KOMMAND
KOMMAND “Death Age”
By Dr. Abner Mality
“Death Age” is about as basic and stripped down as it gets, so my review will follow suit. Here we have the second release from an LA band who sleep, eat and breathe BOLT THROWER and are at no pains to deny the fact. How could you, when the sound is so obviously based on the early efforts of the seminal British band? It is tribute and mimicry so close to the inspiration that it gives you the creeps.
And yet it works, because that elemental sound of tank-like chugging death metal with its warm tones and easy to perceive riffs works. This could more honestly be considered a mini-album, as it runs just over 25 minutes and features six songs of moderate length. No lengthy intros or cinematic interludes from KOMMAND, just thick and lumbering death metal. Gruff vocals, lyrics focused on war and world annihilation, grooving and snappy drums...all boxes are ticked here.
It was fourth song “Polar Holdout” before I realized how much I was getting into the album. They beat your resistance down with simple persistence and memorability. The songs have a kind of swing to them that creeps in the brain. It takes a while, but by the time “Fleeing Western Territories” and “Collapse Metropolis trundle in, I had to admit, I am digging what KOMMAND is doing no matter how derivative it is. When this sound is executed well, it gets the job done.