If you ever find yourself in a pit and you see the guitarist
crowd surf by and then notice the bassist is right next to you in the pit
throwing his instrument to the rafters then it is safe to assume you are at a
Chariot show. Known for their intense live performances and cult like following
of devoted fans The Chariot has created a legacy on feedback and destruction.
Well it’s been almost 3 years now since the release of Wars and Rumors of Wars in late 2009 and The Chariot is back with a vengeance on Long Live.
Well it’s been almost 3 years now since the release of Wars and Rumors of Wars in late 2009 and The Chariot is back with a vengeance on Long Live.
Long Live is a 10-track monster of a full length laden with
distortion, feedback, and all out fun. If you haven’t heard of these guys before the
best way to describe the sound would be orderly chaos. Every song on this album
seems to be held together by a thin thread that’s fraying at the edges. Every
track is like a wall of dissonance and feedback ordered into a rhythm revolving
around Josh Scogans guttural and emotion filled screams. But make no mistake
this is not simple music there are time signature changes left and right and
some great off time stuff on tracks like "The Heavens." While being straight up heavy Long Live has lots of great
fun moments and even comical parts like the random sample in the end of "Calvin
Makenzie." But make no mistake there is a lot of really great lyrical work on
this album like
“May the history book
read of all of our names?
Be it blood, be it
ink, but at least we were free
This is only but a
fraction of what I've got to say
It must be said, it
must be sad
If I leave this earth
tonight may it be said that I spoke my peace
I spoke with the wrath
of his grace
Calm rose: come
violent wind
Oh we stand hand in
hand and we walk without fear
This is a revolution”
–The Chariot Song: The City
The Chariot also really likes keeping songs feeling fresh
through their tempo changes and by never letting a song settle into one riff
for to long. Songs like "David De La Hoz" really exemplify this because of how
many times they change riffs and by the slow section with Dan Smith from
Listener rambling passionately over a drum driven build up that ends up turning
into a breakdown filled with some of the dirtiest guitar and bass tones you
will ever hear. Honestly the guys from The Chariot are masters at making ugly
sound amazing. You could desecrate amps for hours, detune your equipment till
they fell to pieces, and still never create sounds as dirty as what the guys
from The Chariot have crafted on this piece of art.
Long Live is yet another beautiful piece of dissonance
created by the might Chariot and is beyond deserving of a listen.
10 / 10
Review By: Jimmy Bishop
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