Alex Varkatzas is no longer in Atreyu. Lambgoat reports the band has parted ways with the founding frontman.
The band have yet to issue an official statement. It is assumed that drummer and co-vocalist Brandon Saller will take over singing duties.
Update: Varkatzas has since commented publicly, but we're not quite sure if he confirmed he's gone or if he's confirmed he's staying. Read for yourself.
Varkatzas made headlines in 2018 when he claimed Atreyu "invented metalcore." In an interview with Rock Sound, he claimed the band, who formed in 1998, invented "metalcore." Here's the quote, emphasis ours:
"You know I don't know where we fit in any scene and I don't think that any scene knows where we fit. I think that's just part of us. This is going to sound a little cocky but I'm a singer in a band. I don't think we fit into any genre. I think we are hard to pin down. When we first started it was a little easier. We were a metallic hardcore band with singing parts. There wasn't any else like that when we were doing it.
People get confused and say 'you're a metalcore band', but we invented metalcore. That may sound cocky but I don't care. We pre-date Poison The Well and Killswitch Engage and all those bands. I've been doing this since I was literally 12 years old. So throughout that I still don't know where we fit, and I think our fans know that. This is the place to be you. This is our driving force and heartbeat. This is the place we go to express ourselves. I think our fan base and the people who like our band are like that too. They like music and we play music."
It should of course be noted that bands like Earth Crisis, Converge, Vision of Disorder, Disembodied excited long before Atreyu.
