The decade of the 2000s (is that really what we’re calling it now?) was incredibly good to Victory Records. They were, at one point and time, arguably the biggest independent label of alternative music out there – courting the emo (Hawthorne Heights), metalcore/post-hardcore (Darkest Hour, Silverstein, Grade), progressive metal (Between The Buried And Me), and alt-rock (Taking Back Sunday) outlets with equal ferocity and fervor. All of this from a band that started as a label dedicated to the burgeoning hardcore/metalcore scene of the early to mid ’90s (Snapcase, Earth Crisis, and Hatebreed all got their start here). Unfortunately, they’re not around anymore to release new albums from up and coming bands in the scene. But in 2006, Victory Records was at arguably the top of their game with Atreyu’s 3rd album, A Death-Grip On Yesterday.
The album, while a disappointing 9 songs long, contains some of their best music – “The Theft” foreshadows the more commercial, accessible route they’d go on with 2007’s Lead Sails Paper Anchor, while also containing their most daring material yet in the 5+ minute long “Untitled Finale”, and the accessible yet familiar smash single “Ex’s And Oh’s”. The best track, though, is either the (untitled) finale or the 5th track, “We Stand Up”. The latter is fairly indicative of the album as a whole – a rapid-fire rhythm section and dueling vocals of Alex V. and Brandon Saller make this arguably a classic album, despite a few missteps. In fact, the album peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200 – one of the more notable chart debuts from a metalcore band in the genre’s history. Impressive.
