When this was released, most people who listened to Relationship Of Command were shocked by the energetic brilliance combined with meaningful song-writing something that is rarely if ever combined today. But what is considered a classic album at the time of it's release isn't always considered a classic say 5-6 years later, but people are still talking about this as a classic album up until this day.
This is probably one of the best albums of the year 2000 and of the 21st century even though no one really saw this coming. At The Drive-In had released some under produced decent records, but never had they really taking there time to make a meaningful and timeless record like "Relationship Of Command".
The first song sums up the album perfectly, " Arcarsenal", brings a energetic, meaningful, and frightening feel to this song. The song opening beat with some spooky electric guitar followed by the vocalist's extreme screaming. Any time you can have a song that combines those three elements and is a opener it has to be a classic. But unlike most screaming songs, this one has a great structure and you can understand the singers vocals perfectly. The breakdown is absolutely one of the best lines I have heard in a while: "Have you ever tasted skin". One of the best album openers of the 21st Century, and it sets up the album perfectly. 5/5
"Pattern Against User", is as intense as the opening track in it's beat but it has a more mellow feel with better lyrics and less screaming. The song tells you a lot about the bands commitment to make this a meaningful album especially in the breakdown were the beat slows down just to put more meaning into the lyrics. The chorus is great as well with well-done drumming accompanied it. Another classic song. 5/5.
About right now you are thinking that there should be a filler of some sort, or a soft song that kills the mood of this classic album. But think the opposite of this as "One Armed Scissor", comes after you with a intense drum beat and political lyrics with electric guitar in the background. And you can tell it is building to something but you would never think it would be as great as the chorus in this song. The chorus lyrics remain political and complicated while not being distorted or screamed to a hard beat, and it makes for a memorable experience. The surrounding lines after this feature some screaming, and "Sputnik" is mentioned so I'm sure that's how this website got it's name. So if you have a track that's suppose to be a filler but keeps rocking, has one of the most meaningful choruses of this album, has an intense breakdown, and gave this great music site it's name. It has to be another classic for At The Drive-In. 5/5
"Sleepwalk Capsules", after the laid-back techno beat that ended the previous song "Sleepwalk Capsules" comes after you once again but even harder and more intense. The screaming is even better than it was on the opening track, basically because it was produced better and executed better. The chorus in this song doesn't slow the song down any or speed it up but keeps it's constant beat going which is just perfect since the surrounding lines were filled with such emotion. The electric guitar after the breakdown with it's crowd screaming feel is just awesome since it leads into the chorus so swiftly. Another classic song, and I don't think that I have listened to an album start off this well. 5/5
"Invalid Litter Dept.", is my favorite track off this album and it really takes the album to another level of excellence. The rapping lyrics to a background electronic beat that sounds like a crow screaming get the song started, and even though this song may lack the screaming and intenseness that the other songs on this album have, it makes it up in production and originality. For this album this was really the only medium song [in between soft and hard] and it is a classic. The song features a beautiful chorus, as the band executes the soft-loud formula perfectly. The breaking point in this song though is were we have a dramatic beat change anchored by the lead-singer whispering "Dancing On The Corpses Ashes, Dancing On The Corpses Ashes", and then the band absolutely goes into a relentless jamming session were the drumming and guitar work are perfect the chorus is repeated one more time and the song ends perfectly. 5/5
"Mannequin Republic", start out with a classic beat I've heard so many times outside this album. the high-pitched guitar is followed by a rhythm-guitar beat and the classic beat somehow files in with the lead vocalist screams and yelps. Production and emotion are two of the many things that make this a classic album, and these are both apparent during this songs breakdown were the singer shouts the most emotional screams of the song to the best beat of the album. Though the song lacks structure it is still a song you need to listen to because of the breakdown, the famous beat, and the well-executed screaming. 4.5/5
"Enfilade", kind of plays a role as an interlude but one of the most freighting ones that I have ever heard, since "Fitter Happier". The song starts out with a phone ringing and what sounds like a stalker on the other end this spooky conversation continues for about a minute, and then the song kicks in with some distorted lyrics sang by the vocalist. The lyrics still contain some emotion and are absolutely freighting like I said before, but don't really lead into the chorus well and that is disappointing but the chorus is great just like every song on this album. The song then goes into a mini-breakdown with a jungle drum beat, followed by the harder beat presented in the chorus, and then the chorus is performed. This song in structure is great but in instrumental work could use some work, but it is still a awesome song. 4.7/5
"Rolodex Propaganda", is the perfect lead in to the next classic track. The song is one of the shortest on the album and it kicks off with some rapping like on the sixth track but this time they are more aggressive since they are rapped to a harder beat. The chorus in this song is great with the memorable screaming part at the tail end of it, which if it was repeated could make this song a epic song, rather than a great 3 minute song. A good breakdown sang to a electric guitar part ends the song. 4.2/5
"Quarantined", start out with my favorite beat that I have heard in a while. The raindrops fall down to make a dark affect on the song, but then the guitar comes in with a smooth 70's beat that is one of the few guitar riffs that gets stuck in my head consistently. This followed by the drums in the background along with the peeling rain, this song would be a classic even if it had no words. But it does and they are absolutely incredible, in fact they are the best lyrics of the album. You can tell that the band had no "Writers block" during this album, and the surrounding lines prove it even before the chorus does. With a picked up beat the singer shouts the most emotional lyrics of the album "Push becomes shove, Days become Months", the chorus is shouted remaining political and somewhat depressing with a harder beat than the intro of this song. The production of this song is what makes this album brilliant and this is one of the song that highlights that. The background screaming during the chorus is what many bands have tried to do unsuccessfully and this song really started the thing. If you want a song to listen to besides the opener and closer of this album that sums up the album perfectly listen to this song, for it's political lyrics, Beautiful and well-executed beat, and well-done production. 5/5
"Cosmonaut" is the song that got me into this album, and really doesn't seem out of place to me. Though it is nothing compared to the previous track, it's hard beat and screaming bring this album back to it's earlier form. The emotion in the chorus is unbelievable as the vocalist screams: "Is it heavier than air?" and the song moves on. This is one of the songs on the album that doesn't have to much screaming but isn't exactly a puss-out song either. Another highlight of the album is the end of the song a perfect end were the singer raps with screams in the background, then sings the chorus to a different beat while the background singer shouts another memorable line and then a separate screaming session occurs. The end of this song is breathtaking and so is the song that got me into this album.
"Non-Zero Possibility", is the softest song on the album, and starts out with what seems like a keyboard beat which is shocking to the listener. The lyrics are the first lyrics of the album that are immensely depressing but are still sang to a soft beat. So you can really see the singer sadness in this song as in the supporting lines he shouts: "They still eat there young", a scary political line that is filled throughout this album. The chorus is perfectly executed as the singer sings memorable and depressing lines with screams in the background. What a end to this classic album and another song that sums up the album perfectly. 5/5
The songs on this album are timeless and so is the album is an whole. If your willing to listen to something new and outside the mainstream, I think you will really enjoy this album just like I did.
Pros:
Production
Screaming is well-done
Lyrics are political and meaningful
Cons:
?
