Album review: Chugger “Of Man and Machine”
Sweden’s Chugger is back with a new album filled with groovy extreme metal.
Chugger calls itself a groove death metal band and on its new studio album “Of Man and Machine”, we get treated to a collection of modern and hard-hitting metal songs bursting with energy. Formed in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2012, it is obvious that they are influenced by 1990s metal – both the melodic death metal bands from the local Gothenburg Sound scene and American groove metal. They have used those influences as a foundation and then taken things further to create their own contemporary-sounding metal. Chugger comes across as an ugly and disturbed child born out-of-wedlock as a result of a drunken threesome between Machine Head, Lamb of God and At The Gates. Sort of. “Of Man and Machine” is the band’s second full-length studio album. Its back catalogue also includes an EP, a couple of singles and a digital live release. The new album has somewhat of a dystopian theme and there is also a decent attempt at being a shock rock band (which is also evident in the band’s visual style). The fierce and furious track “Turning Point” is a clear favourite of mine on this album. Other great tracks are “Flatline” (just listen to Larza Skjuttorp’s bass work on it!), “The Algorithm”, the fast, fierce and furious “Polaris” and the sinister “Beg, Burn, Fear”. Sweden has a proud tradition of great metal bands and Chugger is part of a terrific group of contemporary bands that keeps Sweden at the very forefront of modern metal.
Chugger’s album “Of Man and Machine” is out now via WormHoleDeath Records.
