Atreyu News HQ Review of COTD

DISCLAIMER: Remember peeps, this is just one fan's opinion... nothing more!

First things first. I'm a weirdo. I almost always hate the order in which a band places the songs on their album (and more often than not it's the label that makes this decision actually). So this review will be different, as in, in a different order than the album comes.

Now, I live by my iPod and so I have the ability to switch things up in the order I choose. I have changed the order of songs for Congregation of the Damned in a way that I find more pleasing. I don't just do this for Atreyu, I have done this for the new albums from Marilyn Manson, Breaking Benjamin, AFI, Rammstein, and Three Days Grace that have all come out this year as well. That said, here is the order I listen to the songs.

1. You Were The King, Now You're Unconscious
2. Congregation of the Damned
3. Stop! Before It's Too Late and We've Destroyed It All
4. Insatiable
5. Bleeding Is A Luxury
6. Lonely
7. Storm To Pass
8. Coffin Nails
9. Black Days Begin
10. Gallows
11. So Wrong
12. Ravenous
13. Wait For You

I do this not to put the good ones first or the bad ones last. I do this to spread the songs out in a way I see that fits best. Additionally, I don't have either of the special CDs with the bonus tracks because I purchased mine on iTunes last night so this review with deal specifically with the original album itself.

1) You Were The King, Now You're Unconscious ★★★★★
When re-arranged I had to put this one first. It has an epic intro that I simply couldn't wait until the middle of the album to hear. This is by far the shining jewel on the album in my opinion. I could listen to this song over and over and over again. The bottom line with the intro and the song itself is that it should be heard loud... very loud! In one fell swoop this has become my absolute favorite Atreyu song... period. What more can I say? Best chorus. Best lyrics. Alex's voice is amazing. Brandon's voice is amazing.

I know this Atreyu Fan Site is on the Atreyu radar (hell, they follow us on Twitter) so I hope they read this. Make this the second single! PLEASE! I'd kill to see a music video for this song.

2) Congregation of the Damned ★★★★
Yes, the speculation is over. Clearly what was once titled "Carried Away" is now titled "Congregation of the Damned." Do I care? Not really. It works either way.

Now, I really like this song. It makes for a great title track. Ultimately it's nothing to write home about but it's still really good.

3) Stop! Before It's Too Late And We've Destroyed It All ★★★★☆
We've had this song the longest and it has stood the test of time, I think. Like "You Were The King, Now You're Unconscious" this song is meant to be played very loud indeed. The lyrics to this are epic and most of all brutally honest. The writing truly shows the maturity of the band and their willingness to express their opinion. Expressing an opinion on the state of the world will do nothing but lose you fans, because some people will not like what your saying. Underneath it all, this song screams, "this is what we believe and we're gonna scream it on the rooftops whether you like it or not!" That shows emotion, dedication, and most of all bravery. Any band can go out there and sing neutral songs that won't piss people off. Kudos Atreyu.

4) Insatiable ★★★★☆
Some songs are just good period. Some songs, like "Insatiable" here, are okay... until you sit down and read the lyrics along with the song. I would have given this a three and half stars until I really read what was being said. Again, brilliant writing, and most of all very self-reflective writing. Also, did I mention how good Alex is now? I mean, he's been great but this CD really shows what he can do!

5) Bleeding Is A Luxury ★★★★
I might be in the minority on this song, but I think it's the worst on the CD. I still think it's really good, but compared to the rest of the album I give it the lowest rating. The chorus is great, the writing for this is pretty good, but I (bite my tongue) feel like this is rather filler-like. Again, I like the song and I certainly don't skip it, but I think it's the lowest note the album. From about the two-minute mark on is when I really like the song, because it's very different there.

6) Lonely ★★★★☆
I'm not gonna lie, this song is light. But I love it. It's not heavy. Dare I say, it's very LSPA... but then again I love that CD too. This is anything but single material but I really do love this song and I guess I can't give a good reason why.

7) Storm To Pass ★★★★★
This is the second best song in my opinion and clearly a stellar choice for the first single. This song never gets old and the absolute killer part is it's chorus. I'm a sucker for having a man-crush on Brandon's voice so anything that really showcases how great of a voice he has gets me all gay inside. What this song also does is show how great Alex and Brandon work together.

