Remember when we were all at that tender young age where if we didn’t get what we wanted we would throw a temper tantrum of Italian football esque proportions? (Minus the prayers to God). Back then it would mean we were left without the latest transformer or turtle, and we would kick and scream till our lungs turned blue. Well these days it seems grown men are doing it, but the latest rat in a robe figure is not what it’s over. It is heartache! And the boys in Atreyu are pissed off with something as they shriek and bawl until they can shriek and bawl no more in fourteen tracks of pure emotional… crap.
This is the second album from the five piece after the “120,000†selling debut album ‘Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses’, and Victory have already declared them the top selling band of the current retro-metal-emocore movement. Quite a claim. And I suggest that you become familiar with the band as this is the album that will kick-start their careers into overdrive, as I haven’t seen such an obvious turn for widespread credibility as ‘The Curse’. Where as I had only heard selected songs off the last album, this one seems to of been produced in the frame of mind of ‘this is our shot at the big time, don’t fuck it up’ and while the screams are performed impeccably, the riffs scorch throughout and the bass pedal is used sufficiently, it just doesn’t work and proves an unmemorable experience.
It starts relatively brightly with the stomping ‘Bleeding Mascara’, an unashamedly strong throwback to 80’s metal riffs, while it was no great shock to read that ‘Right Side of the Bed’ is set to be the first single taken off the record with it’s softly sweet chorus to the infectious, screaming verses and along with the textbook clapping section at the end it will sell by the truckload I’m sure. From here it goes down hill though as ‘This Flesh is a Tomb’ and the dull ‘You Eclipsed by Me’ both fail to bring anything to the album worth shouting about and we have to wait all the way until track nine with the pacy and melodic ‘Corseting’ until we are snapped back into life. ‘Demonology And Heartache’ continues the upsurge but once again we trail off before the final track ‘Five Vicodin Chased With A Shot Of Clarity’ offers some saving grave with the closing salvo.
Sadly though it is all too little to late. The easy comparison to make is with the UK’s Funeral for a Friend, only with a slightly more metal edge. Having only heard certain tracks off the last album I can’t be to opinionated but there seems to be a lot more (heavily produced) singing involved and coupled with the open advert for cough sweets, the growling all seems to forced. Kudos to the band for trying a different direction and hoping to gain more limelight (which it almost certainly will) but for the most part, this record simply doesn’t work.
Jay
www.atreyurock.com
Victory Records