For years, Alex Varkatzas was one of many two vocalists in Atreyu, however that every one modified in 2020 when it was revealed {that a} break up had occurred. On the time, an announcement was issued that learn partly, “Alex Varkatzas is crusing off on a ship of his personal, and can half methods with Atreyu. He won’t disappear and neither will Atreyu.” Now, in a brand new interview, the singer sheds just a little extra gentle on the exit from his longtime group and admits that issues did not go so properly within the instant aftermath.
Reflecting on that interval, Varkatzas revealed that his exit from the band occurred months earlier than the general public assertion was issued in September of 2020. However, he clarifies, that the act of leaving the band wasn’t precisely clearly outlined.
“I need to make clear. The phrases ‘I left Atreyu.’ I by no means made that assertion,” defined the singer to Blabbermouth. “We legally agreed upon and posted terminology, and so far as I do know, the band and I’ve parted methods.”
He went on so as to add that with such ambiguity, it made responding to the reactions just a little tougher. “It is so bizarre. All these persons are hitting me up, like, ‘I am so joyful you determined to go away and be with your loved ones. I help that!’ I am like, ‘Man. I by no means bear in mind saying that or instigating that,” he added.
“Very abruptly, you could possibly say we parted methods and every part modified for me. If I am being completely emotionally sincere, I misplaced my life, form of,” he continued. “Other than my household, I discovered myself with no job and any associates, or nearly all of my associates have been gone. The pandemic and lockdown had began. It was not introduced, however I used to be out of the band in April 2020 on the peak of every part, which is when the shoe dropped behind the scenes.”
What Occurred After His Exit From Atreyu?
“It was super-challenging. My spouse was additionally six months pregnant with our third and last child. We have been instructed we weren’t in a position to have any extra youngsters. I am not a spiritual particular person, however I might say that if someone was placing some large assessments in entrance of me to see what I used to be product of and what I used to be going to do, and I failed at first. I failed fairly horribly at first. I needed to hit backside,” says Varkatzas.
The singer says, “I fell into a fairly unhealthy despair. I labored out my whole grownup life fairly vigorously. I maintained a sure mindset and angle. I finished understanding and began ingesting. Not like a drunk, however often ingesting, which is one thing I hadn’t carried out in years. I let myself regret myself and the state of affairs. I regarded round. I am a job mannequin for my youngsters. I’ve three youngsters: 9, seven and three. It is like, what am I doing? What instance am I setting? Though I haven’t got to work each day and do stuff, I am fortunate to produce other hobbies and pursuits that make just a little cash, like portray and artwork. I do not need my youngsters to understand that that is regular. I wished them to see the hard-working, go-getter of an individual. I hit backside. I spotted that I wished to go up. I wished to get out of that gap.”
What Occurred With Atreyu?
Later within the interview, Varkatzas elaborated a bit on how issues have been shifting within the band behind the scenes. “Atreyu had modified a lot musically through the years. Different folks, I do not need to say, had taken over, however their affect had taken over. I had my period of affect, however when a band is round for therefore lengthy, it is solely pure for issues to shift and alter. It will be unnatural for them to not. Issues shifted and perhaps I did not know the place I match into the shift,” he defined.
“That put me in a bizarre place for just a few years, even when the band got here again. Even once we did, the deal was I wasn’t going to sing. I did not need to. I did not need to problem myself that manner. I wished to scream. It was not my intention to have Atreyu with two clear vocalists singing clear. However it’s not my band. It is also 4 different folks’s band. You bought to roll with all people and meet someplace within the center,” he provides.
That incapacity to be on the identical web page together with his band led to a change in view as to how he match with the group. “I felt fucking irrelevant,” he revealed at one level, then later including, “One thing was occurring. I could not pinpoint it, not even for a very long time. It was that feeling misplaced. I did not know the place I match. I’ve at all times identified the place I slot in that band for a very long time. Issues change. It is onerous to vary with it, particularly in artwork.”
READ MORE: Alex Varkatzas Rescinds His ‘Invented Metalcore’ Declare
What Is Varkatzas As much as Now?
The singer has reclaimed his musical ardour together with his new group, Useless Icarus, which pairs him with Enterprise Earth’s Gabe Mangold, who performed guitar, bass and produced their new EP.
“What’s cool about Useless Icarus is there is no such thing as a [meeting in the] center. It is what I need to do. Gabe, my writing accomplice, we’re engaged on a full-length now, and it is unimaginable.” He later added, “The brand new stuff sounds sonically superior. I am on this nice, excited, artistic house. Gabe and I are talking the identical language. It is so necessary.”
Thus far, the group has issued the brand new songs “So I Set Myself on Hearth” and “Sellout.”
Bands That Broke Up in 2023
These are the rock and metallic bands that broke up in 2023.
Gallery Credit score: Philip Trapp
