Year: 2025
Label: Zoharum

Polish Brandkommando belong to the rather prolific end of the post-industrial spectrum. This year marks the 20th anniversary of their first release. During these two decades, the one-man project has released a respectable 43 releases according to Discogs, out of which 35 are full-length albums. That’s more than one release per year.

They’re hardly the most prolific act in the scene, though. Some other acts have racked up hundreds of releases in two decades. But, still, 43 is a lot. So much so, that what is there really to say about yet another Brandkommando release that somebody hasn’t said before?

Probably not a whole lot, making me question not the existence of Enslavement, but the point in reviewing it. I mean, one would hope to offer some fresh insight and perspective in a review, some small but still significant nugget from an enlightened listener who has both context and some skill with words. (Both of which, apropos, I hope I have.)

I think it’s safe to say that Enslavement does not revolutionize Brandkommando’s expression, either. Like last year’s Jugoslavija 1941-1945 (review here), Enslavement consists of lengthier power electronics tracks leaning towards a more brooding expression. Whilst undeniably extreme in the grand scheme of things – power electronics is inherently a pretty extreme form of music – Enslavement is far from the most extreme music in its style. Just like Jugoslavija 1941-1945 and everything else I’ve heard by Brandkommando.

Which makes it all the more harder to scramble up anything worthwhile original to say about the album.

Yeah, I admit: so far I’ve been mostly rambling about everything else than Enslavement. But I feel justified doing so in an attempt to convey why it can be so frustrating to write about industrial noise. It’s not music that is easy to describe verbally; often the artists have extensive discographies; and equally often there is not a massive difference between one album and the next – especially since this is an inherently anti- or non-musical form of music. And, trying to steer this in a direction relevant to the album at hand: all of this applies to both Brandkommando and Enslavement.

As alluded to above, Brandkommando’s not-too-extreme style of extreme music remains largely the same on Enslavement. The tracks are longish, and focus on slower modulation and evolution more than on sudden, surprising changes or shifts in sound. Many tracks are built in a rather understated fashion around sparse elements and layers, which are subtly manipulated to mutate over time.

Even at its most abrasive and brutal, such as on album closer Logic Of Existence, the album never overwhelms the listener with cacophony. The noise and chaos comes as from a distance, through long metal piping, which makes it easier to ingest it. Other tracks focus on more atmospheric, understated and considerably less confrontational styles of power electronics. Take for example album opener The One That Doesn’t Exist: a simple, pulsating low-end synthesizer sound that comes and goes at some distance, never exploding into noise or cacophony; over this, vicious and surprisingly brutal, pseudo-growled vocals are layered.

The result is an album that, despite not treading new paths for Brandkommando, is worthwhile on every level. It’s atmospheric and surprisingly engaging despite its sparseness. Especially the vocal style – which I commented already on in my review of Jugoslavija 1941-1945 – gives Brandkommando their own sound. So whilst this may sound a lot like previous Brandkommando albums, it also doesn’t sound generic in a larger context.

Another futile thing in noise and power electronics is trying to rank albums. Is this better than its predecessor? Where does it fall in a ranked Brandkommando discography? These genres operate under a different kind of logic, where such things don’t matter as much. That said, Enslavement is another worthy addition to Brandkommando’s discography, and in the collection of power electronics fans.

Brandkommando don’t seem to have an official online presence.