Black Command are a (young) formation, hailing from the tropical shores of The Netherlands. The band was formed in 2012 by Morte Noire members, but I do not think we can consider Black Command as a side-project of Morte Noire. After a limited demo tape and a contribution on two splits (one with Portuguese one-man army Irae, and one with Sardonic Witchery, Saterdum and Sonneillon BM), it was time to release a full length, which in fact is a registration of a live gig from 2015. The band (main members Hell Rebel on vocals, and guitar player Kommando Werewolf, once again assisted by Lord Abominvs-bass and Mortüüm-drums) performed live on stage on April 23rd 2015 at Simplon in the city of Groningen (usually known for Pop and Rock concerts, so this would have been an event for the neighbourhood, haha), and the result was mixed carefully to take care of our sensitive eardrums by Swerc Noordelingen.
The band played some known tracks, as well as a couple of new ones (hey, will there be an upcoming album soon???). after a short and ominous (untitled) intro, all pleasure breaks loose with Invocation Of The Mighty Dead. And what strikes me as from the very first moment is the acceptable sound quality. I was little anxious to experience a thin, hollow product, but actually this live registration sounds quite cool. Okay, there might be some remarks: the electric and bass guitars are little fuzzy, and the drums do really sound like they were recorded live – but hey, this actually ís a live recording… Nearly no noises at the background, no irritating crowd screaming around either… Okay, purists will get nauseous, but once again: ‘underground’, ‘live’, ‘Black Metalll!’… Got the (ugly) picture?...
Performance-wise there is nothing, at all, to complain. Black Command clearly consist of experienced / professional musicians. Despite being a young band, there is no doubt these guys were joining forces before (cf. the Morte Noire collaboration). Seriously, their interplay is of a superb quality, organically fluent and well-balanced. But of course there is more going on. Not only that interaction deserves praise. The tracks themselves are just great. Black Command’s Black Metal is of the furious kind, rooted within the origins of the Glorious Past. And no matter whether it deals with a fast attack or a slowed-down hymn; you just feel the purity of the Old School. This is actually the only way to perform true to-the-edge Black Metal! And finally, when dedicating time and energy to my beloved partner in a former life (or was it just a [wet] dream?), my sweet countess Erzsébet Báthory, well, you can’t go / do wrong anymore…