8) Coffin Nails ★★★★★
Yet another amazing track showing how amazing Alex and Brandon are together (makes you wish they could have babies together... sorry, bad image). This song kinda makes me thing of Ill Niño for some reason. Either way, the lyrics are brilliant as well. Also reminds me of LSPA but again, I loved that CD.

9) Black Days Begin ★★★★☆
This is another great song that gets better once you've sat down and read the lyrics. Not the fastest song but certainly displays their talent. This song makes me think of The Curse with lyrics like "your body, it taunts me, your flesh, oh it's so haunting."

10) Gallows ★★★★★
I have been in love with this song since Call of Duty: Metalhead Zombies. Over and over and over I played this track. The chorus to this is simply amazing and the lyrics are perfect. Hands down, the third best song on the album behind "You Were The King, Now You're Unconscious" and "Storm To Pass." If you haven't read the lyrics, look them up and really listen to what they're saying. This song is perhaps the most revealing song on the album! Oh yeah, did I mention, this song is amazing turned up! Up up up!!!

11) So Wrong ★★★★★
I love the lyrics to this song so much. Now, as we all know, we all interpret songs different and I may be biased in my assessment of this song... but I think this song is about a loss of religious faith. I think it's about looking back to being younger and making everything fit in a religious view without really assessing the facts. When he says "a flame still burns at the back of it" I think it's talking about how even though you don't believe in the religion you were raised in you still have it in the back of your head because you were force-fed it for years without alternative. I think this song shows religious maturity when Alex screams "and all that I know is that I know nothing." Here he's saying that he's grown to accept that although as a species we can explain a lot there is still a lot that tugs at us with wonder and often excruciating curiosity. He no longer is pretending that he knows for a fact the great questions, of God, life, the after-life, and the universe. Again, this is my interpretation and what makes music wonderful is how everyone interprets it differently. Atreyu has had songs in the past that I would say scream, maybe not anti-religious feelings, but at the very least a questioning of authority, specifically religious authority. Not to mention, the album cover is the Madonna with a pit of "damned" people inside her guts...

12) Ravenous ★★★★☆
Just like "Stop! Before It's Too Late And We've Destroyed It All" this song is brutally honest and expresses a very stong and very clear opinion. Great lyrics, great showcase of their talent.

13) I'll Wait For You ★★★★☆
Umm... is this Atreyu? Holy shit! Now this is different. I really like it. Every great rock band needs their power ballad and I think this one will fit the bill. Is it any surprise this song exists? Not really. Considering that Brandon and Alex have both gotten married in the last two years. It's a great closer, and yes, little bitches who moan about LSPA will moan about this. Well fuck you. Nobody likes you anyways. As for the lyrics, they aren't stellar. But the sheer balls they had to put this on the CD are well worth an extra half-star, I say.

Final Grade: It's a near perfect 4.6 stars average, rounded up equals ★★★★★

Final thought: This CD is clearly their best in my opinion. It serves a very important function, which is to really make every Atreyu album really feel like Atreyu. Before this there seemed to be a pre-LSPA and LSPA vibe among the fans. With Congregation we now feel like they are all Atreyu because Congregation seems to have the best of everything they've ever done all in one.

So there are those people who bitch and moan about LSPA being "slow and emo" or "sell-out" and I'm not even gonna get into how wrong they are and that they need to shut the fuck up. However, those nay-sayers really have nothing to say now. There is no "old Atreyu" or "new Atreyu" anymore. There is just Atreyu. And they fucking rock.

Above all, this album shows maturity and a very clear path to where Atreyu wants to be. So here it is, if you don't like Congregation then you are not a fan of Atreyu any longer. This is where they are going and this is Atreyu at their best. This is where they want to be and where we fans want them to be.

Now, I took a risk when embarking on this fan site. Congregation could have sucked. It could have totally sucked major donkey balls, but it didn't. I have a feeling this site, and Atreyu, is going to get bigger, much bigger, very soon.

Brilliant work boys. You've made us all so very proud!

UPDATE: A review of the three bonus tracks can be found here.