Atreyu refuse to let their momentum stall
SPINEFARM
‘MAY WE ALL get a little lost sometimes,’
Brandon Saller screams on the reflective anthem
Come Down,
and it’s a sentiment that seems threaded throughout metalcore quintet Atreyu’s ninth studio album.
The Beautiful Dark Of Life
both compiles this year’s trio of EPs –
The Hope Of ASpark, The Moment You Find Your Flame
and
ATorch In The Dark
–and serves as the culminating chapter with three new tracks. But while Atreyu’s introspective musing masquerades as a confident melding of metal and post-hardcore, here it feels more like a wavering search for identity.
In their heyday, Atreyu were tastemakers. Their first few records serve as definitive examples of 00s metalcore: hooky but with an exhilarating, screamladen authenticity. The Beautiful Dark Of Life, on the other hand, is less of an innovator and more of a caricature of the modern metal scene. Every song comes as anew attempt to recapture lightning in a bottle; from the tech-y inflections on God/Devil, to the buoyantly introspective Dancing With My Demons, Atreyu consistently change pace, tapping into a plethora of sonic clichés. Despite its polished sound, there’s no denying it dances in the shadows of their peers, from the dramatic emo and grit of The Used to the recent melodic sensibilities of Asking Alexandria.