Album Review: The Charge - 'Order of the Owl'

Melbourne alternative rock four-piece The Charge first emerged on the scene in 2012 with their debut Red Flags, and since then they have toured and kept writing, which has all now culminated with their latest release ‘Order of the Owl’.

‘Acid in My Veins’, the album’s lead single, kicks off this alternative rock/metal hybrid, but what it best achieves is establishing what is to proceed. The band offers the foundation for their sound early. High energy and purpose the key components. Following up introductions with alternative bangers ‘Blue Lips’ and ‘The Chosen Few’, songs that are both full of intense riffs and melodic vocals, the band is assertive, if nothing else. ‘The Eye’ is an eerie and slow break to the previous (and early) feel of the album, while ‘Handful of Dust’ is a return to the album’s aggressive and mid-paced style. Equally, it's not a stretch to hear similarities to Mastodon in ‘The Rivers Will Return’ - it is a short, fast banger.

The second half of the full-length contains its own variety too. ‘Buried in the Rain’ reinforces 'Order of the Owl' to be a continuously heavy, yet at the same time melodically catchy album, with songs such as ‘Caught In The Black’ and the slightly slower ‘Lie Through Your Teeth’ (which features an intense mid-section breakdown/tempo change) all included purely for the listener’s enjoyment. Title track ‘Order of the Owl’ is an embodiment of the album’s sludgy/grunge/alternative rock. A fitting song to choose. Contrastively, ‘Wake The Dead’ sees Muse and Alter Bridge influences creep in.

'Order of the Owl' is an enjoyable and catchy album, it's as simple as that. Full of intense riffs and guitar lines, solid drumming, melodic vocals as well as some thunderous bass lines, the band ticks most boxes. The instrumentation throughout is a testament to the band's hard work and writing abilities. However, the record could have done with more points that highlighted the rhythm section. Still all solid, just a greater emphasis could've elevated things even further.

As an album, the tracks flow well together and there are key highlights that will definitely do well in a mainstream radio setting (see: 'Acid in My Veins', 'Order of the Owl'). If Australian alternative rock is your thing, much like Dead Letter Circus or Guards of May, but without the progressive element, definitely check out these guys.

1. Acid in My Veins

2. Blue Lips

3. The Chosen Few

4. The Eye

5. Handful of Dust

6. The Rivers Will Return

7. Buried in the Rain

8. Caught In The Black

9. Lie Through Your Teeth

10. The Order of the Owl

11. Wake The Dead

12. Transcending