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Street Dogs - State of Grace

In ancient Greek lore, Achilles is the half-God/half-mortal hero of the Trojan war, a most skillful soldier fighting on the side of the Greek army. As the legend goes, Achilles' goddess mother, Thetis, dipped Achilles in the river Styx, found amongst all bad 80’s music, in the underworld. Achilles thus became invulnerable, save the spot on his heel where his mother held him. Now, how does all of this tie in to the self-titled debut offering from New York’s Achilles? It doesn’t, really, I’m just fascinated by Greek mythology. As for the record, though, it does appear to be a solid metalcore album, but as with many of its contemporaries, it’s not without shortcomings.

The Achilles EP is only 5 songs, two of which are instrumental, but in that time you really get the feeling that it offers a full grasp of what the album would sound like had it been fleshed out into a full-length. The intro is an ominous-sounding one, with a repeated acoustic strum and some very dissonant guitar that comes and goes every 10 seconds or so, and then quickly you’re launched into the first track, "Smoke & Mirrors," which shows Achilles at their most fine-tuned and intense. It’s on the shorter end of things, but length isn’t imperative for a band like this to really showcase their skills. The guitars are perfect for this kind of music: fast, but not overly technical. The music doesn’t get bogged down by too many time signature changes, and things just flow nicely. The drums sound full and they hit with power, and the strength of the bass is evident as well, although its role is much lesser than the other components. The one time that each instrument does get a bit of time to shine is on the second instrumental track.

It’s not one of the album's longer tracks, but for what it is it gets into a pretty solid groove, leading into the album's last track, the Kevin Bacon-inspired "Let’s Dance." This track, however, serves as a perfect example of how indiscriminate this band can really be. There's some inventive riffs, solid bass playing, good drumming, but the vocals, passionate as they may be, could just as easily belong to 100 other lead singers in the genre. True, there’s only so many ways a voice can sound during a scream, but this is the default metalcore band singer's voice. It’s not bad; it just gives the listener such an indifferent attitude.

“Why should I buy your album, and not Evergreen Terrace’s? What makes your album different from Curl Up And Die's?” There really isn’t a good answer if that question is ever posed, and therein lies the dillemma many of these bands face. Go against the grain, and possibly alienate all listeners, or with it, and blend in to the crowd.

Well, Achilles blend. Unfortunate, as with many metalcore bands, they do show musical promise, and the thought that maybe they can branch out into something more. I can’t hate on a band for playing their style well, but the only potential factor that would make me buy this album is a coin landing tails up.






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    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 18, 2005 at 5:22 PM (EDT)

    "liking and defending a band doesn't make you a metallica fan, or a slipknot fan. i'm sure you've read reviews before and wondered if the person reviewing it heard the right record.

    so pardon us for defending a band who's getting short shrift around here"

    possibly, though if someone gave say the groovie ghoulies or rocket from the crypt a bad review i wouldn't jump all over thier shit saying that they are wrong and they know nothing about music. people have different opinions, thats the way things work. write your own review if you disagree so badly. bashing other people because they don't agree with you is what made me thing of slipknot fans

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 17, 2005 at 3:50 AM (EDT)

    difference between achilles and evergreen terrace, lyrics. the review doesn't mention them at all. but then again i guess lyrics have nothing to do with this music anymore.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 6:08 PM (EDT)

    god forbid someone is passionate about a band they like. you'd almost think the word fan is short for fanatic. prick.

    liking and defending a band doesn't make you a metallica fan, or a slipknot fan. i'm sure you've read reviews before and wondered if the person reviewing it heard the right record.

    so pardon us for defending a band who's getting short shrift around here.

    (and the SAT crack...VERY clever. Standardized testing is the most punk rock way of ascertaining intelligence, right? No punker left behind and all that...)

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 15, 2005 at 4:37 PM (EDT)

    nice how you guys jumped all over the reviewer because he didn't agree with you about this band. i have listened to them but now i don't plan on it because the people who are really into them are so passionate about them that it reminds me of slipknot or metallica fans.

    Posted by Nietzsche on 2005-04-15 16:16:26
    My Score:

    I like this, even if it is just an EP. I agree, these guys do show promise. But fuck, right now, they sound a shitload like Breather Resist.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 15, 2005 at 4:11 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    This is easily one of the worst bands around right now. They are seriously hard to listen to. It's juat a bunch of recycled garbage. I think this review give the band TOO MUCH credit. They basically suck.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 15, 2005 at 2:53 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    i know thats your opinion..
    and this is mine... you're deaf.

    wait until you hear the split that came out a few months ago.

    and wait until the dark horse is released. you'll all be jockin them and they will have you by the balls.

    Posted by Anchors on 2005-04-15 12:02:04

    A few other things people seem to be failing to comprehend:

    1) I'm reviewing this EP, not their live show, and not any following recordings. So the amount they may or may not have matured doesn't fucking matter, because it didn't show here.

    2) Passion and commitment don't necessarily make for an interesting EP. Case and point.. this album. It's great they're passionate, but if it doesn't translate to recording, than it's going to be noticed.

    Posted by inagreendase on 2005-04-15 10:15:41

    ATTN conclusion-jumpers and 10th grade English dropouts:

    I inserted that link myself because Anchors originally linked to their purevolume page, not aware they had an official site. I saw that link on that page and threw it in, forgetting to substitute "music" for "band." Pretty basic mistake.

    And nowhere in this review does he compare the vocalist to the one in Evergreen Terrace. No wonder they added a third section to the SAT...

    Anyway, this band is really obviously ETID-influenced. Both bands are from upstate NY and Achilles even recycles riffs from Hot Damn! on that "more defined" split you're talking about. They're not bad but don't act like they're the saving grace of metalcore.

    Posted by matt_obscure on 2005-04-15 09:39:05

    http://www.achillesband.com/

    If you're going to talk shit about a band's output, at least link to the right website so people can hear for themselves. My first clue when I clicked the link was that the front page said "Phoenix Arizona."

    So, check out the correct URL, and draw your own conclusions.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 15, 2005 at 9:31 AM (EDT)

    I tend to agree with that. Achilles' sound has matured a lot since that EP. Not only that, but comparing Rory's voice to the kid from Evergreen Terrace is a tenuous connection at best. Don't write them off on the merits of their 1st EP. They are going to be one of the next big things in hardcore.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 15, 2005 at 1:08 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Fuck the score given on this review, this band is excellent. The members of Achilles are some of the most committed, passionate musicians I've ever met. They are without a doubt Rochester's finest hardcore band. Get into them, you wont be dissapointed.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 15, 2005 at 12:41 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    "...but the only potential factor that would make me buy this album is a coin landing tails up."

    I liked that a lot.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 15, 2005 at 12:29 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    check out the split with engineer that was just released on Hex Records, they've definitely developed into a more mature sound. Rory is one of my favorite frontmen, for you to say that he sounds like someone from evergreen terrace or whatever the hell that was about, was kind of crazy i think. anyways, they've got a full length coming out on Hex Records sometime in may, check it out, it's bound to be fucking awesome. Go see this band live and your opinion of them will change. they're so passionate about what they do. sorry about this rant, i just think that they deserve a better review. keep in mind, everyone reading this, these were the first songs that they wrote...check out the newer stuff, they have a much more defined sound.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 15, 2005 at 12:11 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    first! gay

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