“Your eyes are on the first prize but I’ll win this race.“
A mere 14 months after the release of EP Praise Armageddonism, Norwegian quintet Blood Command return with the mammoth that is World Domination, their first album since 2017.
At 20 tracks long World Domination is certainly aptly named and equally overwhelming as a prospect. Opening with a ‘Kill Bill’ esque fanfare they had my attention with “The Band With The Three Stripes“. The drums kick in like galloping hooves and certainly get things ‘out of the gates’, with Nikki Brumen’s characteristic vocals as abrasive and hard hitting as always with some cleans in there, reminiscent of Debbie Harry, to keep things interesting. Unfortunately, waning attention did become the overarching feeling throughout this marathon of an album.
In a similar vein, “Forever Soldiers Of Esther” and “Bare Witness” are as upfront and confronting as you’d expect from a post hardcore outfit. However, what elevates the former of the two tracks for me is that instead of providing heavy break downs, they have chosen to do the reverse by bringing clean melodies to the fore both musically and vocally. By this point it’s needed, as the tracks between the first and fourth are largely unremarkable, something that is evidently a theme across this album with the collection of tracks that sit at a length of one minute or less. Musically they have substance and are well formed, as you would expect from a group with as much technical ability as Blood Command, the inclusion of them however, has to be questioned.
“The Plague On Both Your Houses” has a chunky anthemic bass riff in the background really bringing a sense of purpose and driving the track forward, with some great double kicks and riffs from drummer Siguard Haakaas, aiding the progression and momentum of this one. The brass makes a return for the bridge, giving some much-needed contrast and gradient, as well as the addition of some clean vocals to again relieve the risk of monotony. A risk that is only heightened by the number of ‘interlude tracks’ across this record.
“Burn Again” is more experimental, using some trap elements and alternative percussive sounds, such as a stapler, to build layers. I must give credit where credit’s due for stepping outside of their comfort zone to push their boundaries artistically. Its successor “Decades” is perfectly placed in the listing with chill house elements rolling through, Lo-fi beats and a delay used for the vocals, giving an entirely different atmosphere, alongside sympathetic use of synthesisers from Yngve Andersen (who is also responsible for strings). It’s a complete curveball and I for one loved it. It truly shows how versatile and creative Blood Command are at their best.
My biggest wish for title track World Domination is that it followed directly on from “Decades“. In terms of genre integration, it follows a similar format alongside delicate harmonies and is incredibly evocative in parts both musically and lyrically ‘so where to my love, cos you’re the only one I’m ever thinking of, if I am the joke I don’t I get the humour’. It makes the mark they obviously intended it to and quite frankly, it’s a job well done. “Losing Faith” opens with a chord progression that strongly harks back to Without You I’m Nothing era Placebo. Andersen provides additional vocals here, truly giving the sense of a dialogue between lovers. It takes a surprising turn, as it is by and large an acoustic track with a simple but effective guitar solo closing things out. This leads seamlessly into the finisher “Tetragram“. The latter very much feels like a call and response to “Losing Faith” and will leave most feeling a little reflective.
Now, with all said and done, it comes time to address the major issue with this record. From one perspective, it is fantastic. It’s varied, pulls on many different genres, showcases Blood Command to their absolute best, from a versatility stand-point, and is thoroughly enjoyable. On the other hand, nine out of 20 tracks are quite honestly pointless. All of them are below one minute and ten seconds in duration, the shortest being twenty-seven seconds, largely indistinguishable from one to the other and the overall impact of them thoroughly cheapens what is otherwise a great body of work. They also break up the track listing in a nonsensical way, completely losing the flow of the record.
It is incredibly impressive that they have managed to put forward an album only 14 months after the release of Praise Armageddonism (Brumen’s first foray with the band), for which they should be commended. However, World Domination would not have suffered and perhaps may have been bettered, if nearly half of it had been left on the cutting room floor. If an abridged version were released it would be added to my rotation.
5/10
World Domination is out Friday 29th via Hassle Records, and can be pre-ordered here.