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Relationship of Command

2000 studio album by At the Drive-In

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 18, 2026
Entity authorityQ1386645
Source-derived summary

Relationship of Command is the third studio album by the American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, released on September 12, 2000. The album combines an aggressive edge with a melodic drive, emotive vocals, and surreal lyrics. Initially received positively by critics, the album is now seen not only as one of the most influential post-hardcore albums of the 2000s, but also as one of the most accomplished recent works in the wider rock spectrum. Relationship of Command was voted twelfth out of 100 in the Albums of the Decade by NME, and the 37th most influential album of all time by Kerrang!. It is the band's final album to feature founding member Jim Ward.

Background and recording

Relationship of Command was recorded over a seven-week period starting on January 17, 2000, following a tour supporting Rage Against the Machine. The album was recorded at the Indigo Ranch Studios, in Malibu, California, and was produced by Ross Robinson and mixed by Andy Wallace.

Known for his unorthodox production methods, Robinson at one point took bass player Paul Hinojos for a drive in his SUV through the hills of Malibu to get his adrenaline going prior to recording.

Each song on the album was first tracked live, due to Robinson wanting to capture the energy the band had onstage, with some overdubs added afterwards.

Iggy Pop sings on "Rolodex Propaganda" and appears on the spoken word intro to "Enfilade." According to guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López, Robinson "had been talking to Iggy because they were gonna work together.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Relationship of Command” as 2000 studio album by At the Drive-In. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Relationship, Command and studio.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2000—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 2000. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Relationship, Command and studio providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Relationship of Command”, the useful work is to connect “2000 studio album by At the Drive-In” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1386645. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2000.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Relationship of Command”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Relationship of Command primary sources, Relationship of Command archive and Relationship research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Relationship of Command” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.