Atreyu’s latest album release, entitled The Curse, can be summed up as an Anne Rice vampire novel put to screaming vocals, classic melodic guitar chords, heavy punk metal drums, and atmospheric backup vocals.
Once you pass the intro and get to the second track the sound is immediately recognizeable as that of Atreyu. The sound has changed only slightly from their last album, Suicide Notes & Butterfly Kisses (hereafter referred to as SN&BK;). Those who have been fans of Atreyu will feel right at home.
The Curse continues what was started (in SN&BK;), with displays of strong, dark, and sometimes disturbing love poetry. These “poems turned to songs” focus mostly on the heartache associated with love. This is made clear in the first song, “II. Bleeding Mascara”, which contains the lyrics “You soulsucker, I won’t become like you.”
Alex Varkatzas, the frontman, holds nothing back on this album. Once again spilling out his heart, hate, and anguish towards the women who have hurt him in his life. Each song is made even more personal and real by the fact that he writes each song himself, and they read more like free verse poetry than standard song lyrics.
These feelings continue in the second song, and the first released single off the album, “III. Right Side of the Bed”. The lines “Who’s sleeping on my side of the bed tonight?” and “Have you ever cried so hard, baby you just died?” should hit a soft spot for anyone who has lost someone they love to a third party. Alex lives out his primal fantasies through his words, finishing the song with the murder of the woman who scorned him.
This is where Atreyu takes a new turn, a romantic turn. The track “IV. This Flesh A Tomb” is perhaps one of the darkest, yet most sincere love letters ever written. After hearing this song you can’t help but wonder if Alex has found himself a new love, and new source of inspiration, to which this song is dedicated to. It clearly illustrates the love between two vampires with words like, “The Dark Gift is loving you, and I feel immortal and I want you to feel the same.
So stand by me as we immolate. We can burn in each others arms.” Even earlier in the song he screams what has to be the sweetest line ever in an Atreyu song, “I’ll never need to see the sun again, theres enough light in your eyes to light up our little world.” ‘Sweetest line ever’.. thats a weird sentence to hear in relation to a band like this, but it works in this case.
The tale of the vampire is continued through other songs, such as: “V. You Eclipsed By Me”, a song about vampiric transformation and overcoming those who have attempted to oppress him. “VI. The Crimson” gives away Alex’s interest in Anne Rice’s vampires with the line “I’m an Anne Rice novel come to life”, in a song which is very literally about turning into one. “Will you still hold me when you see what I have done? Will you still kiss me when you taste my victims blood?”
Then a few songs later you are hit with something else new to an Atreyu album, an instrumental track “VIII. An Interlude”. All of the previous hard beats and riffs slow to a pleasant dream-like pace, a demonstration of the band’s technical playing skills. Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel play in perfect harmony to one another, and as usual Brandon Sallers drums solidify the mixture of classic 80s guitar sound and the more modern rough sounding riffs. This creates a much needed break in the album, allowing your ears to rest after 15 straight minutes of hard screaming rock.
Just don’t waste any time thinking Atreyu has gone soft. The following track, “IX. Corsetting” is one of the hardest, and is lyrically the cruelest song on the album.
All in all, Atreyu and Anne Rice fans alike should consider this album a must buy. This is the type of music Lestat should have been singing in Queen of the Damned. The Curse offers a more mature and practiced sound, where each member of the band is able to utilize their playing strengths in nearly every song. Returning fans will be pleasantly surprised, and newcomers to Atreyu or heavy rock should find themselves a new favorite.
So pick this album up, or better yet, hop onto Ebay and buy one of the limited edition (run of 30,000) copies of The Curse for pretty much the same price. The limited edition disc includes a specially made case, different cover art (gold imprinted), a music video of “Right Side of the Bed” on the CD, a Victory Records sampler disc, and best of all a bonus track cover of Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love A Bad Name. Nothing on this disc put a smile on my face more than hearing “You give love a bad name, FUCK YOU!!!”
Atreyu’s THE CURSE gets 4 out of 5 stars. (4.5 for the limited release version) So get off your ass and get it!
Visit www.AtreyuRock.com for more info on the band and to download free tracks from both The Curse and their previous album SN&BK;, including the previously mentioned “Right Side of the Bed”. (The site they use to host their .mp3 files seems to have gone down, but I can send you the songs if you IM when you see me on AIM: ElementalFiend).
Additional Information about The Curse:
Track listing
1. Blood Children (An Introduction)
2. Bleeding Mascara
3. Right Side Of The Bed
4. This Flesh A Tomb
5. You Eclipsed By Me
6. The Crimson
7. The Remembrance Ballad
8. An Interlude
9. Corseting
10. Demonology & Heartache
11. My Sanity On The Funeral Pyre
12. Nevada’s Grace
13. Five Vicodin Chased With A Shot Of Clarity
Bonus Track: You Give Love A Bad Name
Details
Producer: GGGartH
Distributor: RED Distribution
Recording type: Studio
Recording mode: Stereo
