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Atreyu

The Curse

Review by Josh Turner

Atreyu is one of the hottest bands in Nu Metal. With The Curse, they release an album that is completely on fire. They accomplish something very few bands are capable of achieving. They can make powerful and heavy music that still manages to carry a tune. The songwriting is outstanding and the music really rocks out. The vocals are intense and the riffs are tight, both raging without mercy. This is sort of like a modern day Kiss.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2004 Year Book Volume 2 at https://garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2003-and-2004/.

Track by Track Review
Blood Children (An Introduction)
A dark and brooding beginning, this is short, but enough to set the tone for the album.
Bleeding Mascara
This is a great choice for the main introduction to the album. It is a cross between old and new. If you did not know better, you would think Ace Frehley is ripping out the riffs. At the same time, there is a bit of Apartment 26 in their style.
Right Side of the Bed
A perfect example of how to make a heavy song that also manages to intrigue its listeners, this is straight-ahead rock mixed with heavy metal mixed with power pop. There are several different hooks in this song; each one is just as captivating as the next. This is very radio-friendly and extremely powerful. So far, the album is moving along at a hurried pace without losing its breath for a single instant.
This Flesh is a Tomb
On one hand, this is a simple and primitive piece. On the other, the music swells with angst and confusion. The off-key finish is clever. The battery goes dead. When the engine breaks down, the car chugs to a complete stop on the side of the road.
You Eclipsed by Me
After a speedy jumpstart, the pace picks up in this fast and delusional piece. When you receive bad news, you go through phases of acceptance. Grief inhabits this song and tries to find balance with a sense of reason. There are attempts to take a step back and put everything in perspective. Sometimes it is hard to differentiate between a blessing and a curse. This song seems to ponder the question as it shifts between emotions.
The Crimson
The kettle has come to a boil and things get a little scary. Anything can happen when there is nothing to lose without a care in the world. There is definitely disregard for others in this piece, so I suggest standing clear. Someone is going to pay dearly. There is hollering in the background along with a cunning chorus. This is the best song on the album. It demonstrates how to make Nu Metal that is more than deafening noise and screaming lyrics.
The Remembrance Ballad
This is a ballad with intensity. Somebody is freaking out. This is similar to the last song in the sense that there are two kinds of vocals going on at the same time, mostly clean, but some that are kind of scratchy and wild.
An Interlude
Here Atreyu presents us with Nu Metal that has progressive tendencies. This instrumental is like a gentle breeze blowing through wind chimes in the springtime. Imagine sitting on the porch of a lakefront cabin as tranquil waters ripple nearby.
Corseting
The tempo is cranked back up. The piece is partly punk, very much like Gwar minus all the funny costumes. Not much goes on in this song. It is like the sprint to finish line. Eyes are closed. All is dark as everything goes by in a flash. There is pain and discomfort nonetheless. For the final moments, all that occupies the senses is pain and blindness.
Demonology and Heartache
There is an influx of neo-classical metal in this piece. The music also comes close to mimicking The Offspring at times. The demons surface and in a way it actually does feel like a heartache.
My Sanity on the Funeral Pyre
The song sounds like a motorcycle. While compact, it unleashes a surge of uncontrollable energy with every throttle of the engine. It is liberating feeling a current of air brushing through your hair. However, there is danger in the fast lane without the protection of a helmet. Right when we get to the point where the song seems to repeat the same riff one time too many, the beat changes and it rolls in for a pit stop.
Nevada's Grace
This pulls in a little more of the old school. I can hear Live, Stone Temple Pilots, and Pearl Jam in this Nu Metal mix.
Five Vicodin Chased with a Shot of Clarity
It cures the pain then causes a craving. It would take a large dose of rehabilitation and withdrawal to put this album in the medicine cabinet for good. While the whole album creates an addiction, this song makes it easy to fall off the wagon and thus takes us through the final verses of the album's curse.
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