reviews

It's a metaphor, fool.

The Chariot - Wars And Rumors Of Wars
Tim Karan on 4/14/09 @ 12:30 PM

[4/5]
Wars And Rumors Of Wars hardly represents a marked musical departure for Douglasville, Georgia-based metalcore contortionists the Chariot, and it's unlikely to receive a pardon from the always-wary Botch Police. But what the band's newest album may lack in progression, it more than makes up for in improved songwriting and more complex music that people suffering from claustrophobia should avoid at all costs. Josh Scogin leads his musical merrymakers in more manically pounding, distortion-soaked exercises of catharsis that sound more fully realized than any of their past work. Opening track "Teach" lurches forth as a brutal waltz, while its exasperating follower, "Evolve," releases stuttered aggression in deliberate bursts. "Impress" wields a surprising punk-rock tempo one moment then sneaks in chords lifted from a Neurosis record the next. "Giveth" explores lows and highs with admirable depth and floor-stomping dynamics, making it one of the band's most epic compositions to date, especially with Scogin's vicious self-exploration ("Does this mean I'm a threat?"). The next track, "Abandon," bleeds boiling, brooding textures better than ever. The only rumor that should be spread about this album is that it's the Chariot's best yet. (SOLID STATE; solidstaterecords.com) Brian Shultz

ROCKS LIKE:
Botch's American Nervoso
Underoath's Lost In The Sound Of Separation
Deadguy's Fixation On A Coworker

IN-STORE SESSION WITH FRONTMAN JOSH SCOGIN

Were there any themes that seemed to present themselves while you were writing this album?
A lot of the imagery I [used] is kinda based around wars and stuff like that. But that's just the imagery: The lyrical content and things of that nature deal more with the wars that sort of go on inside of our heads--the mental battles: right and wrong; the daily struggle; what [you] do with life to make this world a better place.

Did you mean to be critical of any specific war?
No, no. It was nowhere meant to be a protest album. I know it's kind of an interesting time for this album to come out, having George W. Bush as the former president and all that, but yeah, it's nowhere near a [critique]. We're a far cry from a political band.

What made you decide to go with mostly one-word song titles?
They're all really personal to my life--[including the fact that] only a year ago my father passed away. And I hate to say this, because it sounds like such a band-dude thing to say, but the lyrics are a lot darker than any other record just because of how personal they are for me.

You've recorded all the albums live in studio, right?
Quasi. We recorded the first live, but every other record has been more of a typical recording session. But we still maintain [a] "start at the beginning, end at the end" [ethos]. There are several bands that will play the riff once perfectly and then it's almost copy-paste down the line so that it's a perfect record. That's totally awesome, but it'd be misleading [if we did] that. We've never claimed to be the tightest live band in the world. Every now and again, we'll break that rule: where it's just a great take except for that one part that's messed up. We may go in and punch in this one part, but if you heard this record, you'll know there's lots of stuff we probably should have tightened up. [Laughs.] But that [keeps] it feeling like a real record.

We love playing live. That's what this band are all about: playing live shows. We take that and try to make a record that feels that same way. Obviously, you didn't get the lights; you didn't get the sweat; you didn't get the stage; you didn't get the strobe; you didn't get the camaraderie of a punk-rock show, but we try our best to cram all that into a disc. I'm not saying we succeeded, but that's the goal, at least. [BS]

Official Website: http://www.thechariot.com



Comments

Post a Comment

Squishie669
I can't wait for my red album comes with it's hot sause ha. I did some research and "wars and rumors of wars" is part of a passege from the bible, talking about the end of days. I assume Scogin had the 2012 scare in mind and how the followers of christ shouldn't been worried cause this isn't the end and Jesus will be our savior. Considerin the war we are in and the rumor of the war with Russia that is bubbling. I love how The Chariot has always been an acquired taste, and it should stay that way. The esoteric meanings and the choatic sounds have always kept me loving The Chariot and all of Scogins work. Can't wait to crank it up to 11 and scream along to this album.



  |   Print this article