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• THE SLEEPING SHAMAN

Charger 'Disgust At the Status Quo' CDEP (FUN008)

For well over a decade Charger have constantly pushed themselves in terms of sheer brutal aggression, whilst never treading the same ground, or compromising for anybody along the way, this attitude has proven to be the right one. With a collection of releases via Undergroove and Peaceville records, including the critically acclaimed "Confessions of a Man, Mad Enough to Live Amongst Beasts" produced by the legendary Billy Anderson.

Their live adventures have taken them around Europe including a five week stint with Steve Austin's 'Today Is The Day', an invitation by Casey Chaos to join 'Amen' around the UK, which spilled over into Europe once again and included Raging Speedhorn on the bill. They have also shared stages with the likes of Napalm Death, Cathedral, Church of Misery and recently appearing on the Terrorizer stage at this year's Damnation Festival with the likes of Lockup and Mistress and even more recently playing a sell out show supporting the mighty Orange Goblin.

So to the present day.... armed with three new tracks of absolute brutal crust induced sludge at a pace which is just relentless, it's frightening how good these guys are. Time to batten down the hatches because UK sludge legends Charger are back.

Recorded at The Lizard Lounge, Stoke-on-Trent, Recorded/Engineered by Alex Jockel Produced by Alex Jockel & Charger, Mastered by Alex Jockel.

Artwork by DesignVoid.

IMAGES

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REVIEWS

THE SLEEPING SHAMAN:

Set the controls, for the arse of a nun...four grizzled pottery heads with a pulsating predilection for the barbaric beauty of doomed out glue-headed punk and savage burned-out eye socket death metal grindcore warp spasm brain surgery. Yeah, that's right, warlords of woe Charger are back after a bit of a hiatus hernia, and they mean fucking business. Only three new tracks here though, but they is very nasty indeed, boss.

First belter 'Omar Suarez' (a tribute to Frank Lopez's slimy right hand man in 'Scarface') is a classic fucking bruiser in the style of...Charger. That is precisely why you've got to love these tenacious riff monkeys, they own and create their very own noise. While so many bands, even if they are brilliant, often borrow from past giants, whether it's Eyehategod or whoever, Charger proudly plough their own dark furrow, and have done so for over a decade. Sure, at certain points for instance, you may hear a slither of Autopsy, or a shred of Discharge, but undeniably Charger possess a genuine signature sound that distils the finest sonic stench-brew that can be created from simple guitars, drums, sore throats and monolithic amplifiers. Fact – Charger have never made a mediocre record. From the first demo to this DIY gem, their recording history is a ten year plus litany of dedication to fucking hardcore quality.

Anyway kids, this first track rolls and bludgeons and bollocks along on a solid heavy tempo and a crackingly doomungous chord sequence that makes your head nod and your stubbly mush gurn in appreciation. Dan's grating vocals sound harsh and brutish like a pissed butcher, and Paul's more-hardcore-than-thou drumming is jaw-droppingly precise and clinical.

On top of their original take on heaviness I always love Charger's song titles too, which cast light on the band's dry and scatological sense of humour. 'Melvin Lardy' is a damn fine song title. This second track is a sizzling under-two minute blast of mutant metalcore that twists and grinds in homage to the bloated lumberjack star of reality show 'Ax Men'. Paul's voice strains and wails like a dying seal and the twin guitars spurt and bulldoze their way over the raging rhythm section in a manner most invigorating.

The last new track 'The Stuffer' is the real star of the show: a mammoth of grim punk violence done the Charger way that slows to a malevolent sludge lurch reminiscent of some of their finest doom-laden slow bit moments. It's all over a bit too quick really, which makes the live recordings of the 'secret' tracks (from the last album) a welcome addition. Raise your tankards and toast the slack genius of Stoke! This ep is a triumphant return for Britain's oft-forgotten heroes of the underground. My only gripe – I want more. An album's worth. But next time lads, don't have a go at the Quo – Rossi was burning coke holes in his nose when you lot were on the potty.

HELLRIDE MUSIC:

Sweet Jesus, my ears were just blown to the back of my head. Eleven-odd years of slugging it out in the sludge trenches and exposing audiences to volume-induced G-forces that no human should have to endure, Stoke-On-Trent's Charger launches a broadside of crust-laden filth... Disgust At The Status Quo generates a sound somewhere between Iron Monkey on a coffee bender and the bombing of Dresden.

We get three new songs on this one, all inspired by various cult media outlaws and mixed by Alex Jockel for maximum output. "Omar Suarez" (yep, Scarface) opens with an audio clip that isn't near as loud as the barrage of low-end discharge that erupts on the Ipod headphones 15 seconds later. Scared the crap out of me. "Omar..." I dig mostly because I like to picture the drummer flailing away like a mental patient for the last 20 seconds of the track. Just when you think Charger is going to slow down and end on a crawl, the tempo gets a Christmas goose and the band goes apeshit. "The Stuffer" is the money track, starting off like Charged GBH before locking onto a hell-heavy groove and some spoken rasps... "When I see you, I run for cover / you will always be a sucker YEAHHHHHHHHHH!!!". Good God, what stones these lads have. "The Stuffer" even features some brief fretboard flash set forth among the killing fields softened by the aural airstrike that is the Charger rhythm section.

The last three tracks are a lovely surprise, three incendiary live tracks which are sure to make bones rattle even with the worst of stereo equipment. Polite too, the Charger band thanking the audience politely after every aural bunker bomb.

If you are in the mindset of pummeling your head with some blasting Brit bedlam, you could do far worse. The only problem is that you're left wanting more. Not a bad place to be by any measure.

ZERO TOLERANCE MAGAZINE:

Having made their name at the forefront of sludge-crust in the industrial ruins of Stoke, UK, Charger are laying down some faster cuts on this new three-track EP.

Showcasing a healthily hostile brand of gruesomely aggressive crust mayhem, these three tracks (and bonus live set) represent what's best about the UK's metal underground. Mastering their influences, they've evolved as a band rather than having scavenged their sound from other bands.

Kickoff song 'Omar Suarez'is a case point, a grinding set of near-doom riffs that ride percussion that'd be at home on the sweetest hardcore track. Dual Vocals further muddy the water, on-point screaming and another voice that's on the edge of demented hopelessness.

Their slippery riffs and double-guitar-born move the tracks between speedy and mid-pace tempos, the heavy pace muscling up the EP into something that packs all hell in its punch. Even if this release is on the relatively short side – nine and half minutes without counting the extra live set – if the only complaint you can muster is that the EP is too short, then best just shut it.

4.5/6 - Issue #33 (Jan/Feb 2010)