As big a mess as City of Evil was, it was an album that dared to attempt something different, and Avenged Sevenfold’s boldness was rewarded by huge sales. If that wasn’t enough, their peers in Avenged Sevenfold left Atreyu in their dust in 2005, as their epic, fabulous disaster of an album City of Evil ingeniously melded Iron Maiden and Helloween with surreal, pop-punk choruses. Despite being a somewhat likeable album, too many songs reverted to plain-jane hardcore, pandering to the spin-kicking hardcore kids, and boring the hell out of the headbangers.

Their 2004 album The Curse was bolstered by some tremendous songs that transcended the cookie-cutter vibe, such as the galloping “Bleeding Mascara” and the terrific, ultra-catchy single “Right Side of the Bed”, both of which dipped into early ’80s metal while sounding trendy enough to please the kids. Trouble is, Atreyu never take enough risks. While the guitar work is nothing new, Dan Jacobs is a very talented lead guitarist, capable of nimble riffs that sound equal parts Accept and Diamond Head, not to mention some of the flashiest solos you’ll hear in metalcore today. The dual vocals are actually done rather well, Alex Varkatzas’s tone-deaf retching matched by the singing of drummer Brandon Saller, who pulls off some very catchy vocal hooks.

However, as silly as Atreyu look, as straightforward as they sound, from a musical standpoint they work the clichés well enough to stand out from the rest of the metalcore hordes. One of the most popular metalcore bands in America, the Orange County, California, band employs every cliché in the book, from the all-too-overused “good cop/bad cop” vocal style (in which a hardcore “screamer” is offset by an emo singer), to relying heavily on power metal guitar riffs, to those silly haircuts and that eyeliner. Regarded as pariahs by fans of traditional metal, it’s easy to understand why Atreyu has been the subject of great derision from the metal crowd over the last couple of years.

Atreyu a deathgrip on yesterday zip