California metal band Atreyu beat up their clean vocalist Brandon Saller in the new music video for “Warrior.” The song was initially released on March 4, 2021 along with “Underrated.” Both songs and their October 2020 single “Save Us” are on the tracklist for their recently announced album Baptize, due June 4 via Spinefarm Records.

Travis Barker of Blink-182, who sings guest vocals on the track, is not present for the music video. In it, Atreyu is confined to a small ‘room’ of plastic sheets as they use beer bottles, a stick and their fists to rough up Saller until his head bleeds. Close camera angles and flashy video editing make it an intense scene to behold.

The song is heavily focused on its catchy chorus, which sounds ripe for sports games, advertisements and WWE entrance music. “I am a warrior, I walk with the Gods/I am a warrior, I will never stop/What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger/I am the wolf, I am the hunter/I am a warrior, I walk with the Gods,” they sing. The anthemic alternative style of metal fits the motivational lyrics.

“‘Warrior’ is a song about persistence and never giving up,” Atreyu stated in a press release. “We hope this song can be the puzzle piece that helps people realize that we ALL have the capacity for greatness. Sometimes, greatness can exist in the shadows and lives buried under negativity, trauma, or anxiety. ‘Warrior’ is about searching through all of that endless darkness to finally find the sunrise.”

They add, “Sometimes life punches you in the face. The fist hurts — and the floor hurts worse. But getting back up feels incredible. ‘Warrior’ is a song about the war within. There is a daily battle inside all of us, as well as the knowledge that we each have the power to not only get back up, but also have the fire we need to thrive and burn brighter than ever.”

Photo credit: Mehreen Rizvi