Review Summary: Rough 'n' ready.
Global Chernobyl are a band that pulls no punches, and generally don't seem to conform to genre traditions. Hell, I'm having a hard time even
placing them under one specific genre. Sure, there's that ever-lingering METAL tag, which is still rightly deserved; yet even that doesn't quite describe their sound with a just amount of apt. Here we've got elements of classic progressive rock, acid-tinged psychedelia, and a big, crusty middle finger pointed at the face of whoever's listening. A good middle finger, though; the kind that makes you feel like you're "one of the gang".
That's just scratching the surface, though.
Endtime is a compilation of songs written and recorded by a group of people with interest lying all across the rock music board, over a three year period. You're bound to see some versatility from a setup like that, and on
Endtime, it's plain as day. You've got thrashy death metal bangers like Crisis and Get Out of Dodge; bong-fueled, jammy interludes which help divvy up the apocalyptic chaos; and monster tracks such as Apocalypse and Armageddon which, to put it bluntly, more than live up to their names.
But what good is versatility if you lack the musical ability? No good at all. Fortunately for us (as well as the folks in GC), they've got their instrumentation down to a T. Not only are the guitars here crisp, they're played with a high amount of dexterity, tastefully dipping their toes in some shredded guitar leads when they're needed, and always delivering the good when it comes to tasty metal riffs, as well as some sleepy, subtle and jazzy noodling over the softer tracks.
The guitar solos (and riffs, for that matter) tend to be on the melodic side as well, which is a welcome addition considering the lack of vocals all over this album. Sure, a shortage of vocals may turn some folks off (though they still pop up on a few tracks, in all their crusty goodness), but I don't think it holds the album back
too much. Besides, this thing is
technically a demo compilation, so I'm sure we can cut the boys in Global Chernobyl a bit of slack. I mean, the recordingsl sound pretty damn professional for a home-brewed metal demo.
One of, if not
the biggest drawbacks on this album has to be the frequent use of a drum machine. It's understandable, though: drum kits are expensive, a bitch to set up and transport, and just generally loud. Thankfully the drum programmer seems to know what he's doing, and the drum tracks do retain a bit of an organic integrity to them; yet I can't help but wish all the drumming across this album was done by the man behind the kit for Apocalypse and Money, because he really knows what he's doing, and is clearly passionate.
Overall, this is a great demo compilation. It's a little rough around the edges, yet Global Chernobyl seem to have a pretty good grasp at what they're doing and are sticking with it. While I might not be able to recommend it to
everyone, there's a lot to enjoy here. Take a look, you might just find something you like. Let's hope the future of GC is as promising as this.
Oh, and there's a Leftover Crack cover here too. And it's awesome.
