If you thought California was just the place for sweet melodic punkrock, you had better think again. Last year saw Avenged Sevenfold come out of that area with their fantastic blend of heavy metal and hardcore. This year it’s Orange County’s Atreyu that makes a huge impact with their full length debut on Victory. Their sound is described as a mix of hardcore, emo and metal and that’s pretty accurate; they fuse melodic heavy metal with an aggressive form of hardcore not unlike Hatebreed. Throw in some Poison The Well-ish emo parts and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what their music is about. It’s all fairly technical, but they do manage to rock your socks off on tracks like “Ain’t Love Grand.

” Atreyu also works with two singers, which really accentuates the diversity in the sound. Lead-singer Alex delivers the heavy, aggressive throat, while drummer Brandon sings with a more harmonious and clear voice. Their duo (or should I say ‘duel’) deliverance works extremely well. Don’t expect them to sing about the California sun though; depression, pain and desire are some of the keywords here. I think a line like “Happiness is an emotion I was born to this world without” from “A Song For The Optimists” sums it up best. The mixture of musical and vocal styles truly works here and results in an album that’s charged with emotions. Highly recommended.