Track Listing

1. Arcarsenal
2. Pattern Against User
3. One Armed Scissor
4. Sleepwalk Capsules
5. Invalid Litter Dept.
6. Mannequin Republic
7. Enfilade
8. Rolodex Propaganda
9. Quarantined
10. Cosmonaut
11. Non-Zero Possibility
12. Extracurricular (Previously Unreleased Bonus Track)
13. Catacombs (Previously Unreleased Bonus Track)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4379 in Music
• Released on: 2004-12-06
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's maddeningly rare that a band can provide a visceral thrill--Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name"--and still work the grey matter as well. Here's a band that's refined the art. Hailing from El Paso, Texas, At The Drive-In come poised somewhere between the rabid showmanship of The Make-Up and the avant-complexity of emo pioneers The Lapse, but through sheer adrenaline alone, leave both bands choking on their exhaust fumes. Sure, they're got their unique selling point--lead singer Cedric Bixler and guitarist Omar Rodriguez both sport immense Afros--but this band is no idle gimmickry. Recorded after a stint touring with Rage Against The Machine, Relationship Of Command is the punk-rock real deal, the angular hardcore dynamic of "One Armed Scissor" and "Rolodex Propaganda" (the latter featuring the rabid holler of a guest-starring Iggy Pop) as focused and affecting as any rock music to come out of America for the last five years. "And the paramedics fell into the wound like a re-hired scab at a fair-headed plant, an anaesthetic penance beneath a hail of contraband!" spits Bixler on the album's high water mark, "Invalid Letter Dept". "Dancing on the corpses' ashes!" What does it all mean? Do you really need to ask? All get down for At The Drive-In, punk-rock heroes for a cerebral America. --Louis Pattison

Customer Reviews

One of the Best Albums I've ever heard
Neither The Mars Volta or Sparta will ever compare to At The Drive-In and no other ATD-I album is as good as this, they're all excellent but this is the best. Personally i think it's one of the greatest albums of all time.

That said, I can understand why you might not like this, his lyrics are highly metaphorical, Cedric doesn't have a great singing voice (although I love his voice) and he tends to shout alot and the music can be completely crazy at times.
If you don't like this sort of music, or haven't ever heard anything by ATD-I i wouldn't advise buying this album as you may be in for a suprise if this isn't your thing.
If you do like this style of music this album is an essential.

Although the whole album is perfect, My favourites are: One Armed Scissor, Pattern Against User, Cosmonaut, Arcarsenal, Manequin Republic, Enfilade and Non-Zero Possibilty
I have listed over half the album, but that's becuase it's so hard to choose!

I always think it's a shame I'll never get to see any of this stuff played live =[

it will be called a classic.
I'd like to make reference to the review from 30 Sept - a couple below this one.

I'm not sure the purpose of comparing it to other band that he likes - it's all a preference of taste.

Yes this album is contrived from punk, yes it is 'new'- yes it has not been granted 'classic' status by the critics and fans ...yet.

But the point of this is that this album is by a band at their peak - it culmimnates all they have done before - captures all the elements a good band should have and took it to a level above what their contemporaries were doing.

Comparing an album only a few years old to an album by Husker Du which has gained notoriety is silly, in time this album will be called a classic of late 90/early 00 modern rock.

I am giving it 5 stars - I'm not gonna compare it to My Bloody Valentine who again deserve 5 stars for their momentous album, but this album is the climactic high point by a band who had always puished punk rock music to its limits, never compromising and always investing in their sound.

Yes some people might find his voice irritating, but i know people who dont like Bob Mould voice - despite his classic status.

This is a great album with a sound that is beyond what any other band is doing at the moment - apart from Fugazi maybe. It has focus, intelligence, something new to offer and above all else enjoyable punk rock songs.

not as good as you think
what we have here is easily one of the most overated albums in the history of rock and metal.
i just do not understand the appeal of this band. wierd and silly lyrics that make no sense slapped over music of sub standard fugazi plagerism delivered by easily one of the most annoying vocalists ever.
the influence of this band is easy to see....but is that such a good thing that they have opened the door for a whole slew of similarly poor bands being noisy just for the sake of it with no apparent rythm or melody.
yes its noisy and yes it is passionate...but surely you need more than that to hold it all together, like ...well you would hope songs but what you get here just feels like blobs of noise with rubbish vocals ontop.
the influence of rage against the machine hangs heavy as the singer does sound very similar to zach de la rocha at the majority of the time...therefore quite nasal and at others like an angry teenager just wanting to shout at the world about very little.
i would say give this a listen before parting with your cash as it may not be your thing...like me you just might not get them