Huntington Beach’s Atreyu have been a beloved pressure inside the heavy music world for over 20 years. Across eight albums, the band have introduced metalcore to new heights, dismantling the boundaries of style, and bridging the hole to hardcore, pop punk, and anthemic ‘80s rock with grace and intention. Like many bands that surpass the last decade mark — and most who’re fortunate sufficient to achieve two — Atreyu have tailored over time, seeing modifications in each their lineup, lyricism, and sound by way of the years, which have been each painful, and fruitful, for these concerned. For higher or worse, these shifts and rising pains have propelled Atreyu staunchly into the current, the place they’ve been compelled to reckon with what the long run holds, and what they hope to create there. And what they hoped to create got here to be within the Seasons of Life challenge.
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For this challenge, Atreyu set out on a daring and delightful journey, one which culminates in a full-length later this yr — The Beautiful Dark of Life. And in anticipation, the band have been releasing EPs stuffed with “Easter eggs,” providing a style of what’s to return, and perception as to the place their heads have been at, amid the new paths they’ve proceeded forth on — and it’s heavy, no pun supposed. From spring’s four-track EP, The Hope of a Spark to as we speak’s EP, The Moment You Find Your Flame, the band have been unveiling their work piecemeal, each with a contemporary, tech-savvy viewers in thoughts, but in addition with the band that’s Atreyu as we speak in thoughts. Packed with heavy riffs, every self-reflective monitor overflows with ocean-deep lyricism. Out of the various messages Atreyu are attempting to convey, it appears that evidently letting go of negativity and transferring ahead are those to house in on.
Before they go away on a tour with Memphis May Fire, Godsmack, and Iron Maiden later this month, we bought the prospect to sit down down with frontman Brandon Saller and bassist Porter McKnight about their foray into this conceptual challenge, the current EPs, and the way they’ve created a secure area inside their band.
So every EP launch you’ve been placing out is an element of a bigger challenge, a full-length that you just guys are engaged on, which I’m tremendous all for as a result of I’ve been advised it’s “a concept” greater than an album.
BRANDON SALLER: I like this challenge. Because the “concept” did come virtually after the actual fact. I feel lots of people will give you a loopy idea after which write music round it, however we began writing music and realized what it was, and the classes which it fell into, and then got here up with the idea. It actually simply created itself. It was initially born from an thought and a want began by Porter and escalated by Dan [Jacobs, guitarist], I might say, of eager to do issues just a bit bit in a different way in realizing the panorama of how followers ingest music, in a technological age.
MARC “PORTER” MCKNIGHT: We wished to do one thing that might drip-feed songs slightly bit, which was Brandon’s want. We have been like, “Why don’t we try to do some EPs?” That permits folks to digest chunks at a time. If you look traditionally with the identical expertise that now we have entry to, you see Baptize, as an example, I don’t know what it’s precisely, however as an instance music six by way of 11 — no one fucking listens to those songs. And in our minds, these are among the greatest songs we have ever written. It’s only a disgrace that if there’s not a video or main single, the highlight simply skips over it.
So let’s divide these songs into three. How can we do three issues? What can we do thematically? I imply, human nature is all about trinity. Holy Trinity. Well, we might go on and on about that, however how can we try this and never be cheeseball? Well, there’s a grander reveal that I do not need to reveal right here, however I feel we’re beginning.
SALLER: We additionally began to comprehend that a variety of these songs have been, what we name the Seasons of Life. It’s about that ever-changing and ever-repeating cycle of backside to prime after which over once more and over once more that occurs to everybody as people. You all the time discover a low, and then you definitely discover a method out of that low, after which that mild sheds on a greater a part of life.
And you suppose that is the highest. But there’s all the time one thing larger. And sadly, generally there’s all the time decrease, the decrease than you thought was the bottom final time.
MCKNIGHT: But additionally, studying from all of these experiences has advantage. This entire, this EP challenge, constructing into the full-length is that path, of an artist and of a human. For us, it is artistic, however it’s inherent in human nature to attempt to end up. For me personally, each time I discovered that spark and adopted it, every thing nice in my life has occurred, proper? The hope of a spark is simply making an attempt to determine a way out of the fucking brutality and darkness of your thoughts or the state of affairs, no matter it might be. The second you discover your flame is once you begin to determine it out. There’s a path, and it is beginning to unfold, and you are still gonna peel again the layers.
SALLER: Dude, you simply dropped so many Easter eggs that I can not even perceive it. The larger idea is that it is humorous that all of us revealed to ourselves that a variety of our songs have the identical sense of resolve. Like Porter mentioned, whether or not you are on the place of absolute zero desperation simply misplaced, or whether or not you might be simply beginning to discover a glimmer of hope, ask your self essential questions, or select a path — you are succeeding, you are feeling higher. Whether that goes to your profession or your love life or your psychological well being, bodily well being, or something.
