Blood Command

Hand Us The Alpha Male EP

Written by: AP on 07/06/2011 23:23:43

Norway is lately becoming my primary source of new music. Due to the heavy presence of spectacular black metal bands up there, our northern brothers are seldom recognized for other genres, and yet we speak here of a country that has given the world such fine and gifted artists as one man soul/pop talent Jarle Bernhoft; the much hyped chaotic hardcore act Social Suicide; the magnificent self-proclaimed jungle punks Rumble in Rhodos; and of course the jarring alternative rock/hardcore proposition that is Blood Command.

In their home country, Blood Command are renowned as one of the most promising acts to emerge from there in a long time alongside the now legendary Kvelertak. And although there is little by way of musical similarity between the two, bar the genre bending, the two bands share an equal feeling of adventure and hunger for blurring boundaries. "Hand Us the Alpha Male" is as vicious as it is accessible, sporting a deceptively meager girl on vocals. But fear not, Paramore is about the last thing to cross your mind once her incisive scream penetrates the chorus in "Summon the Arsonist". She may be a student of architecture at Bergen University, but she has studied her Black Flag, Fugazi and Swing Kids, too, leading a trio best described as blending an indie hardcore tone with the choking intensity of Converge.

Although the chorus has a central role on the EP providing moments of instant memorabilia, it is the frantic, unhinged maelstrom of glass shards that Silje Tombre spits out on "Hand Us the Alpha Male", "Ok! Ok! Ok!", "Schitzophrenic Summer", and "The Law of White Noise" that gives Blood Command its unique character. That, and the trio's uncanny ability to move from bursts of hair raising extremity into stuff that wouldn't sound out of place on a Yeah Yeah Yeahs song, finishing it off, like on the aforementioned "Schitzophrenic Summer", with stunning atmospherics à la At the Drive-in.

Those that felt endeared by the band's debut album, "Ghostlocks", which I regrettably only had a chance to check out a few weeks ago, are likely to find Blood Command intensifying their approach quite a bit on "Hand Us the Alpha Male", with Silje's harsh vocals in particular coming at you with added power and gusto. There is a safe haven for such fans in the choruses of course, and especially in the anthemic final track, "Favourite Three of Lunatics", which ends like a nod toward Kent's radio hit "Dom Andra" as if to emphasize the wide spectrum of influences underlying Blood Command's music.

Download: Summon the Arsonist, Hand Us the Alpha Male, Schitzophrenic Summer, The Law of White Noise
For the fans of: Like Rats from a Sinking Ship, Rumble in Rhodos, Social Suicide
Listen: Myspace

Release date 09.05.2011
Fysisk Format

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