Review: Atreyu – 'Congregation Of The Damned

Posted: October 27th , 2009
Contributed By: Nick

	Purchase @ iTunes Atreyu – ‘Congregation of the Damned’ Release Date: October 27, 2009 on Hollywood Records
	Atreyu are: Alex Varkatzas (vocals) Dan Jacobs (guitar) Travis Miguel (guitar) Marc McKnight (bass) Brandon Saller (drums)

Produced by: Bob Marlette

Knowledge: ‘Congregation of the Damned’ is the fifth album from metalcore pioneers turned commercial rock staples Atreyu, their second since joining Hollywood Records. ‘Congregation of the Damned’ follows up 2007’s ‘Lead Sails Paper Anchor’, which produced Atreyu’s first taste of mainstream radio success with the singles “Becoming the Bull” and “Falling Down”.

Turn-Ons: Atreyu kickstart ‘Congregation of the Damned’ with a damn long song title. “Stop! Before It’s Too Late and We’ve Destroyed It All” is the twelve-syllable leadoff track that throws you into the melee barely twelve steps into the record. Starting with an epic intro that shatters its dynamic boundaries, the tune barrels its way through Alex Varkatzas’ schizophrenic growl-to-yell delivery, making the verses sound fit to be on a Dope album. “Stop!…” boasts voluptuous choruses that move with such a suave elegance thanks to a slower, more gradual change in key. Atreyu stamps the bridge with a bread and butter hardXcore (or any of its subsidiaries) breakdown, but because Atreyu’s doing the deed it makes it cool to like and enjoy. “Congregation of the Damned” zips up from intro to verse, giving the band ample room to breathe and feel each other out naturally while Varkatzas uplifts its impressionable chorus. Atreyu serve up a muddy, gloomy piece of down home pie with “Black Days Begin”, a trudge in 3 with the right pinch of Atreyu’s signature guitar cooking. The panning of the vocals in verse two is able to be effective thanks to a strong core, while the Nintendo-esque arpeggios paving the bridge are downright gnarly. I don’t know who the king is Atreyu speak of on “You Were the King, Now You’re Unconscious” but I sure do like Atreyu better when his ass is knocked out. Starting off with something similar to a Far-Eastern version of Stomp chockfull of nifty keyboard parts and choral style chants, the song envelops you in awesomeness before drummer Brandon Saller storms in with huge, 80’s arena metal styled flams down the toms. Most importantly, this tune about some passed out king has grooves that are not only fun but also still shoot to kill. “Insatiable” has a modest bag of tricks, alluding to Saller’s tom flams from one badass song to the north and ending with a beastly, memorable accent on the “-ble” of insatiable. “Ravenous” enters with the creepy sirens you hear on those old school sci-fi flicks, then careens into a revved up mayhem. As Brandon Saller fully utilizes his ride’s bell to match accents with Alex Varkatzas in an insanely good pre-chorus, “Ravenous” furies on, a menacing and cruel monster but a smart and thorough one too; with a melodic center this jolly, “Ravenous” can be friend to all. Atreyu take it back to the sounds of Papa Roach’s ‘Infest’ for “Lonely”, and they nail the crap out of it. It’s funny how well the dirtier, more unpolished vibe of “Lonely” matches up to ‘Infest’. “Lonely” can lay claim to best cymbal sound on the record, because the open hi-hat sound captured in the bridge was magical.

Turn-Offs: I read on the Wikipedia that Alex Varkatzas referred to ‘Congregation of the Damned’ as “…a total shitkicker….” I wonder if he knew how literal those words could become because there’s some things on this record that majorly suck. For starters Alex Varkatzas’s vocals are seemingly drowned out by the rest of the band, so there goes that. So where do we go from there? Brandon Saller nearly murdered my ears with his crash cymbal abuse during the first chorus of “Bleeding is a Luxury”, a song that always sounds like it has nowhere else to go. The worst part is, the best melodic component of the album, a magnificent string piece, is lost within the mediocrity of “Bleeding is a Luxury”. I don’t understand at all why Varkatzas decided to use “Coffin Nails” as his stomping ground for forgettable nu-metal growling, I mean no. Stop this. Like “Bleeding is a Luxury”, “Coffin Nails” has some blessed sections that become nothing more than ordinary when stuck with the sum of its parts. Then to my delight came “Gallows” two songs later, a song that mentally sent me straight to the firing range. Who told Alex Varkatzas that the nasally, screeching whine he exalts to alliterate the letter B in the first line of both verse one and two was a good thing? Also, the guitar soloing thing. Dan and Travis are great guitarists but with multiple solos in multiple songs, it gets really old fast. By the time Atreyu train-wreck at song ten, aptly labeled “So Wrong”, they’re just making my job easy. Before I go any further with that, I’ll just say this about “Wait For You”. I never want to dislike piano ballad, especially one as sincere as Atreyu’s; but I’m definitely making an exception here. Now, the big issue with ‘Congregation for the Damned’-the “trapped” feeling of Alex’s vocal work. I mean just listen to the single “Storm to Pass”. Or “So Wrong”. Or “Gallows”. I can sum the problem up pretty easily: You can’t squeeze wuss blood from a goliath stone.

King: “You Were The King, Now You’re Unconscious”

Queen: “Lonely”

FAIL: “So Wrong”

Cool Points: Atreyu did a lot of conservation on album number five but they also flashed brief yet bright glimpses of their past quite frequently. The overall feel of ‘Congregation of the Damned’ is very close to that of Atreyu’s 2006 release ‘A Death-Grip on Yesterday’. I think it’s pretty ballsy of Atreyu to resurrect this se׀ection of their catalogue. Also, I have a request for Atreyu: If you record a cover of Guns ‘n Roses’ “November Rain”, I will award this album a perfect score. It will be an absolutely amazing cover and I know this because “Wait For Me” + a good cover idea=”November Rain”. You might disagree but I’d love to see it done because I know that while it is a challenging song, Atreyu are more than capable of acing it.

Moral of the Story: There’s something lacking from ‘Congregation of the Damned’. Yes, in particular instances, but also as a whole. Atreyu’s identity sounds vague and deceptive where before it was more comfortable. And sure responding creatively and business-wise to uncomfortable environments is what defines a true artist in this business. But in Atreyu’s case, they seem forced to walk that middle ground against their will.

TuneLab Rating: 5 out of 10