Disco de At the Drive-In: “Relationship of Command [Bonus Tracks] [13 Tracks]”

This very hardworking band finally hit the jackpot with this astonishing album. After six years of playing in dreary bars to audiences measured in the single digits, and a series of tragically ignored indie albums and EP's, At the Drive-In have delivered a masterpiece with this album. This hard-to-categorize band mixes hard-driving, no-nonsense hard rock with liberal doses of punk, some grunge and metal, and even a little goth in a few places, with masterful musical chops and mesmerizing vocal arrangements. Ignorant critics and listeners who can't describe anything without making comparisons have mistakenly equated this band to Rage Against the Machine, which is inaccurate at best and insulting at worst. Singer Cedric Bixler's voice naturally has a tone similar to Rage's Zack de la Rocha, but that is merely a coincidence and is a hideous reason for comparing the two bands, both vocally and musically. Bixler is an infinitely better singer than Zack (who can hardly even rap), and Bixler sings with true emotion and passion that is extremely rare for a rock frontman these days. Also, comparisons to standard nu-metal make me want to puke. The key to understanding this album is to stop trying to figure out what it slightly sounds like, and realize that Relationship of Command is in its own category.

The best aspects of this album are Bixler's incredible vocals, along with the gut-wrenching backing screams by guitarist Omar Rodriguez. Drummer Tony Hajjar and bassist Paul Himojos are relentless and to-the-point, while Rodriguez and Jim Ward deliver intricate and dramatic guitar interplay. Bixler's lyrics are dense with allegory and metaphor, and you may spend years trying to figure out what he's talking about in many of the songs. Never mind the cranks who criticize the lyrics for being too dense or wordy, and accept them as intelligent, challenging, and thought-provoking. The best tracks here include "Sleepwalk Capsules" which contains stupendous vocal arrangements (by Bixler, Rodriguez, and Ward); the dramatic "Quarantined;" and "Arcarsenal" and "Non Zero Possibility" which are overflowing with emotional power.

As a heavy collector who buys 40-50 new CD's each year, this is my favorite of 2001. I am very upset by reports of this band's breakup (or hiatus). Let's encourage them to get back together.

I became aware of the work of At the Drive-In after I heard the album "Frances the Mute" by The Mars Volta, one of the bands that derived from At the Drive-In. Upon hearing "Relationship of Command" the first time, I thought I was in front of one-more-of-those-neo-punk-albums out there, but then I sat back and listened to it a few more times and realized too that this album came in late 2000, before the neo-punk movement started taking shape. It was then that the brilliance of this album started to strike me.

The work by At the Drive-In is not for everyone, nor is The Mars Volta. Just like bands of the caliber of King Crimson, these are musicians that are in it for the art, not the fame, and as a result, they pour their hearts into their music. At the Drive-In will pose striking changes in tempo and a few challenging moments that you will need to go through in order to fully immerse yourself in the musical proposition they have to offer. The best example there is of the type of work they put together is the song "Enfilade", where they even drop in a few beats of fresh congas, right in the midst of a powerful track that brings to mind Rage Against the Machine and the likes.

Once you listen to the album, you will be glad you did. My advice, quite simply is: get it.

It might be a little early to say, but this album could well be the future of hardcore, stamped and shrinkwrapped into 12 fascinating and electrifying songs. At The Drive-In hold a quivering hand up against the thought-free march towards dumb punk and the hollow clang of modern metal. Not for them the pointless bellowing of those looking desperately across their idyllic teenage lives for something to get annoyed about; instead this is a band with an instinct for dicovery. At The Drive-In take from the deeply articulate vocabulary of Nirvana and the alt-rock pioneers of the eighties and nineties, and fuse this with both tenderness and determination on to the Fugazi imprint. The difference is their fiercely idealistic ideas about how expansive and downright musical it all deserves to sound. 'Relationship Of Command' is a forward-looking record in a genre seemingly so stuck in the past.

'Arc Arsenal' sets out the agenda pretty concisely, beginning with the rumble of toms and keenly distorted guitar lines that trademark the album. It's when you hear Cedric Bixler's initial call of "I must have read a thousand faces!" you start to really pay attention. His lyrics read like crossword clues, mirroring the density of the music, but within them you get a sense of a rich furrow of artistic ideas. The chorus of 'Catacombs', for instance, goes "this gravity is just quadraplegic horse and carriage". It's an idea that bristles with content and weight, a feel that is echoed throughout the record.

What wins through in the end is the variety and the sheer inescapable presence of these sounds. Where 'One Armed Scissor' redefines the term 'call to arms', 'Invalid Litter Dept' weighs heavy with sadness and emotion. Cedric is a true hardcore vocalist, singing with real rage and exasperation, and the guitar lines trip in turns tentatively and ominously behind him. 'Sleepwalk Capsules' seems to sum up At The Drive-In at their best: distorted piano sounds decimated by looming guitar riffs and a clamourous "confess!" vocal, all of a sudden snapping into an almost new-wavey trill of guitar. Keeps you on your toes.

Future of hardcore? Wait and see.

im sorry, but for those of you who believe that atdi is rehashing someone else's act or being childish or whatever, there is something wrong with you, namely musical immaturity. i would agree that this might be the future of hardcore, but i find it hard to believe that anyone could follow their footsteps. trying to follow what they've done so far is a humbling experience in itself. and im not talking about whatever kind of fame they have gained in recent years, im talking musically. and if you dont understand, listen again, and really listen--to the words, the music, the everything. get some good headphones and hear everything that is going on there, and those doubting the production's worth should surely reconsider. and i could go on forever about these guys live. like in most cases, the people who hate these guys just dont understand yet, and maybe never will.

I've never been able to listen to many punk albums all the way through and say that I honestly enjoyed all the tracks. The only other one besides this would be Rancid's "And Out Come the Wolves..." but don't compare the two: ATDI bends multiple genres into one, and throughout the entire package only two things stay similar: Cedric's voice and the band's incredible talent.

Songs like 'Arc Arsenal,' 'Pattern Against User,' and 'One Armed Scissor' are above and beyond most emo songs. Other tracks like 'Invalid Litter Dept.' and 'Enfilade' feature heavy pianos and vocal effects, respectively. Nowadays it has been common for bands to throw in the "Believe" effect just to sound a little more techno-inspired (namely eve 6). The studio effects on this album are sparse, and most importantly, tasteful. The finished package will affect you in one way or another.

I think it's important to stress that this isn't music with no point. In this day and age there's a real l!ack of honest, hard-hitting music...but 'Relationship of Command' fits that description perfectly.