ATREYU guitarist Dan Jacobs has looked back on one of the band's most chaotic live experiences: opening for IRON MAIDEN in Monterrey, Mexico in February 2009 in front of a sold-out football stadium of 30,000–35,000 fans.
"That was scary as hell. And people were throwing shit at us. And it was horrifying," Jacobs told an interviewer. The show was part of a short run in Mexico that also included Mexico City, as ATREYU toured behind their album "Lead Sails Paper Anchor."
The nightmare began before a note was played, when a technical mishap saw the PA announcer butcher the band's name. "So instead of saying 'ATREYU', you just said 'TREY'," Jacobs recalled. "We're like, 'Okay, well, that's not a good look, but whatever. Here we go. This is Spinal Tap as hell.'"
Bassist Marc McKnight paid a literal price: "I actually got hit right here [below my right eye]. I have a dent in my skull from it, from a metal spike."
Yet somehow the chaos ended in triumph. "We sold all of our merch — they fucking loved us. We had a blast," McKnight noted.
ATREYU contrasted the experience with a more recent Canadian run alongside IRON MAIDEN: "The Canadians being very nice, and down in Mexico, at an Iron Maiden show they're very aggressive and scary."
The band returns with their new album "The End Is Not The End," out April 24, 2026 via Spinefarm Records.