Sound explosion (Relationship Of Command - At The Drive-In)

Member Name: hugon

Product:	Relationship Of Command - At The Drive-In
Date:	05/01/01 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Exciting, angry, agressive music

Disadvantages: none

At the drive-in are one of the most exciting bands out there at the minute. Widely tipped to be huge, if you have had the pleasure of seeing them live, you will know the type of passion and energy they put into their music. They are a refreshing change in an industry that seems to be losing a lot of its personality and drive.

Relationship of Command is At the drive-in’s third album, and boy is it good! It has drawn comparisons with Nirvana, and that would be true to a certain extent. It is mostly guitar based, loud and angry, but the style isn’t all that close to Nirvana. The lyrics are more political than personal. The best way to describe it would be like an explosion is a sound factory. From the style and the lyrics it is clear these guys have a lot to say and get off their chests. There is so much going on in the music; it demands your full attention. It’s almost like they stuck the microphones right inside their heads and recorded their very thoughts.

The album is one of the strongest that I have heard in a long while. I can genuinely say that there isn’t a weak track on it. It isn’t the easiest album to get into, it’s very harsh at first, but stick with it and you’ll see the benefit.

It opens with the fantastic “Arcarsenal”, which apparently was featured in Blair Witch too (can’t say I noticed, must have been asleep by that stage). It’s a song that really sums the band up. It opens with an almost tribal drumbeat, with a little guitar solo over it, then it all comes to life, shouted lyrics, screams, loud guitars. It really makes you sit up and take notice, makes you want to hear more. It’s followed up by “Pattern against user”, which keeps the speed, passion and energy up. You can hear the energy, see him shaking as he spits his words out. It’s the first track that makes good use of the other guitarist’s backing vocals. You notice that no
t only being great guitarists, that they can actually sing as well. It even has a “quiet” bit, which provides a little rest before they have you leaping off the walls again.

Next track “One armed scissor” is my favourite track off the album. It was the track that really made everyone sit up and take notice of them. It’s a quiet/loud song, opening with a frenetitic riff, before slowing it down a bit, building up little by little so that when it explodes in the chorus, you’re like a coiled spring waiting to explode. The lyrics are abstract, the chorus is just him singing “Get Away” over and over, but the guitar work is superb, everything is complementing each other, it’s impossible not to shout or jump along with it. The sonic assault continues with “Sleepwalk Capsules” which is a mad, incredibly fast number, again making use of the backing vocals, singing over each other. The guitars are flying along with some really intense riffs, the lyrics are spitting out of his mouth and you wonder how long they can keep it up for.

“Invalid Litter Department” shows the more reflective, calm side of the band. It’s a slow, gentle number, showing they’re not just about shouting and making noise. It’s a really dreamy, obscure number, with echoed guitars, the whole song is built around the line “Dancing on the corpses ashes” and it really is sublime. It can’t stay quiet forever, and halfway through they step on the pedals and crank it up a bit. It comes to a false end, before giving a final kick. “Mannequin Republic” takes it back up to the speedy, high-energy riffs and yelled lyrics. It’s the hardest track so far; you’ll have white knuckles trying to hold on this time. It isn’t the most stunning track on the album; the lyrics are mostly unintelligible which takes away from it a little.

Next track “Entilade
221; opens with a strange phone call. It’s got a bit of a drumbeat to it, and is filled with distorted vocals and guitars. Then the chorus comes in and it’s the shouting again, all three vocalists building it up over each other, leaving your ears wondering where to turn. It links really well into “Rolodex Propaganda” which is another one of my favourite tracks. It zips along, with Maracas and Tambourines backing up the simple drumbeat. It’s the best example of the vocalists in tandem; they’re all shouting different things. The best part of the middle, when it stops to just the vocals, a guitar and the drums before exploding again. This track will really leave you breathless.

“Quarantined” begins with thunder clasps and rainfall, and then a bass line kicks in. It’s a laid back, drifty dreamy song, and when the vocals come in, it’s still slow, but there is a certain aggression there even though it is still slow, before it drifts back into the dreamy part again. It gets heavier as it moves towards the end, but manages to keep the dreamy feel to it. It’s mostly instrumental; it’s a groovy little track. “Cosmonaut keeps the guitar sound of the previous song, it’s more stabby, and aggressive, sounding quite a bit like Rage Against the Machine. It’s not the most exciting track on the album; it’s a bit stop-start and doesn’t seem to have a lot of direction.

“Non-zero possibility” has a quiet build up, full of strange sounds, and then a piano (yes – piano!) plays out a simple tune. It’s a slow song, the piano playing quite heavily and them singing over it, without relying on the guitars or bass at all. It’s a strange number, and not really one of my favourites. Final track “Catacombs” brings back the spiky guitars, but it’s a more difficult track again, the guitars are harsh and hard to listen to, the lyrics a
re screamed out, before it slows down to whispered lyrics.

Overall, this is a superb album. If you like Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine or Marilyn Manson, you should get along with this album just fine. It really rewards repeated listening as you can pick out different parts in the songs. You have to pay attention to it, it’s not an album you can put on in the background, as it draws you in and demands full attention. I tried to revise with it on and failed abysmally.

You should definitely check it out. This band are going to be huge, or I’m a fluffy pink bunny.

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