It all leads into the ultimate product — The Beautiful Dark of Life, and we signed the portray with that. The inspiration comes from probably the most random locations. A few years in the past, I used to be strolling, me and my spouse and my children. I had my oldest daughter, who on the time was about 4, on my shoulders. We walked below this overhang, and she or he pointed to the shadow, and she or he mentioned, “Dad, what’s that?” I mentioned, “Well, those are shadows,” and she or he takes a sigh. And my 4-year-old says, “Shadows are the beautiful dark of life.” Oh, my God. I misplaced my thoughts instantly and put it in my cellphone. Then we have been within the studio writing the music, which might turn into “The Beautiful Dark of Life,” which is about residing, actually, whether or not you are having fun with this life or fearing this life. It’s about progress. It’s about all this stuff. We wanted a line and one thing stabbed me behind the mind and was like, “Wait a second.” I scrolled by way of my cellphone, and virtually I used to be afraid to say it within the room with my pals as a result of it’s this factor my daughter mentioned two years in the past.
But on this band, I feel that now we have all created a spot the place all of us really feel very secure and assured to talk and check out no matter we need to attempt. There’s no judgment on this band. So, I used to be like, “What about The Beautiful Dark of Life?” And everybody was similar to, sure. When it got here to love tiling the report, it was like, “This makes perfect sense, right?” So all of it simply tied collectively.
This album, and strategy, really feel very emotional and like actual progress. When I discover myself round bands which were collectively for 20-plus years, there are undoubtedly some who I discover have gone by way of a maturing course of alongside the best way, and a few who haven’t… Just in itself, it is laborious to remain collectively as a band for a number of many years, to maintain the area secure and sacred. I do know you guys have skilled a variety of change over time. What do you’re feeling is completely different in the way you made this album?
SALLER: We’ve by no means been a band that’s tremendous judgmental. There’s by no means been one dude within the band like, “If you don’t like it, you’re fucked!” We’ve by no means been like that. But I feel that issues have been lots much less five-sided than they’re now. And that it was actually paramount for us in the meanwhile, with the form of modifications that we extra not too long ago have had, to comprehend that everybody actually wanted to have the flexibility and the comfortability to place every thing that they wished into this band onstage, and offstage within the studio. Everyone actually stepped up in ways in which blew us all away. There’s skills which have come out of Porter and Dan and Travis — guys who I’ve been within the bandwidth for 20-plus years now. It’s like they’re pulling new rabbits out of hats that I’ve by no means seen earlier than. It all simply comes from being snug. Creating artwork is considered one of life’s most susceptible locations. You naked your soul. I wished to ensure we might all try this with one another.
It seems we have actually was a little bit of remedy for one another — as a result of a variety of us reside the identical shit simply in a distinct home or on a distinct day in a distinct city, very like the world is. Before, the place your issues have been your individual and also you handled them, all of us actually lean on one another now, and it makes that writing area that rather more snug since you’re not afraid of being judged. I feel that additionally comes from the truth that we even have a standard purpose greater than ever — what’s greatest works. You take the ego out of it. There’s components on this new album the place we’d be like, “Who’s gonna sing this part? Me, or you, Porter?” And we each go in and do it after which say, “OK, you sounded better. So you’re singing the part.”
What are your favourite tracks from the album?
MCKNIGHT: I’ve 4 songs as a result of I have never been requested this query but. So right here we go: “Come Down” is likely one of the best songs we have written in a very long time. A music known as “I” is fucking unimaginable. It feels recent, and it feels present, and it is digging deep in all of the methods doable. There’s a music known as “Insomnia” that’s actually distinctive for us.
What do you imply by that?
MCKNIGHT: It takes you on a journey that takes you want nothing now we have now. The soundscape and the lyrics are each so completely different. I really feel like “Gone” is like The Greatest Hits of Atreyu, smashed collectively, with slightly little bit of icing on prime of that cake. But total, “Drowning” continues to be my favourite music. I fucking love that music a lot. OK, 5 songs.
SALLER: Mine’s not far off. “Drowning” is a type of benchmark songs. If I needed to inform somebody who’d by no means heard the band what songs they need to [listen to], I might inform ’em three songs. One of them could be “Drowning.”
What would the opposite two be?
SALLER: “Becoming the Bull” and “Blow” since you’d get heavy, you’d get anthemic, the ’80s half and the lighthearted half, after which “Drowning.” You get all of it. But with all due respect to our historical past, I feel that is the most effective stuff we have ever performed. It’s probably the most trustworthy. It’s probably the most actual. It’s intricate, it is mild, it is enjoyable, it is heavy, it is emotional, it is fucking every thing. It really is.
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