Review: Charger – “Warhorse”

Pirates Press Records – 18 Mar 2022

Charger revisit the hard rock and heavy metal of their youth on their badass full length debut.

Even before I had really listened to much hard rock or heavy metal, I remember being drawn to the album covers. Many of us were lucky enough to have access to a cool uncle or older brother’s record collection. Bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Manowar and even Molly Hatchet had such badass artwork. You can add Charger’s Warhorse to that list. 

Similarly, when I was really starting to get into thrash and punk I was first drawn to all the cool logos. I scribbled crude versions of the logos from bands like Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, Corrosion of Conformity and The Exploited everywhere. Charger established their own badass logo on the cover of their self-titled debut EP. The black and white ram’s head is a powerful image. 

They band also has a badass pedigree. Bassist/vocalist Matt Freeman is obviously from a little band called Rancid. (I guess a few people enjoyed Operation Ivy too.) Drummer/vocalist Jason Willer spent time in UK Subs and is currently part of Jello Biafra’s Guantanamo School of Medicine. I’m sure guitarist Andrew McGee has done some cool stuff too, but the internet is letting me down at the moment. 

Of course, all the cool imagery and past accomplishments in the world wouldn’t mean much if the music couldn’t back it up. Charger was put together to pay tribute to the band’s early hard rock and heavy metal influences. Their 2019’s self-titled EP was largely seven songs worth of unabashed Motӧrhead worship. Warhorse is a slightly expanded version of that formula. Not surprisingly, it’s badass. 

Side A opener “Devastator” kicks things off with a heavy Motӧrhead vibe, from the upfront bass to the locomotive style drums. “Black Motor” is similar, but adds some thrashy riffs. Each song builds off the last. “Rolling Through the Night” eases up on the double bass drum and uses a more straightforward thrash beat. “Summon the Demon” features some high-pitched, DIO-esque vocals. (Man, DIO had some great record covers too. More on DIO later.) “Dig Your Own Grave” adds some well placed organ to give the song a slight 70’s prog rock feel. 

Side B opener “Will to Survive” is probably the fastest song on the record. “Forsaken Soul” doesn’t let up much until an extended breakdown near the end. “Luck of the Draw” is the most Motӧrhead-y song on Warhorse. Or maybe it’s “Running Out of Time”, which could probably pass for being written by Lemmy himself. “Stand Fight or Die” is a rager, and like most songs on Warhorse, it’s a reminder of how talented these three are as musicians. Closer “Sword of DIO” conjures up memories of “Heaven and Hell” and “Holy Diver”.

I can’t help but wonder what hardcore Rancid devotees will think of this. Charger are definitely mostly metal, with only lingering traces of punk. So many Rancid fans seem hung up on the ska/Op Ivy side of the band. They should really give Warhorse a listen. As I may have mentioned earlier, it’s badass.

For vinyl fiends: Warhorse is available in blood red and blood red/black galaxy versions in a gatefold sleeve. The black vinyl version is the rarest, and has a case-wrapped cover with black and white art with red foil stamping and a leather jacket feel.