Way back when I was just a wee little boy discovering "heavy" music for the first time I came across this little known band called Norma Jean. Their spontaneity and raw aggressiveness really struck a chord with me; the music reached out, grabbed hold of my neck and rang it out to dry. Amid the sea of Botch impersonators, they were really doing something different in a scene plagued by unoriginality and malaise.
Fast forward 2 years and Norma Jean completely transformed... For the worse. Josh Scogin, their lead singer--who I would later find out was a huge influence over their initial sound--left the band due to creative differences and was replaced by a pithier and less risk-taking fellow who was more apt to following trends than continuing the forward-thinking mentality the band had become known for. They had helped pioneer a genre and--as is the case with so many game-changing bands--lost all momentum after just one album. Almost a year went by with no mention of Mr. Scogin or any new musical endeavors. And the world (I) wept.
2005. Enter: The Chariot, Scogin's newest offering, harkening back to the days when he was inspired to create raw and emotional music. My initial reaction was kind of "meh", to be honest. A little too DIY and off kilter for my liking, but still fresh and much ballsier than anything NJ have done recently. I lost touch with the band for a few years as my musical tastes shifted and I moved away from the whole "post-hardcore" thing, leaving them to continue on their path unbeknownst to me and work their way towards what would become one of the best records in the genre.
2010. While frequenting MetalSucks (my favoritest website) I came across a new music video for the song "David De La Hoz" off of The Chariot's newest offering Long Live. I felt like I was back in high school all over again, just discovering this chaotic and esoteric music for the first time. It was raw, it was aggressive, it was sporadic, it was just... Right. Scogin and the boys really hit home with this one and I immediately bought the record (yes, bought it, because some bands just need the love a little more than others).
What has plagued earlier Chariot albums in the past was the production. While I understand they're going for the raw, in the moment sound that has come to define them, it was always a little too messy for me, and the constant shifts between noise and breakdowns grew tiresome and hard to endure. Long Live, however, shows a maturity and grasp of the style and songwriting like no other band in the genre has put forth yet. It still has the raw, unabashed brutality of their old material, but it has been brought together cohesively and succinctly. The production has stepped it up a notch while still remaining true to the live recording spontaneity that The Chariot have cultivated in the past, and is just gritty enough that you still feel like you're seeing the band live in a garage somewhere. It's in your face and completely selfish and I fucking love it.
Not only have The Chariot stepped it up a notch with the production, but their craftsmanship behind the songs is almost overwhelming in its attention to detail. There are passages with harp, vibraphone, piano, and even a choir, that grab hold of you and take you to places musically that you never would expect to go with a post-hardcore band. Some of the songs just straight up groove, while still keeping you on the edge of your seat waiting for the next abrupt shift in tempo and time signature. They've taken everything I could tell they were working towards and just nailed it on this one, and the record is slowly making its way into my top ten of 2010 (though I got it a little late in the year and hadn't listened to it enough to appreciate it by the time the year ended).
Bottom line is it's just refreshing to hear a band that's so sure of itself musically and creatively that they can create something without any concern for outside perception. That's a very rare quality in bands nowadays, even in metal, where everyone seems to be a carbon copy of somebody else in one way or another. I have to give it up to these guys for taking a genre that has literally been dead for almost 5 years and breathing new life into it in the most beautiful ways. I will surely be keeping my eye on them in the coming years.
7/10
Track Listing:
1. Evan Perks
2. The Audience
3. Calvin Makenzie
4. The City
5. Andy Sundwall
6. The Earth
7. David De La Hoz
8. The Heavens
9. Robert Rios
10. The King
Favorite song: The City
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