Review / 200 Words Or Less
Charged
Summer 2008

Charged is a hardcore band from southern California, playing a pretty straightforward style. The vocals are probably the strongest part of this band, reminding me a little bit of Verse or even Cut the Shit. The music ranges from fast-paced punk beats to slower breakdowns, and brings in a decent amount of melodic and singing parts, akin to Stay Gold. In their second release, Charged still sounds a bit confused in how they want their band to sound. Each part or song could be pretty solid on its own, but something gets lost in the transition between progressions. Sometimes the melodic side of the band seems misplaced, simply because the other parts don't fit as well as I'd like them to. The guitar sweeps in the last track, "Braveheart," show that this band is trying really hard to do something different. But it's not always best to try something different, because you can end up sacrificing solid parts for failed attempts at original riffs. This isn't bad, it just needs to know what it's trying to do, and not try to appeal to such a wide range of sub-styles.