Chugger "Scars"

Chugger are one of David Dahl from melodic Swedish death metal band,  Taketh's other bands.  You remember Taketh?  We reviewed them here.

Chugger are also in the melodic death vein although groove metal also chugs within their engines. The band won't be for those that run a while from melody and clean singing. The band get the toes tapping and the heads banging with "Bleed" which contains a huge groove metal underbelly.  Chugger are more about rocking out than entering into the most brutal of all contest.

 The song "In Vain" has a lot of proper melodic singing instead of just grunting.  The grunts are more present on "C.U.N.T" although at the beginning of the song they duel with clean vocals but end up winning and the band have a crunching metal sound which moves a long to a steady beat and the death vocals take proceedings to an angrier level.  There's a clean guitar sound also dueling with a far dirtier tone and there's no telling who the winner is even after the song ends.

Despite there being guitar riffs and solos that a listener will go back to for further listens, other than the cleanly sung parts most of the five songs really aren't all that catchy. By the way, are five songs on a release an album or an EP these days?  "Scars" is an enjoyable release.  It is bizarre to me that the band state on their bandcamp site that their music can be described as thrash metal as I just don't hear anything from the  thrash metal era in their sound.

3/5


Chugger's band website



Chugger on facebook

Taketh "Ignorance is Strength"

Often bands will come with a mash of styles and have no idea how to describe themselves to potential fans and reviewers.  At a certain point, a band that refuses to pigeon-hole themselves by not describing their music at all sadly does not get a look-in from overloaded inboxes and will simply be ignored simply because the reviewers curiosity is not piqued due to the lack of any stylistic references.


Swedish band Taketh are clearly aware of this as they describe their music as melodic death metal which they they definitely are.  In fact, a few months back I received an email from David Dahl, Taketh's vocalist and he stated that the band would be a perfect fit for fans of Dark Tranquility, At the Gates and old In Flames.    He's definitely a vocalist who is capable of holding a melody and also  resurrecting a voice from the netherworld.  Taketh aren't afraid to experiment and "Moving On" ,the opener to "Ignorance is Strength" utilizes a small piece nu-metal and electronics without a huge cringe factor.  Those who consider death metal no place for clean singing will be searching from earplugs  from the get-go but it'll be a smooth sailing for those unafraid of cleanliness.

 At times the vocals fall somewhere between Carcass's Heartwork and Danni Filth(although without the high-pitched shrieks) and there are bursts of black metal.  "We are Slaves" contains a mixture of clean and filthy riffs although the soap and water definitely wins out.  Whether or not  "Your Master" is death metal is going to be up for debate as it opens with vocals that fall between Ozzy and Jon Olivia and then the singer takes a much more melodic direction that will have fans of symphonic metal (Kamelot is often the band that comes to mind) looking for a change of underwear although whether they can all handle the closing chop and change to deathly vocals remains to be seen.   The song also contains a snippet of a marching sound that
isn't miles removed from Marilyn Manson's "Beautiful People"


Although the songs are built around the vocals of David Dahl, the band are clearly all first-rate musicians.  It's also clear that Taketh are past the experimental stage as the band seem to be aware of what sounds work for them.  There's a definitely a sense of irony in naming a song "Flaws" and if the music wasn't up to scratch every reviewer would point to this song and "Mind Numbing Crap" delivering on their promises.    However "Ignorance is Strength" is an album that will be listened to again now that the reviewing process is over.


Fans of the TV series "Breaking Bad" and the movie "Pushing Tin" may be interested to learn that this band originated with two guys in an air traffic control tower playing acoustic guitars before the recruiting of other band members.

3.5/5

Taketh's music video for "Moving On"

Taketh on Facebook

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