Atreyu

Baptize

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ft. Travis Barker, Jacoby Shaddix, Matt Heafy.
Genre: Rap-Metal.
Released: 04/06/2021
Via Universal Music Operations Limited

Album Review: Atreyu – Baptize

California Metallers Atreyu are back with ‘Baptize’. The rap-metal outfit is coming from the hugely successful release of their 2018 release ‘In Our Wake’ and will be hoping for similar acclaim from fans and the media alike. Just from the release of the singles, fans have shown just how excited they are with the track ‘Save Us’ already amassing over 5.8 Million streams on Spotify. Here are my thoughts on Atreyu’s ‘Baptize’. 

Easy listening tracks full of pep and engagement are littered throughout with tracks like ‘Baptize’ and ‘Weed’ utilizing the band’s eccentric style to create an entertaining listening experience. With the album being 15 songs long, you can rest assured that there is something for everyone on here. 

Boasting an all start set of feature proves that Atreeyu certainly has to pull in the metal scene. Matt Heafy of Trivium, Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach and Travis Barker all feature. ‘Untouchable’ uses Shaddix’s unique vocal delivery to attempt to add some much-needed oomph to the track. The song itself sound similar to a ‘Connection’ era Papa Roach song, that has been left out as it’s extremely dull and uninspiring. ‘Oblivion’ benefits from Matt’s ear-piercing vocals and is a much better track. A lot of power and energy can be felt throughout this one and it’s a breath of fresh air late on in the album. The final track ‘Warrior’ features Travis and yet again, the song feels uninspired and bland. 

Unfortunately, the album lacks a lot of character and tracks like ‘Broken Again’ and ‘Sabotage Me’ feel extremely predictable. This is the bands first release without frontman Alex Varkatzas and it becomes quickly apparent as to just how vital he was to the band’s style and persona. Brandon Saller doesn’t have the same charisma and energy as Alex and his vocals often dwindle and become unmemorable. 

With that all being said, the album is a bit of a disappointment. I found a lot more that I didn’t like here than things I enjoyed. There is hope though, a few tracks here really stuck with me and showed me that the new change has the potential to reach the same heights as former releases, however there is a lot of work that is needed for me to return to this band.