It’s not that often you get to talk about punk rock bands from Norway (let alone those of the lady fronted variety), so it’s with pleasure that we’re to be able to say that the new record from Blood Command is as noisey as it is fun.
From the bold visuals of the artwork to the first thirty seconds of opener ‘Pissed Off and Slightly Offended!’, it’s clear that the band aren’t exactly on a subtle kick with ‘Funeral Beach’. The attitude behind the music is bratty, spit in your face youthful anger, but sometimes “unashamedly loud and noisey” is exactly what the doctor ordered. The previously mentioned opener is most surprising for its brief foray into acoustic guitar, but by the time the breakdown of ‘March Of The Swan Elite’ and ‘Cult of the New Beat’ arrive, the mesh of hardcore, punk and rock is firmly in the driving seat.
As is often the case, the female vocals here will end up grating a few, but there’s little point denying that Silje Tombre carries the right amount of melody and bile in the right places. There are a few occasions where the band change the style a little too drastically: the dive into the grungier ‘Death to All But Us!’ in particular pulls the flow of the album down a little, but ‘Wolves at the Door’ is a return to form in a blaze of the rather over-the-top bratcore that the band do best.
Overall, there’s little doubt that Blood Command might be a little cheesey for some hardcore fans, and those who’d like to see a little more tech in their female fronted hardcore might turn to Marmozets instead, but ‘Funeral Beach’ is a great effort from a band that hops between genres with ease. If nothing else, it’s an invitation to see them live. A solid effort that’s worth sticking with despite the fact that it’s a little front-loaded.
TOM AYLOTT