Musical Style, Influences and Legacy
The band is considered as one of the most influential post-hardcore acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade). Some of the group's influences include bands such as Indian Summer, Swing Kids, Fugazi, Sunny Day Real Estate (referred to by Ward as "Fugazi beyond Fugazi"), Bad Brains, and the Gravity Records-led post-hardcore sound of the 1990s that featured acts such as Antioch Arrow and Heroin. The band also performed cover versions of songs such as "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" by The Smiths and "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" by Pink Floyd, both included in the 2004 compilation This Station Is Non-Operational. Their name was taken from the fact that Bad Brains took their name from the Ramones' song "Bad Brain" (from Road to Ruin), and Bixler liked the Bad Brains' song title "At the Movies" (track featured in Rock for Light); while Ward liked "at the drive-in" (lyric found in Poison's "Talk Dirty to Me"), and his suggestion would eventually win out.
Though In/Casino/Out was recorded live, "Relationship of Command may very well be the first record to harness the chaotic balance of adrenaline and intellect of ATDI's live performance." "Ross was instrumental in bringing out a lot of feeling from us," Bixler recalls. "We channeled a lot of emotion into this record. He pushed us farther than we thought we could go. I learned to cut loose the way we do live and not to be afraid to break something or whatever." While capturing the essence of At the Drive-In's live shows in a way never before seen, the record also featured some of the bands most experimental songs, including "Rolodex Propaganda", "Non-Zero Possibility," and "Invalid Litter Dept." .
Relationship of Command is now seen as one of the most influential rock albums of the decade, receiving accolades such as being ranked 47th in the 50 Greatest Albums of the 21st century in Kerrang!, number 83 on Spin Magazine's 100 Greatest Albums 1985–2005, as well as number 90 on MTV2's greatest albums ever list. BBC's Mike Diver stated that the success and eventual "landmark status" of the album helped post-hardcore position itself as a "vital commercial force", adding that Relationship of Command "is the high against which every post-hardcore record since 2000 has been measured." In October 2011, Rock Sound magazine inducted Relationship of Command into Rock Sound's Hall Of Fame, crediting the album as an influence on albums by bands like: Alexisonfire, Biffy Clyro, Billy Talent, Gallows and Rolo Tomassi. Rocksound writer Ryan Bird spoke about the legacy of the album, stating that "though At the Drive-In may not have built the road, they were most certainly leading the convoy, allowing those who followed behind to reap the benifits of their navigation while they crashed and burned on the hard shoulder. What remains, however, is a legacy the likes of which may not been seen again."
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Famous quotes containing the words musical, influences and/or legacy:
“Then, bringing me the joy we feel when wee see a work by our favorite painter which differs from any other that we know, or if we are led before a painting of which we have until then only seen a pencil sketch, if a musical piece heard only on the piano appears before us clothed in the colors of the orchestra, my grandfather called me the [hawthorn] hedge at Tansonville, saying, “You who are so fond of hawthorns, look at this pink thorn, isn’t it lovely?””
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“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)