Atreyu – Lead Sails Paper Anchor

Ok, so I was not an Atreyu fan before this album, and I am still not really a fan of their older stuff now that I got them. Too much screaming, nothing I could really get into – not my thing. But I heard “Falling Down” on the radio and I loved that song. I ended up getting this album (with the bonus tracks) and I loved it. A little screaming, but good metalcore (or whatever you want to call it). The album starts off with some good, loud songs, like “Doomsday,” “Honor,” ”Falling Down” and “Becoming the Bull.” The rest of the album keeps going, and there isn’t a bad track on here. And the new, bonus tracks – they do a really good version of Faith No More’s “Epic” and a Descendents song “Clean Sheets.”

This is a great album if you want something loud that you can blast and still sing along to. I am not one to buy into this whole “selling out” thing just because a band changes their sound a little to make it more acceptable to the public (like Alkaline Trio, Against Me!, etc.) If it sounds good, then what is the problem? And if it doesn’t (like Metallica’s last album, which was just way too complicated and not even one guitar solo) then who really cares how indie or underground sounding it is? Just my two cents.