The Beauty of "The Curse"

Zac Morris, entertainment editor

Hailing from the Southern California music scene in Orange County, Atreyu proved with their 2002 release “Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses” that it is possible to make it in the music business almost over night.

Toward the end of last year, they released their second album, “The Curse,” which completely surprised anyone that thought the band could only play hardcore music.

The band came off the road at the end of 2003 to record “The Curse” after more than a year of being on the road.  According to atreyurock.com, “The Curse explores themes of isolation and paranoia, memory and immortality, as well as power and potency.” Musically, the album is very diverse and different from what I expected. The guitars still sound like a hardcore and 80s cross, but every chorus is sung on this album. The mix of powerful lyrics being screamed and beautiful melodies being sung is amazing.

Every song on the album is extraordinary, but there are several that stick out and deserve special recognition, beginning with track 2, “Bleeding Mascara.”

This song is one that deals with immortality and dark beauty. The music begins and singer Alex Varkatzas screams out “lets go.” As the verse starts, Varkatzas begins screaming, as I expected. But as the song gets to the first chorus, I was surprised to hear the voice of drummer/singer Brandon Saller. The only time I really remember Saller singing on the previous album was on the song “Ain’t Love Grand,” and the quality of his singing has improved with leaps and bounds. When I heard him singing, “Look how pretty she is, when she falls down. And there’s no beauty in bleeding mascara Her lips are quivering like a withering rose. She’s back again” I knew that this was going to be enjoyed by a more diverse crowd.

In my favorite song of the album, “The Crimson,” he comes through once again with thought-provoking lyrics driven as loud and meaningful as they can be.  The first verse is best part of the song.

The lyrics are “I feel it welling up in side. And Robert Smith lied, boys do cry and with blood tears in my eyes I’m an Ann Rice novel come to life…”

Saller comes in at the chorus as he does through out the whole album. In this song, he sings out, “Will you still hold me when you see what I have done? Will you still kiss me the same, when you taste my victim’s blood? So crimson and red, I feel it flowing from your lips. My heart is dead and so are you.” This is another example of the immortality theme.

Another song worthy of mentioning is, “Five Vicodin Chased with a Shot of Clarity.” The lyrics focus mainly on isolation, yet there is a ray of light toward the end. What really caught my attention though was the chorus, “I’m sorry I don’t think it will be OK this time. My heart has skipped it’s final beat. Onto the floor, that must mean that the pills are working. The glass isn’t half empty this time. I smashed it on the floor a long, long time ago. It shattered when it fell, and I broke the pieces (each shards another reason) another way to give in.” Everyone can relate to that desolate feeling. Varkatas screams out “I will never give up, I will never take the easy way out.” After this, the band echoes out behind their lead singer “This is (life), This is (struggle), This is (love), This is (war).”

Some could say that the band went a little lighter than their previous release, but they still hold true to their Hardcore sound. They have just broadened their spectrum of fans.