Commander is a German death metal band that started out in 2001. After some line-up hassling and a thorough song-writing process they now present us their full length debut; World�s Destructive Domination.

 

Not a catchy debut album title, but quite some catchy tunes on here I might say. As they state themselves, they play a combination of Bay Area thrash and Scandinavian (Swedish) death metal, taking Testament and At The Gates as examples. This combination is very clearly to be heard, although the production of the whole tends way more towards the Swedish death metal sound. Also the heavy vocals give this feeling.

 

When stating these styles it is obvious to say that this is not an original band. Nevertheless they put together some nice songs, with some fat grooves and brutal parts to it. Especially the two title tracks are a real treat to listen to for any fan of the genre. The only thing I really didn�t like about the album is Nick Kolar�s clean voice in the track �Dead But Alive Part II�, where the vocals accompany clean guitars as well. This is a weak spot on the album. Luckily he proves himself in �Dead But Alive Part III� where the clean vocals support brutal riffs; here they do sound in place.

 

All in all I found Commander�s debut album World�s Destructive Domination a pretty nice listen for fans of Swedish death metal and some thrash. If the band tightens up a notch they might become really impressing. For now I can�t judge if they can keep a head above the water between all the giants that reign in this genre. But personally, I hope they do.