31/03/03

CHARGER / CONFESSIONS OF A MAN (mad enough to live amongst the animals)

This is the debut CD from Stoke-On-Trent band Charger, this Midlands town is not exactly well know for it’s Metal bands but Charger are about to change all that.

If you’re looking for well polished, Melodic Metal, boy have you got the wrong CD, as this is pure untamed aggression, which knows no bounds. The press sheet describes them as "Punk fuelled Sludgcore noise" and that is a very accurate description, produced by famed San Francisco producer Billy Anderson, (who has worked with Eyehategod, Neurosis and Sleep) you know it’s going to be heavy.

Tracks like "Pennies For Soil", "Carbon Wings" and "Ultra Violet Flyer" don’t so much leap out of your speakers as fall out of them, the sound is thicksatropic and brings to mind at times very early Cathedral, mixed with some Sleep thrown into the mix. The final track "A Ventilation System For Cooling Poultry" is 13 minutes long and if it was on vinyl you would say it was on the wrong speed, the last four minutes it degrades into pure unadulterated noise, the likes of which have not been heard for may a year. Overall this is a fine start to the bands career, Stoke is now on the UK Rock map.

TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 50 minutes + 8 TRACKS