A menacing combination of pummeling hardcore, traditional metal and emotional sing-alongs, Atreyu can at times resemble a more coarse, thrashy swedish metal influenced Poison The Well. But rather than augment their metallic onslaught with emo reminiscent interludes like so many other bands out there today, this Orange County, CA based five piece instead delve into soaring melodic hardcore styled passages that give them a decided edge over their competition while also keeping the music flowing fast and for the most part, furious.

With intense barks and harsh screams that nearly rip the listeners face off, the vocals exude a fierce sense of primal aggression that is linked directly with the bevy of chugging riffs and ravenous double kick drumming to essentially beat its victims into blissful submission. But the band are not a one trick pony by any means and also accentuate their songs with some mature medium range singing which really adds character and gives them a distinct contrast to keep the music interesting as a whole. A shredding guitar performance is also put on display throughout each of the albums tracks and exhibits everything from technical fretwork wizardry to chunky distorted barrages that avoid the pitfall of causing the music to sound nostalgic or over the top by never settling upon one part for too long. To compliment this the bass playing generally takes on a supporting role, which when combined with the intimate connection between the drumming and guitar work, really makes for some grooves and progressions that bridge the gap between the often distanced rhythm and lead sections. But this is not to say that the percussive element on hand here is discreet by any means as a wealth of thunderous double kick driven beatdowns and pounding rolls play an integral role within the bands musical cognition and go on to give the songs the kind of dense base needed to achieve what they do.

Its definitely refreshing to see that not every band in the more commercially visible sect of hardcore is trying to jump on the emo/metal bandwagon and blatantly jack the styles of the current "hot" bands in an attempt to make a name for themselves. Atreyu are living proof that a group can still come along and manage to put their own spin on things, combining a number of unlikely influences and winding up with a sound that is surprisingly able to appeal to both new and old listeners of the metal/hardcore genres. Such an accomplishment is by no means an easy feat but it is without question one which the band achieve through the delicate balance of styles that are tirelessly maintained here, ultimately making "Suicide Notes And Butterfly Kisses" such an invigorating listen. It has the in your face voraciousness of the current crop of today's metalcore acts and the restrained melodic sensibility and technical riffery of the metal and hardcore of days past, causing it to sound unique when stacked against the bulk of what's currently large in the scene today. Sure it might turn off a few people and some of the songs can tend to be a bit to ambitious or rough around the edges at times, but its damn sure a lot better than most of what's out there and its not hard to see this group becoming a major force on the Victory roster within the next few years.