Some two years ago I reviewed the almost acoustic album by ATREYU "The Pronoia Sessions". I rated it with 9 out of 10, as I felt that the renditions of the songs they did were in general just as powerful as the original version. Sometimes even more so, at least for me. On 24 April 2026 it will be time to give us new music with "The End Is Not The End" and this American Metalcore band is a lot more than just that right now. The Melodic parts have definitely been embedded more into their music than they had before. Now there is a shifted balance between the really Heavy parts, the pure Metalcore music and the more Melodic influences. The latter are to be found most of all in the way that the vocals are being delivered. And it has to be said, however intense and impressive the shouts may be when playing heavier riffs, to me the clean vocals have a bigger impact. They make me shiver, make me take note, have me on edge.

ATREYU has been around since 1998, and "The End Is Not The End" is the twelfth studio album to date. And it becomes clear very soon that these guys have all this experience. They breathe that from start to finish. And you know what, to me it all fits what these guys do. it all has its rightful place and is therefore not only rather good, but also pretty easy to listen to. I have done just that, many a time before writing this review. My conclusion is that I just can't help but really like what I am hearing, that I have to admit that ATREYU is quite simply put a very good band.

As for the songs themselves, there are some favourites for me. I just can't help admire songs like "All For You",  where the music and the message go hand in hand. Because that is another fine quality that ATREYU is portraying on "The End Is Not The End". Every song has something to tell you, and I can't escape the feeling that whoever wrote most of the lyrical content has had a very tumultuous and troubled relationship with either a loved one or close relative. And you know what they say, often the best songs are written when someone is miserable. Not that I wish that on anyone, but if the outcome of those shenanigans is as impressive as what ATREYU brings on "The End Is Not The End", I'm not going to be the one to complain about it.