Blood Command Debut “A Villain’s Monologue” with New Vocalist Nikki Brumen (ex-Pagan)
I completely missed that Blood Command parted ways with vocalist Karina Ljone. In fact, I can’t find any announcement about it other than the one accompanying their new single, “A Villain’s Monologue.” That’s a bummer! Ljone rocked. But it’s also not the first time the band has swapped frontwomen: Ljone replaced founding member Silje Tombre in 2014. And the band’s patented death-pop sound continued unabated then.
With that in mind, Blood Command have introduced their next singer, former Pagan vocalist Nikki Brumen. And their new single, “A Villain’s Monologue,” doesn’t show any cracks in the veneer; it’s as full of piss, vinegar and sugary sweet pop hooks as anything the band’s ever written. Guitarist Yngve Andersen calls it “tougher, tighter and more melodic than ever before,” and I’d be hard-pressed to disagree.
Brumen offers quite an introduction to both the song and her presence in the band:
“’A Villain’s Monologue’ was written in response to someone projecting their insecurities onto me. At the time of writing this track, I was invested in supporting someone close to me – I could see they were chasing their dreams and I wanted the best for them. Over time, however, I came to the sad realisation that the support was not reciprocated. This person who I thought I could trust was not showing me the same support that I had shown them, and as a result, were projecting. When I showed Nikki the song, she had been through an incredibly similar situation so we both knew this was the perfect introduction to the rebirth of Blood Command.
“A decade ago, I travelled from my home country of Australia to Norway. I chose to fly all the way to the other side of the world because of my obsession at the time with the Norwegian black metal scene. I left, however, with a new obsession: Bergen. The moment I arrived in this city, I knew there was something special about it. To this day, it is my favourite place I have been.
“I used this trip and the Norwegian black metal scene as creative inspiration for my band Pagan, who played our last show in February 2020. Not long after we had split up, I got the offer to join Blood Command. I had actually been introduced to Blood Command’s Cult Drugs a couple of years earlier and fell in love with them instantly. In a weird way, they reminded me of a more pop version on Pagan. The strangest thing about this situation though was that I was being asked to join a band from Bergen. The stars had aligned.
“I feel so privileged to have been given the opportunity to front a band that I love and that I feel such connection with. I will sing every note from my heart, I will scream every word from my gut, I will write every lyric from my soul together with the band and I will never let you down. We are all in this together now.”
Watch the video for “A Villain’s Monologue” below. No new album has been announced yet.
[via Kerrang!]
