Superchief - Corporate Dynamite

Superchief, Corporate Dynamite(2011).

(self-released)

After reviewing music for a number of years, you get to see bands evolve, although this is often with mixed results.  Superchief only received a pass mark last time they were reviewed here with their album, “Rock Music”.  I wasn’t able to put my finger on exactly why that album didn’t click with me.

Superchief are back again with another outing and the Clutch influence is still very present although the funk influence isn’t as strong with Superchief.  The sheer length of  “Fear No Shield” is of Metallica proportions and there is a smidgeon of that band’s nineties sound although the Clutch is stronger.  “Shovel in the Basement” is made of the very same material that my local commercial rock stations fall over themselves to play as it’s heavy, catchy and features a few guitar solos with a voice that sounds like an angry and husky Eddie Vedder.   The title song, “Corporate Dynamite” starts with a spoken intro then goes into a groove similar to Rob Zombie’s “Living Dead Girl” and has features gob full of grape of vocals that are somewhere between Zombie and Keith Caputo on Life of Agony’s debut. A Zeppelin meets modern stoner rock feel runs through “They Call Me Nomad”  The song is heavy, sounds modern yet has the hallmarks of classic rock. “The Story of the King Killer” lives up to the promise of its title as the song kills with a crunching heaviness.  If this song doesn’t get your head nodding, it’s time for a pulse check.  “The Plan” builds quickly and then falls into a relaxed laidbackness near its finality.  I liked “Saint Bukowski” before I even heard it simply because of the song title’s literary reference, which reminds me I need to watch “Barfly” again.  “Destiny’s Child” sways between quiet to hard and angry but is easily the weakest track on the album.


Superchief are still establishing their indentity but “Corporate Dynamite” is definitely a huge step forward for Superchief so look left and right for explosions.   This album gets more than just a pass mark.

3.5/5





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Superchief - Rock Music

Superchief “Rock Music”, 2009
(TFTC )


With some of today’s band names and album title choices are sure to cause confusion for uninformed music store employees, Superchief took the less puzzling option and have chosen an album title that is a useful filing too but unfortunately also suggests a band bereft of imagination.   Whether it helps or hinders Superchief’s cause, there’s no denying “Georgia Trucker Fun” runs incredibly close to recent Clutch right down to the vocals.  Although the vocals are gruntier, “Sweat” walks in the footprints that Soundgarden laid down on “Down on The Upside”.  In the intro, there’s exactly the same tinge of Pink Floyd that permeated the Seattle band’s final album.  
The stoner rock fuzz guitar blares out for attention in “Amen” with the vocals fading into the background.    A psychedelic haze washes over  “Bus Ride Messiah” with wah-wah guitar voyaging in for the ride.

Whilst Superchief aren’t a bad band, it’s difficult to put my finger on it, but this disc just doesn’t click with me at all.    I’d just much rather be listening to any of the bands that Superchief are reminiscent of than listen to “Rock Music” again.

2.5/5

Superchief on myspace

Superchief on facebook