Time Signature This pack will roam...

Genre: crust punk / sludge metal

If you like both sludge metal and hardcore punk, then Hard Charger's The Machine is Driving is the perfect choice for your next investment in music - especially if you want a good portion of raw attitude on top.

The base sound of the music on this album is the raw and heavy sound of sludge metal, with lots of twang and dirty distortion, but rather than meandering in heavy southern grooves and depressive heavy doom-ladden riffage and tempos, Hard Charger have opted for d-beating galore. Thus, most of the tunes are fast, energetic crust punk tunes with a sludgy sound.

And you know what, it works very well, as the crust aggression and the sludge darkness go very well together. The result is gruff aggressive music with lots of attitude and lots of energy. Granted, it probably takes a listener who is able to appreciate the good things about d-beating, and the album - like many other d-beat based crust punk releases - is in danger of becoming monotonous down the line to listeners who do not understand and appreciate d-beat and crust punk.

But, if you are looking for at sped up and aggressive alternative to the more standard slow and heavy sludge metal, then Hard Charger's onslaught of rough, aggressive crust-sludge rock 'n' roll in the form of This Machine Is Driving should be right up your alley.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)