ATREYU
Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses (Victory)
Reviewed by Jason Thornberry

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They hail from Orange County. They have short hair, and play their metal without looking up to see if you approve. They have an odd name that seems to call up "Neverending Story" web pages when I look around for info on the band away from their record label site. I thought Atreyu was an American Indian-sounding handle. Well, before you lump them in with some of their fellow citizens I ask you to consider the evidence.

The guitars bounce in and out of the speakers ala Bobby Gustafson (Overkill) cutting heads with Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine). There are some Page Hamilton-isms (Glenn Branca/Helmet) as well, to keep it all buoyant, and the production by Erik Rachel (Catch 22/Ensign) is crystal clear, yet dirty enough to make their communication unmistakable.

The vocals, at times, hit choppy waters, particularly the occasionally impractical back-up bits ("melody"), but they make up for it as the album progresses. For one, I just can't seem to stop listening to "Deanne The Arsonist." "Living Each Day" is similarly catchy for such a passionate and concentrated auditory attack. They've been described as punk, but I don't hear it anywhere at all. Instead I hear well-executed old-school thrash metal with some mid-tempo math-core rhythms, and that's more than enough for me to recommend this.

8/10

© 2002 - Jason Thornberry