Blood Command - Cult Drugs

Having never heard the music of Blood Command I only knew of the hype that this Norwegian band generated during the release cycle of their 2012 album ‘Funeral Beach’. I saw them in magazines and to be honest the photographs of the band put me off. Now that I have gotten over myself a little bit I thought that I would take the plunge on this new recored as I’d been told by a friend that they sound quite similar to Marmozets who I have taken a shine to recently. Well, after two weeks of playing and replaying ‘Cult Drugs’, I am definitely coming around to Blood Command. The Marmozets comparison is warranted for sure but without the vocals of Silji Tombre not so much. They are very much their own thing, just ridiculously eclectic with it. There are no particular standouts here which is so very odd. Instead what Blood Command have done is delivered an overall wash of noise and catchy hooks. When they thrash out they come across like a less frantic Melt Banana and when they chill a bit the melodies take over. The only time it doesn’t really work is when they mix the two styles at various times on ‘Quitters Don’t Smoke’. At one moment I feel like I could be listening to Paramore and at the next it could be Biffy Clyro back in their early days. Saying that I love the Refused-isms of ‘The Secret Impresses No one’ and the horns that kick off album closer ‘(The World Covered In) Purple Shrouds' are great fun, especially as they continue throughout the song. I get the hype now, Blood Command have won me over but I won’t call myself a fan until I catch them live, that will be moment I think where they will really shine.

Track Listing:-

1 Ctrl + Art + Delete
2 Cult Drugs
3 Quitters Don't Smoke
4 Nervous Laughter
5 Gang Signs
6 You Can't Sit With Us
7 The Secret Impresses No One
8 White Skin / / Tanned Teeth
9 Initiation Tape #1
10 (The World Covered In) Purple Shrouds