FEW BANDS DID more than Atreyu to bring metalcore screaming into the mainstream. 2004 was a watershed year for the genre, with the likes of Eighteen Visions, Shadows Fall and Underoath all clawing up from the underground. It was, though, Killswitch Engage with The End Of Heartache and Atreyu with their second album, The Curse, who really took it to the next level.
“We were definitely part of this era where hardcore metal, metalcore or whatever you want to call it became more commercially successful,” nods Atreyu frontman Brandon Saller. “If you look at what’s extreme and gnarly now, Atreyu is pretty tame. But at the time people would be like, ‘I cannot believe this band is on the radio right now. What is the world coming to?’”