(Metal Hammer) Atreyu frontman Alex Varkatzas says clean vocals in metalcore music have become "whiny and annoying" in recent years. He admits his own band fell victim to the mistake after finding it difficult to go against the wishes of their record label. And he wishes more bands would return to the formula as used by Killswitch Engage's Jesse Leach and ex Howard Jones.
Atreyu released sixth album Long Live in September 2015, following a four-year hiatus in which he believes the approach to vocals has changed for the worse.
Varkatzas tells Banger TV: "Since our break, the way it's evolved, it's got really whiny. The melodic vocals are super-f***ing whiny and annoying in a lot of bands.
"I think that's a sh*tty direction. I like a Killswitch Engage vocal, like Jesse or Howard. You can sing and have clean vocals, and make it really f***ing powerful."
He blames record labels for what he sees as a wrong turn. "The first Atreyu record was 100% aggression," he recalls. "On A Death-Grip On Yesterday I started to do a little bit of melody, but not really singing.
"Then when you go to a major label, they're like, 'We need to do this, we need to do that, you've got to change this.' You have to try to get your record done no matter what." Read more and watch the full interview here.
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