War Chile

War Chile
by Jason Jones

September 2023

Salem, Virginia based rock band War Chile released their eponymous debut album on August 1, 2023. War Chile is a seasoned band of four established musicians, one and all a stalwart of their instrument and sound. They are Brian Gray on guitar and vocals, Henry Lazenby on lead guitar, Jay Gladden on bass, and Mason Jennelle on drums. Their playing is layered and fluent, moody and exacting, cogent and cutthroat, but most impressively, it’s never pretentious, never austere, and always in service to the song. There are no extravagant solos, desultory flourishes, or inadvertent shifts. The song is king.  If The Stooges are raw power, War Chile is curated power.

“All in Your Head” opens the album. Twin guitars, bluesy digressions, and brimming dynamics situate the song comfortably in the southern rock milieu. I’m reminded of the Allman Brothers Band and Molly Hatchet, but it's immediately clear that this will not be standard southern rock fare plucked from the peach tree. At the 3:42 mark, Lazenby takes a dapper solo lasting twenty seconds, but instead of overextending the part, he slips out and, seamlessly, Gray seesaws into a guttural, riffy solo, unexpectedly lowering the song deftly back to the opening motif in conclusion. The dynamic interchange between the guitarists exemplifies the band’s subtle craftsmanship, mastery of the tradition, and how to play one creatively against the other. 

“A Hill to Die On” flings the door open on the southern rock moniker, ushering in a bevy of new textures and tones more in the Thin Lizzy vein of twin guitar rock. The sound doesn’teel as earnest, but wiley and mischievous, with a bouncing rhythm and slight comic tilt. That is until they move to the outro section of the song, downshifting into a murky, distorted, fuzz filled finish, more in line with Dinosaur Jr. 

The upbeat ripper “Desperation” is classic Gray songwriting on display. Lyrically driven, with a running rhythm befitting of the narrator’s plight. Dynamite, the devil, and no fear are unmistakable signs there’s a hellhound on our man’s trail to Mexico. 

Their debut would be remiss not dealing directly in the blues, with the genre forming the foundation of the album. “Gravedigger Blues” features a foreboding build, slide guitar, and a loping drum beat, over which Gray’s sultry vocals resonate. The sound is southern rock a la the ripe slide guitar of Grinderswitch, but the feeling is more diverse, a la Elmore James, in that the Delta, Chicago, and country blues traditions are brought to bear throughout the song. 

The rhythm section of Gladden and Jennelle moves with power and grace, and no more so than on “Meme Generation,” a fistpumping thrasher with wavy vocals and Middle Eastern-hued guitarwork from Lazenby. It’s heavy, body moving rock in the classic mode of Iron Maiden or the contemporary mode of Umphrey’s McGee. 

Coincidentally both Umphrey’s and War Chile released songs titled “Escape Goat” on their latest albums.. Gray told me that he had already named the song “Escape Goat” ahead of seeing the Umphrey’s release, but commented that they must have been watching a lot of Trailer Park Boys, too. The title comes from a moment when the show's protagonist Ricky confuses the term “scapegoat” for “escape goat.” The song itself is more in the prog rock vein than the rest of the debut. It’s instrumental, hard driving, and cinematic. I imagine shifting through the gears, speeding down the highway in a Trans-Am, starlight shining through the T-top. 

The finale, “Death of Me,” is a return to the band's southern rock roots, featuring a growling vocal performance from Gray, sterling guitarwork by Lazenby, and the surprising addition of Josh Shilling on organ to introduce a new dimension. The lyrics leave our narrator still searching for salvation in a devilish world of good timing vice. War Chile saves one of the album’s finer moments for the outro, pairing Jennelle’s funky drum breakdown with a blustery organ jam leading into Gladden’s airbrake bass quake that slows the album to its close.

War Chile, like the songs comprising it, is a masterclass in music composition. There is careful attention given to the forms, structures, and traditions; to building tension and creating catharsis; to developing a theme, pairing it with vivid lyrics, and chasing its hero through the pitfalls and perils paving the way for resolution. And the playing is superb, with minimal effects, but incredible precision and fealty for the song. War Chile is accessible and nuanced, taking listeners on a journey through a southern rock soundscape laced with punk, country, blues, polka, boogie-woogie, heavy metal, and prog rock, placing the band’s sound somewhere between Clutch and Widespread Panic, with an attitude and authority all their own. War Chile is available on Spotify and other streaming services.<>