Despite only being on their third release, The Chariot has seen a lot of personnel changes. You probably know the band as the brain child of former Norma Jean vocalist Josh Scogin. In fact, with their third release, Wars and Rumors of Wars, Scogin is the only remaining band member to have appeared on either of their two previous full length albums.
If you haven't heard them before, The Chariot can best be described as desperate metalcore. Scogin screams and cries his way through every track, accompanied by an incessantly driving beat that also conveys a sense of desperation. There are occasional hints of syncopation, for instance in "Never I," but don't expect much. Meanwhile, the guitars grind away on chords and never really do anything particularly compelling.
If you're in a bad mood and feel like screaming your mind out, Wars and Rumors of Wars may be a good album for you. Unfortunately, I can't think of much else this album is good for except background music to an emotional breakdown. There is very little variation within each track, and even less between tracks. You will hear occasional interludes of interesting effects, such as whistling, but they are brief.
The lyrics are, of course, fairly dark and introspective, and not entirely clear. Don't expect anything obvious to come out and grab you, because there is lots of poeticism here. That said, one line that did jump out at me is from "Mrs. Montgomery Alabama iii:" "Love is easier made than kept."
The Chariot aren't a particularly bad band. Nothing stands out as glaringly poor musicianship or bad songwriting. They just aren't particularly good, either. If you're in the right mood, Wars and Rumors of Wars could end up being a great album for you. For the rest of us, it's just pretty mediocre.
- Review date: 5/14/09, written by Timothy Estabrooks of Jesusfreakhideout.com
Mandisa Passes Away at Age 47 Fri, 19 Apr 2024 17:30:00 EST |
Eddy Puyol Keeps Music on Mission with "Nothing Changed But My Stage Name" Fri, 19 Apr 2024 16:50:00 EST |
Bishop Greg Davis Drops "It's All Working" EP Fri, 19 Apr 2024 16:40:00 EST |
Apollo LTD Releases First Album In Three Years, "Hello Human" Fri, 19 Apr 2024 16:20:00 EST |
Consumed By Fire Release "First Things First" Commentary Album Fri, 19 Apr 2024 16:00:00 EST |
The Lore Family Release "God Said You're Gonna Make It" Single Fri, 19 Apr 2024 15:50:00 EST |
Darin and Brooke Aldridge Release "Talk of the Town" Fri, 19 Apr 2024 15:40:00 EST |
DAD TIRED FOUNDER JERRAD LOPES EXPANDS POPULAR MINISTRY WITH DEBUT CHILDREN’S TITLE Wed, 10 Apr 2024 17:07:46 +0000 |
“Anything Goes” by Andrew Kerhoulas of Brother K Thu, 04 Apr 2024 02:54:00 +0000 |
Demi-Leigh Tebow to release debut book this August Mon, 18 Mar 2024 21:20:38 +0000 |