The opposite of paranoia, pronoia is the idea that the world is conspiring in one’s favor. It’s not a state of mind that pessimists are apt to experience, but the hopeful men in Atreyu are offering butterfly kisses to positivity with their latest creative endeavor, The Pronoia Sessions. Spinefarm Records offers up the saxy (that’s not a typo, folks!) new collection on October 25, 2024.
With a successful career spanning over two decades, the members of Atreyu – Vocalist Brandon Saller, Guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, Bassist/Vocalist Porter McKnight – have certainly earned the right to their aforementioned pronoia. From 2002’s debut Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses to their most recent full-length, 2023’s The Beautiful Dark of Life, the SoCal “loud rock band” has plenty of experience in the positive and negative domains. And their latest, The Pronoia Sessions, is a creative diversion or nostalgic catharsis set to music, but it should not be blown off as just another effortless “Best Of,” as over-simplification dismisses the musicianship and creative abandon that went into reimagining these ten epic compositions.
Sure, there is no “Lake of Fire,” no New York City soundstage, but the quartet—with the aid of Drummer Kyle Rosa, who recently departed the band amicably—endeavored to offer listeners an experience akin to their very own MTV Unplugged. The final result offers a sweeping last dance as the cherry on top of a phenomenal showing, one that sees a newfound emphasis on Saller’s inimitable vocals, the emotional heft of his every word a gut punch throughout. This lends even further weight to tracks such as “Gone,” which now feels like the closing sequence score to an epic masterpiece of film. Ditto the gritty “Becoming the Bull,” whose post-apocalyptic tumbleweeds roll with a newfound swagger.
It’s smooth sailing for the recent “Drowning,” twinkling strings on fan favorite “The Theft,” and for the reimagined “Save Us,” they turn toward bold cinematic soundscapes bathed in lush harmonies. Meanwhile, “Ex’s and Oh’s” is a little less smoky bar sex as “Right Side of the Bed,” now with a saxophone solo from Jacobs, loses its dark sensuality to gain an immensity of depth, tonally and texturally.
No strangers to show-stopping covers, Atreyu offers up the emotional “Like A Stone,” in tribute to Chris Cornell, who originally released the song with Audioslave back in 2002. A beautifully moving and tasteful homage, it sits beside the EP’s final bow, a cover of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” as suitably eclectic selections that fit flawlessly with the band’s original material.
As such, The Pronoia Sessions highlights the exemplary musicianship of a band that has always pushed themselves by always diving deeper. And yet, the album might frustrate those who want Atreyu to eternally exist within the box of 2002-2007, as titans of Southern California’s Metalcore scene. Instead, listeners are provided with a window to the soul of a quartet that has weathered the past twenty-five years with grace all while continuously evolving, building a sonic personality that promises wit alongside experimentation, and excellence in both. Despite and possibly thanks to their “too heavy” and “too pop” moments, Atreyu often shines brightest in the in-between. For this, Cryptic Rock gives The Pronoia Sessions 5 out of 5 stars.
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