A Death-Grip on Yesterday

Stunningly intense and highly anticipated new album

Atreyu exploded from the bitter depths of bright and sunny Orange County, California in 2002, with their sights set on creating the standard for hard rock in the new millennium. Atreyu crafted a sound much closer to Agnostic Front or Hatebreed. The metalcore quintet was formed by Brandon Saller (drums/vocals), Dan Jacobs (guitar), Chris Thomson (bass, later replaced by Marc McKnight), Travis Miguel (guitar), and Alex Varkatzas (vocals). Their warped, detuned guitars were matched by pounding drums and acidic vocals, which gave the material an edge otherwise absent from their sludge metal. After selling a gazillion albums, headlining sold out world tours and spawning an army of unworthy imitators, Atreyu have done just that. Now Atreyu is taking the world by the throat once again with their stunningly intense and highly anticipated new album, A Death-Grip on Yesterday. Quickly devouring any preconceived notions about their trademark metallic riffs and evil, thunderous, guttural vocals, Atreyu have not only written the book on exceeding expectations and reinventing genres, they continue to live it with A Death-Grip on Yesterday.

A Death-Grip on Yesterday brings everything Atreyu fans love to the table

It seems, as the band has progressed, they’ve gotten more and more accessible. This time around the quintet jettisoned all the stadium metal that populated the immensely successful The Curse and have gone for a more mature and rocking approach on their new album. Atreyu have released 9 songs that are at once blisteringly heavy, with post-modern metal hooks and also strangely somber. This fluid album brings everything Atreyu fans love to the table and takes it up a notch, with more sing-a-long choruses than ever before – and the intensity to match. The double-headed vocal section is still in full effect, with Alex Varkatzas spitting bile and Brandon Saller dispersing some sung chorus lines. The vocal work has improved greatly. Alex’s shouting is still powerful yet more intelligible and Saller’s sinister singing blends in very well and is plain unmistakable. The songs are definitely the best the band has ever written. The sing/scream interplay sounds more natural than ever and the songwriting is diverse and mature. Gone are the cliches and the predictable changes from mellow to metal. The guitar work of Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel is still nothing short of breathtaking, although the solo excesses of The Curse do not have much room to unfold on A Death-Grip on Yesterday.

A Death-Grip on Yesterday easily surpasses the highest expectations

Atreyu’s previous album set unleashed the band from their cage and since then they have been unstoppable. A Death-Grip on Yesterday leads Atreyu into a new era, which you are about to know soon. Josh Abraham, respected producer for his work on albums with Korn, Velvet Revolver and Staind, manned the controls on A Death-Grip on Yesterday. The result is nothing less than a haunting masterpiece that picks up where 2004’s smash, The Curse, left off. While some people will complain about the fact that there’s a mere nine songs on the album, be assured that those nine tracks rock rather tremendously. The driving We Stand Up or the more melodic My Fork in the Road are good examples of how Atreyu is more powerful, organic and unique than ever. We really have to emphasize that this album is entirely devoid of filler material and just won’t stop growing with every listen. A Death-Grip on Yesterday easily surpasses the highest expectations and puts Atreyu on the map as a truly unique band that has freed itself of genre conventions. The five parts that make up this incredible band have – quite audibly – never clicked so well.