Relationship Of Command by At The Drive-In

At The Drive-In
Relationship Of Command
2000
Post Hardcore
Grand Royal

1. Arcarsenal
2. Pattern Against User
3. One-Armed Scissor
4. Sleepwalk Capsules
5. Invalid Litter Dept.
6. Mannequin Republic
7. Enfilade
8. Rolodex Propaganda
9. Quarantined
10. Cosmonaut
11. Non-Zero Possibility

A vivid dissection that mocked the strut of vivisection
Semi-automatic colonies and a silencing that still walks the streets
In the company of wolves was a stretcher made of cobblestone curfews
The federates perform their custodial customs quite well
Callous heels, numbed in travel, endless maps made by their scalpels
On my way, nails broke and fell into the wishing well

"Invalid Litter Dept."

I got into At The Drive-In after becoming a huge fan of The Mars Volta, and then looking into the history of Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. When I first heard them, I thought their music was great, but it would never be equal in my mind with some of the music put out by The Mars Volta. While I still think that albums like Frances The Mute or De-Loused In The Comatorium was the duo's creative peak, At The Drive-In's music has grown on me a lot more than I thought it would. They have a lot more lasting potential than The Mars Volta does, and don't lend themselves to sounding dated.

Relationship Of Command is one of At The Drive-In's best albums. All of the instrumentation is top notch, and in my opinion this was the peak of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's guitar playing. While the songs may not seem complex at first listen, there are a ton of off-kilter things going on in the guitar department that really add to the craziness of the songs. This is also Cedric's strongest album with At The Drive-In. His vocals got a bit better for The Mars Volta's first two albums, but his delivery is spot-on here, and it's hard to believe how he's able to keep his voice from wearing out while screaming out the words to songs like "Rolodex Propaganda" or "Enfilade." His lyrics are as cryptic as ever, and he sings with a passion that's simply not found in The Mars Volta's music.

Relationship Of Command is pure, raw energy. This is both one of it's strong points and one of it's weanesses, in my eyes. On one hand, it is impossible not to shake your fists and stomp around during the opening of "Arcarsenal," but the power that this album has comes with a price. The only rest stops along the way are the verses to "Invalid Litter Dept." right in the middle of the album, and "Non-Zero Possibility," the finale. This is probably not going to be an issue for those used to listening to heavier music... but I'm a fan of mellower stuff, and I think Relationship Of Command can be a bit of an exhausting listen.

Click here to download part 1 (49.45 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (47.74 MB)

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