Kommand – Death Age (Review)

How’s it going inside your cave lately? Tired of smashing your enemies into pieces? Well, Kommand hailing from Los Angeles certainly would like to have a word with you on that. The band, releasing their second installment with this year’s Death Age, aren’t known for their subdued or light approach when it comes to their music. In fact, they will straight up jump at you and beat you to death with their blood drenched cudgel. But looking at the label and the genre of music we are talking about, you might have guessed that already.

After releasing two demos and their debut full-length Terrorscape in 2020, Kommand are back with Death Age, displaying pure and unadultered cave man death metal. While taking most prominent influence from legendary brit tank unit Bolt Thrower, the five piece is wasting no time during these 26 minutes of bloodshed. Clear focus lies on the raw and primitive variant of death metal. That means filthy, down tuned and groovy riffs combined with the occasional blast attacks. And although album highlight “Global Death” has a fairly catchy main hook, you won’t find any highly technical individual performances or soothing melodies on here. On paper this might seem uninteresting. But Death Age’s charme clearly lies in its musical purity. In times where a lot of bands aim for the higher faster and more technical approach with each subsequent release, sometimes all you need is simple but effective heaviness in combination with barbaric groovy drum beats and cavernous vocals. And Kommand know this fairly well as the LP demonstrates no filler material during its brief run time. With “Fleeing Western Territories,” the LA bunch’s sophomore record also contains a minor hit with its infectious chorus groove beaten into your skull. The sound quality is also aiding the musical soundscape as it carries grit and enough punch to provide a steady and punishing backbone.

People who long for a mixture of Obituary, Bolt Thrower, Grave and Autopy should be greedy for the short but sweet groove hammer that is Death Age. Hopefully the LA bunch will demonstrate how deadly their songs are in a live setting around here in due time. Untill then we’ve got plenty more spins of this onslaught ahead.