CHARGER

I hadn't heard much from the U.K. fuzz bastards in quite some time; if memory serves, the last release that scraped the ole eardrums was the Billy Anderson-produced "Confessions of a Man, Mad Enough to Live Amongst Beasts". Never getting the recognition due the band outside of Europe, "Disgust at the Status Quo" is a splendid three-round burst of hot CHARGER lead that should send the explorers of new territories searching for back catalogue releases on Undergroove and Peaceville.

Noisy and abrasive, yet never sticking to one-trick sludge crawl, "Disgust at the Status Quo" is demonstrative of CHARGER's penchant for fusing the face-sanding qualities of sludge with the up-tempo nihilism of hardcore punk sprinkled with grindcore. In fact, "Omar Suarez" (remember "Scarface" and the gruesome sight of Omar hanging from that helicopter?) is something like BRUTAL TRUTH ("Extreme Conditions…" period) engaged in a back alley fight with EYEHATEGOD and IRON MONKEY. "Melvin Lardy" follows suit before "The Stuffer" brings it on home with finely arranged tempo variation and moments of early ROLLINS BAND rage-spew ("You will always be a Sucker!"). Bloody raw; bloody good.

By the way, the "three" in the "three-round" burst is a misnomer, as following the vitriolic threesome are a handful of hidden live tracks that really give you the CHARGER business in all its frantic glory. So there you have it. "Disgust at the Status Quo" is a great way to start the day as you maneuver traffic-clogged arterials on the way to your dead end job. Open mouth, insert pistol.