Fans of Orange County Metalcore band Atreyu all breathed a collective sigh of relief on July the 1st when the band released a statement officially announcing that they’re back making music and playing live again. Today I had the pleasure of speaking to guitarist Dan Jacobs and got the lowdown on the reasons behind this hiatus and their return from this self-imposed exile. The news is even better for their Australian fans as they are set to grace our shores as part of the Soundwave Festival in February next year, which for the first time will be a two day event.
I couldn’t kick the interview off without asking the question, why the hiatus, which was arguably at the bands most successful period of their career to date. Dan was very philosophical in his response “We started touring when we were in our teens, we toured for eight years straight. We were stuck in never neverland for a while and then we got a chance to get out of never neverland, and find out who we are as individuals outside of the band. We were a little bit burnt out, we loved what we did but we just needed to take a step back and just kind of find ourselves as individuals outside of the band and get excited again. We didn’t want to get too burnt out, we didn’t want to force the music out or be putting on a show were not excited to play. If were not excited to play our fans won’t be excited, so we took a step back. Unintentionally I think it was the best thing we could have done for our career, were so excited now ourselves to play again, we’re really excited for our fans again. It just feels good, we just can’t wait to get back and start playing again”.
The band starting giving their fans a subtle indication that things were beginning to stir in the middle of 2013 but it wouldn’t be for another year before an official announcement would be made. I was curious to know what the catalyst that finally got the momentum going was. “I’ve been beating away at this for the last couple of years trying to get the dudes back together, I know I missed it more than anything. I know they did too, I don’t know if everybody was just ready yet as they still had things they needed to accomplish. I just kept chipping away at it until I finally got to a point where I think everybody was comfortable again and was ready. We all went and met up for dinner several months ago and it started growing exponentially from there.”
Atreyu’s last music release was in the form of the album Congregation For The Damned in 2009, I was curious to find out if there was any new music on the horizon. “We actually have a song that is coming out tomorrow, I guess for you guys it will be today, September 5th we’re releasing a new song. It’s called ‘So Others May Live’ it’s kind of like our record ‘The Curse’ but on steroids, it’s just very heavy. It’s Just everything we’ve ever learned about music and ourselves in the past fifteen years is all put into this song and we’re really, really excited and that’s kind of the first thing we’re putting out. As far as a new record there probably wouldn’t be anything until next year but right now we’ve put this song out so there’s something out there that says hey we’re back, we’re coming to take names and be brutal and heavy and do it how we used to do it back in the day. Yeah it’s just exciting I think especially fans of the old Atreyu, this is what they have been waiting for a long time”.
The last time Atreyu were out in Australia was with the Taste Of Chaos tour featuring Atreyu, Bullet For My Valentine and Avenged Sevenfold. This time they will be joining the Soundwave Festival as part of its first two day event. I asked Dan how different it was playing a festival event as opposed to regular shows “It’s a totally different vibe when you’re playing like big stages in front of a lot of people it’s hard to play like a club show or kind of a more intimate show, it’s got just a totally different vibe. There are different ways which you work the crowd, in the way you play and move and the things you do, the songs you play. Everything has to be tailored to the type of crowd you’re playing to. Playing a festival crowd is one of the most exciting things you can experience, you go out there and there are so many bands, everybody is there to soak up music. So you just go out there, you’re like you know what, there are so many good bands, we want to shine, we want to stick out, we want people to remember us, so everybody has got to bring their ‘A-Game’. Which is really cool especially for the fans you know because you’re at these shows seeing these bands that have come out there and want to prove themselves, no matter how big or little they are or how long they have or haven’t been around, they want to come out there and prove themselves to the fans that they are just as good as every other band out there. It’s really cool, it’s really exciting, especially for the fans they really get the best of it”.
A music festival in Australia is a long way from Orange County California but will make for an unlikely location for a high school reunion, the Atreyu guitarist explains “The Aquabats and Gerard Way have members in both of those bands that I went to high school with, so it’s really crazy that we’re all coming over to Australia and playing shows with guys in bands that we went to high school with. It’s like it all coming full circle in Australia, it’s crazy, it’s very surreal.”
Dan Jacobs left these parting words for all the Atreyu fans in Australia “Hold onto your asses because we’re about to come over there to fuck some shit up!!”
Interview by Mike Trandafil
A music festival in Australia is a long way from Orange County California but will make for an unlikely location for a high school reunion, the Atreyu guitarist explains “The Aquabats and Gerard Way have members in both of those bands that I went to high school with, so it’s really crazy that we’re all coming over to Australia and playing shows with guys in bands that we went to high school with. It’s like it all coming full circle in Australia, it’s crazy, it’s very surreal.”
Dan Jacobs left these parting words for all the Atreyu fans in Australia “Hold onto your asses because we’re about to come over there to fuck some shit up!!”
Interview by Mike Trandafil
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