Charger – Warhorse LP (Pirates Press Records)

I heard rumors about the greatness of this record before, and I had high hopes about it, but to be quite honest, I never thought it would be this extremely incredible. Of course, Warhorse is an absolute banger from scratch to finish, thanks to experienced musicians involved in Charger. It was so foolish of me to expect otherwise when the band includes prolific musicians such as Matt Freeman (Rancid, Operation Ivy), Jason Willer (Jello Biafra And The Guantanamo School Of Medicine), and Andrew McGee (Wired All Wrong). Warhorse is their debut full-length release that comes right after the critically acclaimed self-titled extended play release. It was heavily promoted by Rolling Through The Night and Summon The Demons, two excellent singles that gathered so many positive critics from the crowd.

Those listeners who’re not familiar with the sound of Charger would maybe expect some punk rock tunes from these gents, but the reality is quite the opposite. Charger nurture such a specific rock’n’roll sound that’s not so easy to define with simplistic musical terminology. These guys are unquestionably inspired by some British heavy metal, hard rock, rock’n’roll, and that’s vividly hearable throughout the entire recording. Each composition slightly differs from another, but they all have one thing in common, and that’s pure, highly energetic, flawlessly executed rock’n’roll. Of course, this band wouldn’t sound so interesting without some punk rock attitude drenched deep beneath the layers of excellent riffs, semi-distorted basslines, and piles of dynamic rhythmic maneuvers.

Judging by their songs, I can’t escape the feeling these guys are drawing inspiration from the bands like Motorhead, Venom, Celtic Frost, Black Sabbath, and AC/DC. Therefore, this material will be right up your alley if you’re into the late seventies and early eighties hard rock, rock’n’roll, and heavy metal. Perhaps the almighty Motorhead inspired them the most since their tunes possess equal amounts of rock’n’roll, metal, and punk rock, so you can’t easily define their style. Charger sounds like a gigantic slab of cleverly assembled noise that crushes everything in the broader radius, and there’s not even a single song that sounds bad. Maybe you’ll notice how the band slightly changes the musical direction on each composition, but the “Warhorse” appears as a compact full-length album that deserves your utmost attention. Charger once again proved they’re not joking around, and you should check this album out immediately. Head over to Pirates Press Records for more information about ordering.