Gold-certified melodic metalcore veterans Atreyu have continued forging ahead since parting ways with frontman Alex Varkatzas in 2020, with drummer Brandon Saller taking over lead vocal duties alongside bassist Marc “Porter” McKnight. While Varkatzas went on to form Dead Icarus, the band has remained active, releasing two albums with Saller and McKnight at the mic and preparing a third, ‘The End Is Not The End’, set for April 24.
Despite the band’s ongoing output, some fans continue to call for a reunion with Varkatzas — a subject Saller addressed candidly during a recent appearance on Chris Garza’s The Garza Podcast.
“Whether you like me or you like him better or whatever, it’s, like, you could at least respect what I’m doing… They’re gonna talk sht anyways. I mean, Alex hasn’t been in our band for, like, fcking — what? — six years? It’s a long f*cking time. And still it’s, like, ‘Bring Alex back?’ It’s, like, bro… It’d be, like, one of your friends being, like, ‘Man, I love your ex-wife more.’ It’s, like, ‘Dude, we’ve been divorced for six years. Move on.’”
Saller reflected on taking over as frontman and the pressure of stepping into Varkatzas’ role:
“I wanted to have it so that people wouldn’t have a reason to fcking talk sht. I wanted to present myself on stage and my voice in a way that people would be, like, ‘Oh, I can’t say anything.’ That doesn’t exist… With Porter in the band, it’s, like, fck, he has an insane voice. It was, like, we don’t need it, but mentally, it was, like, ‘Well, I wanna show people I can do this too.’ It was definitely in my head where it was, like, ‘I have to be fcking great — or else people are gonna talk sh*t.’”
He also addressed ongoing negativity from some fans online, emphasizing the band’s continued success:
“A lot of times it’s funny ’cause people will say sht on the Internet as if it’s fact… Well we’re on tour with Iron Maiden. So it obviously did not [die with Alex]. We just had the number one most added song at radio this week. Quite obviously not. But then it’s again, you’re just kind of one fckhead that wants to do that on the Internet… My favorite thing to do is when they… I’m very aware that I’m not your average lead singer type… I’m not fcking little skinny boy in cutesy fcking jeans. My favorite, though — I don’t ever respond to whatever, but whenever someone’s, like, ‘You f*cking fatass,’ I’ll respond with, ‘That’s your move? I will quote comment, like, ‘That’s what you’re doing. That’s what you’re attacking? Okay. I’m gonna tell your mom. She’s gonna be very disappointed.’”
Regarding his relationship with Varkatzas, Saller confirmed that the two remain separate but without ill will:
“No. I think it’s just better that way… Someday I would love to have a conversation with that dude and talk about history and talk about everything that happened and whatever. I’m not saying we need to be friends or whatever, but, yeah, of course, I don’t want negative thoughts with anyone in my life. Which we don’t… The truth of the matter is I think that both parties are much more happy in the current situation than we were before. So I wish nothing but the best for the dude. We all do.”
With ‘The End Is Not The End’ arriving soon, Saller and the rest of Atreyu appear focused on cementing their ongoing chapter, while leaving the past in the past.
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[Via Blabbermouth]
