Turbocharged - AntiXtian

Turbocharged
AntiXtian
Chaos Records

With blackened thrash outfit Gehennah maintaining their out of action status as the years roll on (The band’s last release was their ‘10 Years Of Fucked Up Behaviour’ back in 2003), it’s wasn’t all that surprising to see the group’s original founder/vocalist/bassist Ronnie ‘Ripper’ Olson go it alone with his debut solo album ‘Socially Challenged’ last year (Which was released through the small independent label Bottom Records).
Following on from his solo effort, Olsen has returned with his new outfit Turbocharged, who have recently released their debut offering ‘AntiXtian’.
Despite being founded as far back as 2000, the Swedish based outfit have undergone several line-up changes within that time, which has meant that the band have been anything but serious for some years. But in 2009, Olson put together a solid line-up (The trio is rounded out by guitarist/backing vocalist Old Nick and drummer/backing vocalist Freddie Fister), and Turbocharged was reactivated on a more permanent basis. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before the band had enough tunes to release a full-length album, and after receiving an official release on vinyl late last year through Polish label Hellrocker Records, ‘AntiXtian’ has finally been given an official C.D. release through Chaos Records.
Given Olsen’s impressive work within Gehennah and Vomitory, I was expecting quite a bit from his latest venture. And while ‘AntiXtian’ does have its fair share of great moments, I must admit that the band’s debut did leave me feeling that something was missing.
Despite a suitably evil sounding intro (The anti-Christian themed spoken word track ‘The Uprising’), the band remain primarily within the punk influenced/thrash ‘n’ roll mould, with the title track ‘AntiXtian’ giving listeners a taste of what the band pretty much deliver for the remainder of the album. Structurally, ‘AntiXtian’ is well put together, with the simplicity of Turbocharged’s sound allowing the lead guitar work to stand out alongside the over the top lyrical content. But while everything seems to be in place, the song does feel a little flat in places, which means that for all of the unhinged energy the band claim their music has, it just simply doesn’t quite manage to translate in the recording sense.
Some tracks, such as the catchy ‘Lionbait’, the more thrash based ‘Globalize The Blasphemy’, ‘Golgotha 33 A.D.’, ‘Wake Up And Smell The Christian’ and chaotic speed of ‘Blasphemachine’, do manage to liven up the album in places, but overall the production on ‘AntiXtian’ just doesn’t seem to really allow the raw energy that exists within the band to bleed through, which only leaves the album sounding quite bland and patchy outside the above mentioned tracks.
For all of their promise, Turbocharged haven’t quite produced the gem I was expecting, but more a solid effort that only hints at what they could possibly produce in the future. And while they might appeal to some, I for one can’t help but feel a little disappointed by that.

For more information on Turbocharged, check out - http://www.myspace.com/turbocharged4life.

© Justin Donnelly.