Artist: Atreyu
Album: The Curse
Label: Victory Records
Rating:
Reviewer: John Frank

For me, Atreyu is one of those bands that I seem to hear the name all the time, but I could never really pick out a specific song to associate with them. I didn’t know a lot about the band other than they are going to be on Ozzfest this year, and seem to be growing a lot in popularity. It is kind of nice thought to put in a CD that you have pretty much a blank slate with the band, that way it all seems drastically new.

This album is amazing. From the first song to the last, there is not much wrong with it at all. The vocals seem to perfectly transition from the scratchy screaming to the very melodic choruses, and the guitars maintain a pace that just makes you want to get up and rock out. One of the things I really liked about this disc is that there were no real standout songs; the entire thing is just a solid, complete album. If I would have to pick a couple songs that I think are the best, or possible singles, I would choose “Bleeding Mascara,” “This Flesh A Tomb,” and “Demonology and Heartache.”

The Curse is definitely going to be one of the best albums of the summer, if not the entire year. I am not very familiar with Atreyu’s older works, but I would imagine this is one of their best albums, and if it isn’t, then I definitely need to check out the other CDs. The Curse is an album that has a great feeling the first time you put it in, and gains depth with each listen. I recommend anyone who likes the sound of screaming, or even just great, fast guitar chords. The only thing I do not like about the CD is that it seems to just end abruptly, this is not a huge flaw, but when you want something to just keep going on for another hour, a 43 minute CD seems disappointing when the last song plays. Other than that very minor annoyance, the CD is great, and should be listened to by anyone with any interest in the genre at all.