atreyu

Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/lyricist Alex Varkatzas, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist Marc McKnight and drummer/vocalist Brandon Saller. The band was originally named "Retribution", but later changed their name to "Atreyu" after the character of the same name from the fantasy book/movie ''The Neverending Story'', when they found out that another band from Hemet, California had been using their original name.





In 2001, Atreyu signed with Victory Records, later releasing in 2002 their first full-length album “Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses.” Music videos were filmed for the singles "Ain't Love Grand" and "Lip Gloss and Black." The latter video found significant airplay on “Headbangers Ball” in fall of 2003, gaining Atreyu some of its initial mainstream attention.




The group's second album, “The Curse,” was released in 2004, selling 450,000 copies. The band was then featured on the soundtrack to the film “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with a cover of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name". Atreyu was also featured on the soundtrack to “Underworld: Evolution” with "Her Portrait in Black." "Right Side of the Bed" also appeared on the “Burnout 3 Soundtrack,” a racing video game.

In 2006, Atreyu released its third studio album, “A Death-Grip on Yesterday,” on March 28, 2006. The album peaked at number 9 on the Billboard 200, with sales of 69,000. The band gained further fame when the first single, "Exs and Ohs", appeared on the soundtrack to Madden NFL '07.

In early 2007, Atreyu signed a record deal with Hollywood Records for America and an international deal with Roadrunner Records. With a new label, the band began to prepare its fourth studio album, “Lead Sails Paper Anchor” which was released on August 28, 2007, and debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 43,000 copies. The American release of the album had a bonus track, a cover of the song "Epic" by Faith No More while the European and Australian bonus track was a cover of "Clean Sheets" by The Descendents.

Atreyu's fifth studio album, “Congregation of the Damned,” was released on October 27, 2009. The album, which was produced by Bob Marlette (who has worked with Ozzy Osbourne and Airbourne) and mixed by Rich Costey (who has worked with System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine). The album debuted at #18 on the Billboard 200, selling 27,412 copies on its first week.