fast tempo, but the highlight is the breakdown. In my opinion, one of the greatest metalcore breakdowns of all time
2. Tulips Are Better – 4/5
A love/hate song. Good guitar work. The highlight of the song being the chorus. And to cap off the song there’s the line: ‘JUST WITHER AWAY!’
3. A Letter To Someone Like You – 5/5
Truly an amazing song. The heaviest song on the CD. Starts off with a great heavy chord progression, and then the screaming kicks in. The song remains heavy all the way through. Definitely my favourite song on the album.
4. Taking Back Every Word That I Said – 4/5
Intro starts with Alex singing ‘Taking Back Every Word That I Said’ and then many voices start chanting it with him. This is also a fairly heavy song. I find this and ‘Letter To Someone Like You,’(the only ones not one SNBK) to be the heaviest and best.
5. Someone’s Standing On My Chest – 4.5/5
A great song. Very original sounding. The breakdown in it is extremely heavy and is the highlight of the song.
Well, there it is, I hope everyone likes and finds it helpful. I encourage everyone who can stand to listen to Atreyu to listen to this if you haven’t already
