Blood Command: Funeral Beach

Bergen’s brazen punkcore kids reveal a razor edge

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Despite a relatively low-key start, following on from an ace debut in 2010 and last year’s explosive, punky Hand Us The Alpha Male EP, Blood Command have decided to turn up at the arse end of 2012 with one of the very best albums of the year.

The Norwegian trio – led by the snarling, piercing shrieks of frontwoman Silje Tombre – have honed their ability to craft soaring, pop-punk-esque melodies with gritty, frenetic hardcore and the spiky rock’n’roll of luminaries like Kvelertak to perfection. They ride fleshy, Cancer Bats-style hardcore riffage into manic rock’n’roll disco on Pissed Off And Slightly Offended, throw enough bounce and bluster into Cult Of The New Beat to level a zeppelin and provide a chunky, heavy metal jive on Corpse Reviver.

Blood Command have the uncanny ability to sound startlingly fresh and new, while never jumping too far to land on that dreaded island of ‘quirky’. Funeral Beach is a fiercely unique, invigorating slab of catchy punk’n’roll, and it demands your full, ongoing attention.

Merlin Alderslade
Executive Editor, Louder

Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He is also probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.