Emerging from Southern California originally operating as a punk band under the moniker Retribution, the band eventually changed their name in 1999 to Atreyu, after a character from the Michael Ende-penned fantasy book The Neverending Story, and released their debut album, Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses, in 2002 on Victory Records. They continued to refine their punitive but melodic post-hardcore sound on career best-of offerings like Lead Sails Paper Anchor (2007) and Congregation of the Damned (2009), before going on hiatus in 2011. They reconvened four years later and released their sixth studio effort, Long Live, with In Our Wake following in 2018. After a change in vocalists, the band reintroduced themselves with 2021's Baptize.