Artist: Command
Country: Sweden
Label: jawbreaker Records
Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD
Year: 2024
When in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s the old school Death Metal scene was rejuvenated with fresh blood, bands from Sweden once again played their part. In particular the demos, singles and first album of Necrovation provided a stellar influx to the relaunch of the genre, while the debut records of acts like Stench, Tribulation and Morbus Chron provided similarly added fresh sounding homages to the past. But much like many of their Scandinavian forebearers, none of these bands rested on their laurels, and their subsequent albums provided a strong departure in sound. The band that took that step the first was Tribulation, and I remember their sophomore record ‘The Formulas of Death’ being met with much criticism and cynicism for their venture outside the confines of old school Death Metal. Little did we know that for instance Morbus Chron and Stench would take much more drastic steps on their subsequent records. In hindsight, it would be more appropriate to consider Tribulation as a band that broke through the otherwise limited walls of the genre.
While not everyone appreciated this step further away from the old school sound, there were certainly bands that flourished in this transitional sound of the second albums of Necrovation and Tribulation. One band that comes to mind is the underappreciated Reverie. Their demos and debut album ‘Bliss’ took the filthy vocals and punky basis with more adventurous Rock and Heavy Metal riffs to heart. But ever since their 2015 album, that band has disappeared from sight. And as Tribulation have taken more and more steps into Dark Rock territories, a void has appeared. A void in which a band like Command steps in perfectly.
Based on this rather lengthy foreword you can image that describing Command as Heavy Metal, as the wisdom base of Metal Archives does, is a rather shortcoming and simplistic description of the band. On their debut ‘Resver’ they sound very much like a stripped down version of Tribulation on ‘The Formulas of Death’, or like Reverie. With Rock and Punk drum rhythms, Heavy and Thrash Metal riffs and spewed Death/Thrash vocals, the rocking basis of the songs are supplemented with melodic solo’s, again like Tribulation displayed on their later recordings. For those into the band, think of a sound that hovers between the rawer sound of ‘The Formulas of Death’ with the harmonies of ‘The Children of the Night’, with the more shouted vocal approach of Reverie. While Command certainly goes into somewhat atmospheric and progressive directions at times, this element is relatively restrained, and the songs are a little bit more straightforward and easier to grasp. A great example is the dark and moody ‘The Presence’, which has some nervous drum rhythms and eerie undertones, but also mesmerizing guitar leads. In a song like ‘Bleeding Walls’ the old school Heavy Metal riffs ooze out of every direction, while ‘Cold Below’ has a flair of Megadeth and an utterly catchy guitar lead. But the band doesn’t shy away from dealing out a punch either, as in particular in ‘Hauntings’ and ‘Night Shapes’ there is a distinct flair of very early Slayer.
On ‘Resver’ Command showcase themselves with a sound that to me harkens back to that transitional sound of Tribulation and the likes, still retaining the heavier vocal punch and snappy guitars and drums but featuring a more Rock and Heavy Metal based approach to structures and leads. It’s entrancing and dark, adventurous and melodious. And with the disappearance of Reverie and the increasingly more dreamy and mellow sound of Tribulation, it in my ears perfectly fills a void left by those bands.
