Kommand – Death Age
Release Date: 31st March 2023
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal
FFO: Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Acephalix, Vastum, Hail of Bullets, Stormcrow, Hellshock, Sanctum.
Review By: Eric Wilt
In 2020, I had a ticket to see death metal festival in Pittsburgh that was being headlined by Necrot. For obvious reasons (i.e. COVID), the show never happened, but Kommand was on the bill, and as a band that I hadn’t heard of until then, I immediately gave them a spin. The album I initially picked up was a collection of demos put out by Maggot Stomp, and I was hooked from the word go. Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Kommand already had command (excuse the pun) of their sound even on the demos, and I am excited to see them put out their new album, entitled Death Age, on the mighty 20 Buck Spin record label. Made up of Ian Logan on guitar, Jesse Sanes on vocals, Tim Shriver on bass, Sam Bosson on drums, and Sam Shriver on guitar, Death Age is a straightforward rager that fans of all types of death metal will enjoy sinking their teeth into.
Final Virus begins with a riff that will get heads banging right out of the gate. Big and grooving, the riff sounds like it could have been written by a hardcore band back in the 90s, but don’t let this fool you, Final Virus is not a hardcore song. It is, however, a mostly mid-paced track of barebones, knuckle-dragging death metal destruction. Chimera Soldiers comes next with another mid-paced riff, that leads into a barrage of blastbeats and tremolo picked riffs that sound like well-done old school death metal. Global Death is the third track on the album and, if you haven’t noticed a similarity between Kommand and Bolt Thrower before this track, you will definitely hear it now. Not that it is derivative, but Kommand is obviously influenced by Bolt Thrower, and Global Death sounds like it could’ve been a really great song. Polar Holdout, Fleeing Western Territories, and Collapse Metropolis round out this twenty-six minute, six track album in much the same fashion.
If you’re looking for something new, Kommand probably isn’t what you’re looking for. But if you, like me, can’t get enough of good ol’ fashioned death metal with catchy riffs and a lot of attitude, you’re going to love Death Age.
(4 / 5)
