AchillesRochester NY’s, Achilles new full length, The Dark Horse, the follow up to their split with labelmates Engineer is proof that technical-math oriented hardcore doesn’t have to be just calculated, lifeless disjointed riffs, it can have passion and intelligent thought as well. Featuring former members of Building On Fire (I highly recommend Blueprint For A Space Romance) and Standfast, Achilles have managed to incorporate their past endeavors with a whole new perspective. This release succeeds where a lot of others fail in this type of music, every song melts into the next and creates an ethereal setting for the listener. From the reverb laden eerie intros to the melodically charged choruses to the scathing off the wall breakdowns this album guides you down a path of chaos and confusion but by the end of it, leaves you in a moment of complete clarity and understanding. Each musician in this band played a crucial role in the soundscape as whole, each member realizes when to stick together and when to break away, always returning perfectly on cue. The progressions in the songs are actually progressive, to the off timed sound of bands like Coalesce to the frantic melodies of Botch and Drowningman. I can’t say enough good things about this release musically. Vocally, the man does a masterful job of changing it up while maintaining continuity. Which can also be said for the lyrics, he walks the line of abstract and straight ahead stylings. The production end of things were handled by Chris Ownes (Ed Gein, Coliseum, Breather Resist) and Breather Resist’s Evan Patterson, who both know how to capture the essence of the band who tread the waters of polished rawness. The layout is as eye catching as it is thought provoking, to the use of colors to the seemingly random images. Over the past few years mathy hardcore has been on a steady decline, well here’s a release for the tech afficionados who have been waiting for a new benchmark.
Rating: 5/5 Songs worthy of replay: All of them
Thesis: This is the new benchmark for math inspired hardcore, dare I say best of the year?