Overcharge – Accelerate (2014)

[spoiler]I am glad to see mohawked, crusty punk resurface among the soccer mom Mohawk ubiquity. Punk was not supposed to be cute or accepted; that is counter-productive. So, if it takes some metal love to add some blood to the punch, so be it. “Lemmy is God” is a salient declaration, and deservedly so. His chemical intake alone establishes his body as a vessel transcendent of human form (does that make Nikki Sixx, like, St Peter?). The object, though, all praise due to Lemmy, should be to allow newer metal to be influenced by, not mere copies of, Motorhead. Overcharge blurs the (white) lines as their track “Leave Behind” rides the rail (pun intended) of “Ace of Spades”. It sounds just like it.The production is pin point accurate when juggling the elements of rock and roll. “As If There Were No Tomorrow” is the second track. This ditty rides on a punk driven bass line. As with the entire record, the drums are tight; impeccable. The riffs may not be re-inventing the steel, but they certainly are dark and fast. Solos are never over-used but capture the ferocity of punk while celebrating metal frills of indulgence. The ending of “Dirt”, complete with screams being panned, has a chaotic atmosphere as the instruments converge on the end of the track.

The cover’s artwork relays the desired feeling of being released in 1987. Overcharge are proud to be what they are, and weave that thread continually. The bottom line is that these guys adore a style and made an album within those parameters. Can’t blame anyone for doing what they love. Especially, when Overcharge executes this style so damn well.

RIYL: Motorhead, Venom, Metallica, The Bones, Discharge/Broken Bones, Bathory (Blood Fire Death), Conflict, GBH, Exploited, Poison Idea, Exhorder, Annihilator, Sodom, Final Conflict (Hutch)

[/spoiler]