Atreyu is an American metalcore band with melodic death metal and hardcore influences from Orange County, California. The band is signed to Victory Records, an independent record label, and has released two records under its supervision.

Contrary to popular belief, the band did not intentionally name itself after Atreyu, a character from Michael Ende's novel, The Neverending Story. Rather, the name was suggested to them by a friend of the band. The members agreed that it would be a good name for a band and then adopted it as their moniker.

Members

Current

• Dan Jacobs: guitar
• Marc McKnight: bass
• Travis Miguel: guitar
• Brandon Saller (born June 24, 1983): drums, vocals
• Alex Varkatzas (born January 17, 1982): vocals, lyrics

Past

• Chris Thomson: bass

History

Atreyu was formed as a band sometime during 1998 and 1999. Shortly thereafter, they released their first EP, entitled Visions. The record garnered the band some success in the Southern California metalcore scene and they constantly performed to support the seven-track release.

Atreyu released its second record, a five-track EP, entitled Fractures in the Facade of Your Porcelain Beauty, in 2001. The record featured early versions of the songs "Living Each Day Like You're Already Dead", "Someone's Standing on My Chest", and "Tulips Are Better", which were re-worked for the band's third release. The record also caught the attention of record executives at Victory Records, who quickly signed the band and added it to its roster.

Atreyu recorded and released its first full-length album in 2002. Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses would become an instant fan favorite and was noticed by a wide spectrum of music fans. The record broke down the walls separating the genres of heavy metal and hardcore, allowing the band to push itself into the forefront of the metalcore scene. Critics from publications such as the L.A. Times, Guitar World, and Metal Maniacs commented that the "Southern California five-piece brings new definition to overnight success." Since then, the album has sold over 100,000 copies and has produced two popular singles, "Ain't Love Grand" and "Lip Gloss and Black."

At the end of 2003, the band went home to record its follow-up to Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses. In early 2004, Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses was re-released. The new edition of the album shipped with a bonus DVD that featured a live concert. Within a year, the band found itself headlining its own tour, called the "Bitter, Broken, Bound and Gagged Tour," selling out venues all across the United States.

Recording The Curse took only five weeks, but transformed the band. The Curse saw the band exploring their talents as musicians on their instruments with a more polished approach than Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses. Released during the summer of 2004, The Curse was highly anticipated and garnered more success than Atreyu had ever had before. The album's lead single, "Right Side of the Bed," was played in heavy rotation on FUSE as well as featured on MTV2's Headbanger's Ball. The album's second single "The Crimson" was more radio-friendly, allowing the band to expand its fan base a little more.

During the summer of 2005, The Curse was re-released. The new edition of the album shipped with brand-new artwork and a bonus DVD featuring four of the band's music videos.

After playing the 2004 edition of the Vans Warped Tour, the band embarked in spring 2005 on its first headlining tour since leaving the road to record The Curse. The band called its new tour the "Thick as Thieves Tour" and featured other acts like Norma Jean, Unearth, and Scars of Tomorrow. During the tour's stop in New Jersey, it combined with the "Taste of Chaos" tour, a tour featuring The Used, My Chemical Romance, Killswitch Engage, Senses Fail, Underoath, and A Static Lullaby. A "Taste of Chaos" DVD was released and featured performances from Atreyu on those two nights. The band was also featured on the 2005 edition of the Warped Tour, playing the main stage.

Currently, the band is at home writing and recording songs for its next album, which is scheduled to be released on March 21 2006.

Discography

Studio albums

• Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses (2002, Victory Records)
• Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses: Limited Edition (2004, Victory Records)
• The Curse (2004, Victory Records)
• The Curse: Limited Edition (2005, Victory Records)

EPs

• Visions (1995, Die Trying Records)
• Fractures in the Facade of Your Porcelain Beauty (2001, Tribunal Records)

Soundtracks

• "You Give Love a Bad Name" (Bon Jovi cover) featured on Mr. & Mrs. Smith: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2005, Lakeshore Records)

Compilations

• "Bleeding Mascara" featured on Vans Warped Tour '05: 2005 Tour Compilation (2005, Side One Dummy Records)
• "A Song for the Optimists" featured on Victory Style: Volume 5 (2005, Victory Records)
• "Ain't Love Grand" featured on AMP Magazine Presents: Hardcore, Volume 1 (2004, Suburban Home Records)
• "Taking Back Every Word That I Said" featured on Picking Up the Pieces: Volume 1 (2003, Fall Apart Records)

Magazine cover compilations

• "Bleeding Mascara" featured on August 2005 Rock Sound Magazine cover CD
• "Ain't Love Grand" featured on March 2004 Metal Hammer cover CD

Videography

• From The Curse
  • "Right Side of the Bed" (2004)
  • "The Crimson" (2005)

• From Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses
  • "Ain't Love Grand" (2002)
  • "Lip Gloss and Black" (2003)

Similar Artists

• Avenged Sevenfold
• Underoath
• Bleed the Dream
• Emery

External links

• Atreyu's Official website
• Victory Records
• Victory Records' Official Atreyu Artist Page
• Atreyu-Online.net - fan site
• Atreyu at Download.com - features two free downloadable tracksPt:Atreyu