The eighth studio long-player from the stalwart Orange County metalcore troupe,
In Our Wake sees
Atreyu working once again with producer
John Feldmann, who helmed the band's gold-certified
Lead Sails Paper Anchor in 2007. Since emerging at the turn of the 21st century,
Atreyu have been at the forefront of the metalcore scene, but as their popularity increased, so did their sonic approach to the genre. In finding that grey area between punishing breakdowns and earworm melodies, the band carved out a huge swath of commercial real estate in the mid- to late 2000s.
In Our Wake leans harder on the melodic hard rock side of the equation, delivering huge choruses, rousing gang vocals, and flawless guitarmonies, with the occasional djenty, palm-muted riff and neck-snapping double kick-drum blast tossed in for good measure. Opener and album namesake "In Our Wake" wastes little time in setting the tone, with
Alex Varkatzas asking the void "Who will we leave in our wake?" It's a fitting question, as
Varkatzas does a pretty spot-on
Chris Cornell scream at the end of the chorus, and the album was conceived in the wake of the
Soundgarden and
Audioslave vocalist's death. As anthemic as the title track is, it's "The Time Is Now" that lays waste to the nosebleed seats, unleashing one of the most sports highlight reel-ready intros since "Seven Nation Army." The like-minded but doltish "Blind, Deaf, and Dumb" doesn't fare as well, crumbling beneath a dated framework of rap and nu-metal posturing -- the punitive "Nothing Will Ever Change," however, should please fans of the band's heavier, more post-hardcore/screamo-fueled early works. The real outlier on the uneven but appealing
In Our Wake is the over-the-top closer. "Super Hero," which features guest vocal spots from
M. Shadows (
Avenged Sevenfold) and
Aaron Gillespie (
Underøath), is rote but weapons-grade infectious, sporting a huge, string and horns-laden stadium-baiting chorus and a compelling verse melody that hews closer to
Imagine Dragons and even early
Radiohead than it does
Shadows Fall or
Agnostic Front. ~ James Christopher Monger