Blood Command Return With Cult Drugs

After two albums, numerous EPs and four radio hits, Blood Command are hungrier for success than ever. The sound still has the distinct fingerprint of producer and songwriter Yngve Andersen: Sharp and challenging, but still so universal and seductive that you will throw your hands in the air and run into the crowd before the first chorus ends. Since the last album, Andersen has received wide recognition in Norway as a successful producer and is responsible for several local hits. But Blood Command remains his favourite pet and Cult Drugs might be the point where all of his talents finally hit their zenith.

Blood Command's reappearance shows a band that has never sounded as good as now. Singer Karina Ljone is angrier and more accurate than ever, the complexing-riffing is smoother and drummer Sigurd Haakaas sets new standards in action-drumming. The album is mixed and mastered by Blood Command’s long-time collaborator Dagger, who together with producer Yngve Andersen has made sure that the album comes together as a relentless sting of murderous hooks. Musically, the band reference Refused and Boney M as the main inspiration, alongside acts like The Clash, “We’re making a sonic revolution you can dance to!” boasts Andersen.

In recent years, the band has binged on rave culture and charismatic cults like Heaven's Gate. Inspired by this and the increasing political manipulation taking place in both Europe and the US, the lyrics and the themes of Cult Drugs took form. Blood Command-main man Yngve Andersen, who himself was part of a Christian charismatic group in his youth, generally holds a positive view on non-mainstream religious groupings: “If it makes you happy and you don’t hurt anyone else, you can worship your cat as far as I’m concerned.”

Andersen elaborates: “The title Cult Drugs comes from the realization that we're all in some ways part of a cult that informs our way of being and our ways of thinking. We’re programmed to perceive ourselves as the good guys, no matter what side we're on. Most people live with a self-manipulation so extensive that it can compare to drug addiction. It is easy to put a stigma on religious outcasts, but it’s time to admit that every human, to some extent, live in denial.”

So, the difference between “cult people” and “normal people” could be smaller than you think. Particularly when you’re exposed to the seducing power of music. What could appear as a perfectly ordinary rock album, might prove to be a gateway to powers beyond your control.