Album Review: Master Charger - Origin of the Lugubrious
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
Now fully established as a mainstay in the UK stoner/sludge movement, Midlands trio Master Charger’s third full length comes four and a half years after their last record, ‘Eroding Empires’. The wait may have been long, but the patience is rewarded with a thick, sludgy release that shifts in pace and power throughout the seven resplendent tracks. Thick, primitive riffs dominate of course, as you’d expect, and the gravelled gargle of John James remains as gritty as ever. With a new producer in Robert James on board for the latest album, the band have achieved an earthy, live sound for ‘Origin of the Lugubrious’, capturing the very essence of Master Charger.
The album opens with the title track, a stoner style meander, with a traditional vinyl crackle (certainly on my download anyway) giving a pleasingly retro feel. A haunting instrumental, it segues into ‘Embers of Sun’, the first of several six-minute songs. This song gives the real feel of Master Charger, a raging beast with thick riffs crashing around you, the changes of direction pleasing and working neatly. Plenty of variety lurking here as well, something that can often be lacking in the sludge world. After the fiery pace of ‘Blood and Sand’ we are offered the bluesy ‘Who The Hell Are You?’ It may just be me, but John James delivery on this one echoes the Blind River frontman Harry Armstrong and that’s alright with me. Two minutes in and the pace slows, the riffs get heavier, the mood darkens as we fall headlong into an almost psychedelic wormhole. The tempo slowly builds again, ferociously at times before the concluding freak out solo over a rampaging bass line leads us to the song’s mighty finale.
Master Charger’s music was described as ‘Satanic Blues Rumble’, and that description is perfect for ‘Buried by Time and Dust’, a crushingly evil track that captures the band’s power perfectly. There’s also a bit of groove on ‘Out Time Has Come’, a pulsing, driving tune that infects and gets the head nodding. The shimmering intro to closing song ‘Earthbound Hellbound’ gives way to a crushing, almost funeral first section. It then throbs with dirty tuned guitar; James howls and the powerful riffs continue to cascade before returning once more to the glacial pace. This album should come with a health warning, it’s that heavy.
Having seen Master Charger at last year’s HRH Doom vs Stoner, I know the band can deliver in the live arena. It may be some time before these tracks are fully ensconced in a live set list, but you know that when they do, they will smash it.
