Atreyu vocalist Alex Varkatzas: "We invented metalcore"
As part of the promotional cycle for the new Atreyu album, vocalist Alex Varkatzas spent some time talking to Rock Sound and made a bold claim: Atreyu invented metalcore.
Addressing Atreyu's place in the modern scene, Varkatzas had this to say:
"You know I don't know where we fit in any scene and I don't think that any scene knows where we fit. I think that's just part of us. This is going to sound a little cocky but I'm a singer in a band. I don't think we fit into any genre. I think we are hard to pin down. When we first started it was a little easier. We were a metallic hardcore band with singing parts. There wasn't any else like that when we were doing it. People get confused and say 'you're a metalcore band', but we invented metalcore. That may sound cocky but I don't care. We pre-date Poison The Well and Killswitch Engage and all those bands. I've been doing this since I was literally 12 years old. So throughout that I still don't know where we fit, and I think our fans know that. This is the place to be you. This is our driving force and heartbeat. This is the place we go to express ourselves. I think our fan base and the people who like our band are like that too. They like music and we play music."
What he said would be true if dozens of other bands hadn't been playing metalcore before Atreyu (e.g. Shai Hulud, Earth Crisis, Turmoil, Disembodied, Integrity, Converge, Vision of Disorder... I could go on for a bit).
Anyway, making ridiculous statements is one way to promote your new album.
[via Loudwire]