Album Review: To Kill Achilles – Recovery (Arising Empire)

Post-hardcore/alt-rock quartet To Kill Achilles will release their upcoming album Recovery on 11th August via Arising Empire.

The band comment on the new album:

This record is the antithesis of the last. For far too long we’ve told the story of mental degradation without hope. Becoming completely drained repeating the same lines of how it hurts to be here. Recovery deals with courage, control, acceptance, and ultimately the end goal that anyone in this circumstance seeks… the other side. This record is the journey of getting better, taking control of your life and the experiences around you.

There are few bands who epitomise believable honesty quite like To Kill Achilles. They have proven themselves to be an exceptionally lovable band with a bevy of brilliant tracks. So, there’s a lot of excitement surrounding the release of this new album. More people need to be talking about To Kill Achilles and Recovery might be the record to push them to an even higher level.

It’s a very strong start with …and I’m an Addict. A refined rawness permeates this track, To Kill Achilles delivering a brash showcase of their relatability. This is a fiery and fast track, delivering a punchy blast of energised heaviness with errant and heartfelt melodies. It’s the perfect start and the album bar setter.

Then along comes Chemical Counterpart and once again, the word to sum it up is simply ‘wow’. It’s a less instrumentally intense listen, melodic and dramatic, but the lyrical content is downright poetry, and how the words are expressed might send shivers down your spine. A massive chorus and a more desperate closing stage help confirm this as another stunner.

Take a deep breath, To Kill Achilles are only getting started and their animated post-hardcore side is on full and dangerous display with When the Lights Go Off. The pit is going to explode when this track gets played live.

This is then followed by one of the album’s most emotionally affecting and draining efforts in Blue. Has it been said enough yet that the lyrical content of To Kill Achilles is simply on another level? Because it’s being said again. Blue is a very special track, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself shedding a tear or two. Although, there’s no complaining about the melody that makes up Living in A Memory either. Pure and unconcealed passion from To Kill Achilles that you feel in your soul.

It’s an animated one with Fifteen Years, the riffs are humming nicely, as this track gets more and more intense. The cherry on top being a dramatic sounding chorus. Before No Love is A Crime makes an incredibly strong statement and reminds listeners that To Kill Achilles are one of the most relatable bands in the entire world.

It’s a perfect album, and they’d have to take a complete about turn to drop the score at this stage. Of course, that’s never going to happen with tracks like Rats. A stunning piece of music with some the best vocals and lyrics the band has ever put out. Rats is To Kill Achilles, but it’s such a step forward, it beggars’ belief. The combination of frenzied instrumentation, electric melodies, and vocal power is stunning. This is going to be everyone’s new favourite To Kill Achilles track, if it isn’t already.

There’s more to come though. First along comes Ghost Town to get right up in your face with some chunky and abrasive noise. Followed by the earnest melodies, building rhythm, and explosive heartfelt sound of The Cave. Before To Kill Achilles wrap up their magnum opus with the gigantic and glorious title track. If you think you’ve heard everything this band has to offer, you haven’t. This closing track like nothing else this band has done. Filled with elaborate and effective melodies, punchy and prevailing bouts of heaviness, and some of the album’s strongest vocals overall.

What more needs to be said? This is To Kill Achilles and they are one of the best bands in the entire world.

To Kill Achilles – Recovery Track Listing:

1. …and I’m an Addict
2. Chemical Counterpart
3. When the Lights Go Off
4. Blue
5. Living in A Memory
6. Fifteen Years
7. No Love Is A Crime
8. Rats
9. Ghost Town
10. The Cave
11. Recovery

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