I became a fan of Kommandant after listening to their 2012 full-length The Draconian Archetype. It was a fantastic display of militaristic black metal that few could match. Their 2015 album, The Architects of Extermination, had a darker and more atmospheric quality. It even sounded a bit like Leviathan at times. Three years later, they released Blood Eel, which was a lot more experimental than their previous works but still possessed incredible martial energy. After releasing a split album with Fever, most of the band departed, leaving James Bresnahan as the only remaining original member. He eventually arranged a new lineup, and together they created Titan Hammer, which was released on January 20 of this year.
Instead of experimenting, the band has gone back to what is tried and true. The quality is a lot more raw, especially the production, which has a cloudy quality that makes you feel like you’re trudging through a thick cloud of mustard gas. The drumming is less mechanical. This can be heard in the blast beats, which are not as precise but hit harder. The snare has a primal sound that reminds me of Cascadian black metal bands like Skagos. Sometimes they play slower and simpler beats on songs like “Atlantean Deathmarch”. Fills are thrown in on occasion to keep things engaging, and they still play militaristic rolls such as those on “Sublimation of Resistance”.
The bass is given a more prominent role. Its rumbling riffs amplify the destructive power of the rest of the music. Their best display is on “Spannungsfelder”, which is three minutes of slow and ominous plucked strings. It makes you feel like you’re standing in the eye of a fiery war storm. The vocals are your standard black metal rasp, but they’re performed extremely well and radiate supernatural anger and vitriol. There are also moments on songs like “Sublimation of Resistance” when they perform crazed shouts. Most of the tremolo riffs have a dark and sinister quality, while the high-pitched ones sound more frantic and frightful. They perfectly capture the feeling of charging across open fields through poisonous clouds while artillery rains from above. When the pace slows down, those riffs become more atmospheric. They also sound distinctly Northern European.
Kommandant is constantly changing their musical formula, but they always manage to amaze me. Titan Hammer is a display of raw aggression, a bestial bombardment, a corrosive cloud of death. The Draconian Archetype remains my favorite album of theirs, but this one comes pretty close in terms of overall quality.