With one foot on a monitor, Silje Tombre screams: “We are here to claim the throne”. It's 10.30 on a Thursday night and Blood Command are tearing through Cult Of The New Beat, the centrepiece of a thrilling, brutal set at Cardiff's Clwb Ifor Bach.
The lead-off single from last year's 'Funeral Beach' record, the track encapsulates the genre-bending appeal of a band set to upset plenty more conventions before they're through.
Four hours earlier, Tombre leans on the bar, cupping a beer in one hand. Stood to her right is Yngve Andersen, the band's guitarist and creative rudder. “We thought it was fun, so we started playing,” she says when asked about the band's shift from a studio project to a fully-fledged touring band. She's right, Blood Command are fun.
Completed by drummer Sigurd Haakaas, the band deserves to be seen in a live environment. 'Funeral Beach' is a powerful collection of songs but in front of a crowd, even one as sparse as the one that greets them in Cardiff, their mix of angular guitars, thick grooves and Tombre's screamed vocals really comes to life. When asked what a Blood Command show is like, Andersen simply nods and says: “A lot of energy.”
Hailing from Bergen, Norway, the band initially stood as outsiders in a music scene dominated by memories of Kings of Convenience, Röyksopp, the 'Bergen Wave' and a smattering of black metal. “Some parts of the black metal community are in Bergen and a big indie scene,” Andersen says. “We are not into that.”
Luckily, it's easy to see what they are into. 'Funeral Beach' is an album that gleefully mashes together its authors' influences. Echoes of At The Drive In, post-punk, '80s electronica and new wave are all apparent, but they're neatly tied together by the band's utter commitment and love of one band in particular: Refused.
The Swedish hardcore pioneers' 1998 masterpiece 'The Shape of Punk to Come' is a major touchstone for Andersen and Tombre and its influence can be heard throughout their music. In 2012, as Dennis Lyxzén took Refused out on tour for the first time since their acrimonious break-up 15 years ago, Blood Command were approached to open for their forefathers on selected dates. “It was such an honour,” Andersen admits. “They've been my heroes, and Silje's heroes, since we were little kids.”
Blood Command have taken the challenge offered by the title of Refused's final recording more seriously than some of their peers but Andersen believes that it will never be bettered, and that the Scandinavian scene that helped to build it will never be recreated. About this, he is absolutely certain. “People try to copy it,” he says. “It's not there anymore, the way that it was. No-one has released a record that good since that record came out. No-one. Not even near.”
For Tombre, the invite made flesh a dream that seemed unlikely to ever become reality. “We got to open for Refused, who the hell gets to do that? I don't think anyone even dreamed of doing that,” she says. “It was impossible.”
The band's next step will be an interesting one. It's not unthinkable that they will turn out another album packed with modern punk 'n' roll, or delve into a synth-pop rabbit hole or produce a record laced with references to '80s hardcore. The band aren't afraid to open up to new influences and will find inspiration wherever they can. “When a new record is in the making, it's a lot of what we listen to at the time,” Tombre says. “Movies, even. It's a lot of different things, so it's difficult to say what comes next.” For Andersen, the formula is simple: “New record. More touring. Take over the world.” Don't bet against them.
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