Year: 2026
Label: Zoharum

Here’s something I hadn’t noticed about Brandkommando before: ever since their 2024 album Soviet Terror In Poland, each of their albums has had four tracks clocking in at ten minutes almost on the dot.

I don’t know what that signifies, but it can’t be coincidence. Considering the Polish power electronics act seem to like concept albums, and concept arches that stretch over several albums, I’m sure there’s a deliberate and conceptual level behind this as well. But damned if I know what it is.

At any rate, Brandkommando continue with both the confusingly uniform album structure as well as the theme they’ve studied on their albums during the last years. 1968 refers to the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia after a brief period of thaw in the Eastern European country. This ties in well with other recent albums, which explore the history of totalitarianism in Eastern Europe.

Musically, too, this is familiar fare. 1968 concentrates on rather minimalistic power electronics compositions, most of which focus on a few minimalistic, slowly modulating and shifting layers of rusty, broken iron and moaning machinery. Brandkommando still isn’t a particularly extreme act within the genre; rather than focusing on abrupt cuts or shifts, or complete cacophony, Brandkommando concentrate on clearly defined layers of noise that usually remain throughout the entire track.

Somewhat weirdly, where a very similar approach worked on Enslavement (reviewed here) and Jugoslavija 1941-1945 (reviewed here), on 1968 it just doesn’t. The tracks feel too minimalistic, too uneventful and, despite there being minute modulations within the layers of noise, too static. Instead of being powerful, on 1968 the noise is simply grating and frustrating.

1968 feels like it’s taken the structural minimalism a step further than on the albums mentioned above. The slabs of noise are even more solid blocks (without going into HNW territory), with even less variation and development than before. 1968 takes it one step too far.

Sadly, after two succesful albums on Zoharum, Brandkommando err in a wrong direction. 1968 is essentially not cut from a different cloth than its predecessors, it just evolves one element of Brandkommando’s sound one step too far for yours truly. Instead of evocative, the minimalism of 1968 is just annoying.

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