Atreyu - In Our Wake

Atreyu
In Our Wake
2018
Spotify

I remember really liking Atreyu in my early hardcore days. They were a casual introduction into the genre and bridged a decent enough gap between popular rock music and the super aggressive hardcore that was going on at the time. Of course a more well tuned ear would hear that Atreyu is far closer to screamo than they are to hardcore with the anthemic runs and screaming singing. I used to love it, screaming this shit at the top of my lungs and raging with some like minded individuals in a pit. Now however, it all feels a bit to one note, too contrived to be hardcore than actually just being hardcore. "The Time is Now" eventually just descends into this almost laughable sing-a-long and then the next track "Nothing Will Ever Change" becomes this huge double bass drum-fest of screaming and yelling. Things get worse on "Blind, Deaf and Dumb" where we get treated to some kind of screamo rap combination that is absolutely horrible, like legitimately really bad. The next track "Terrified" is somehow worse with this soaring song of hope and love that falls incredibly flat. The song almost feels like a joke when you listen, but low and behold it is nothing of the sort. Everything feels so serious and so intense for an album that is really pretty damn goofy. I went back and listened to old Atreyu songs I liked and they didn't feel this forced or this out of touch. Maybe time has not treated the band well, but you would think they wouldn't sound this bad.

I will admit there are times I am likely confusing this band with another one named after a beloved film from my childhood. Atreyu is named after one of the main characters from The Never Ending Story while Rufio is named after a character in Hook. both were somewhat emo/screamo with Rufio being the far more melodic of the two. Atreyu has hung around longer and produced more albums, but man this one stinks. Even the ripping guitars feel silly and this is coming from someone who just re-fell in love with Coheed and Cambria on their most recent album. Each platitude like their inability to shut their mouths on "No Control" just feels like a disgruntled middle aged man upset that He isn't allowed to say whatever He wants. it all feels like whining more than cathartic release, and that makes the record drag like all hell. There are so few moments that are exciting or unpredictable. In Our Wake sounds like a band who want you to think they have a powerful and important message, but in the end it's just another wizard of oz situations where the man behind the curtain is far less powerful than the hologram portrays.

3.0 out of 10