Every so often an album is dropped on the unsuspecting public that rattles the very foundation of what the masses know and don’t know about music. Genre-bending, mind-expanding, and soul-clattering, these albums go down in the annals of history as pieces of musiclature (non-political science majors can make up authoritative sounding words too) that are timeless in their own right. The album “Wars and Rumors of Wars” by the Chariot…is not one of these records.
The Chariot, formed by the original singer of Norma Jean, a mainstay of the Christian hardcore scene in the turn of the millennium, present this furious half hour (plus or minus) feedback-ridden, instrument-smashing, rhythmic train wreck to the unknowing masses in the setting of a changing scene. As the hardcore, punk, and metal scene runs its natural progression towards melody, structure, and a general broader appeal in hopes of lending itself to a larger, more mainstream fan base, The Chariot has remained true to their initial musical vision. Their latest record doesn’t try to make any huge leap across difficult genre lines or redefine their existing style.
This is by no means a bad thing.
This record viciously assaults and batters your ears like a gang of soccer hooligans. They yell, they pound, they generally raise a ruckus about things you’re not completely convinced are actually worth getting this worked up about. But your own lack of understanding about all the fuss only seems to make the rage-ridden even more red-faced. Alas, I suppose this is what happens when you give hardcore kids and art students a soap box to stand on and an instrument to wail on.
All ranting aside, here are some particularly rad things about this record:
-It doesn’t sound much like anything else I’ve heard released in the past year or so.
-It’s nice to hear what Norma Jean would sound like if they hadn’t replaced members.
-It’s fun trying to pick out the melodies and rhythms heavily masked in the distortion.
-The live tone of the guitars and drums are EPIC. They must have tracked most of this record in a gymnasium sized room, mic’d everything close up, then put room mic’s WAAAAAY back in the room and turned them WAY up. It’s like you can hear the natural reverb of the snare drum move all the way around the room. Pretty awesome!
-The guitar tones, while maintaining their brutality, have a cool Texas style twang to them. It sounds like fresh, crisp strings on a classic Fender…then put in a blender of distortion! Yowza!
-The packaging concept is cool and unique. Each CD is packaged in a heavy-gauge printing paper envelope thing with the cover art stamped on. So whoever did the cover art made it into a stamp then the band themselves hand stamped, numbered, and initialed each copy. It gave a pretty cool, unique feel to each individual album. Props for thinking outside the box boys.
The Chariot, formed by the original singer of Norma Jean, a mainstay of the Christian hardcore scene in the turn of the millennium, present this furious half hour (plus or minus) feedback-ridden, instrument-smashing, rhythmic train wreck to the unknowing masses in the setting of a changing scene. As the hardcore, punk, and metal scene runs its natural progression towards melody, structure, and a general broader appeal in hopes of lending itself to a larger, more mainstream fan base, The Chariot has remained true to their initial musical vision. Their latest record doesn’t try to make any huge leap across difficult genre lines or redefine their existing style.
This is by no means a bad thing.
This record viciously assaults and batters your ears like a gang of soccer hooligans. They yell, they pound, they generally raise a ruckus about things you’re not completely convinced are actually worth getting this worked up about. But your own lack of understanding about all the fuss only seems to make the rage-ridden even more red-faced. Alas, I suppose this is what happens when you give hardcore kids and art students a soap box to stand on and an instrument to wail on.
All ranting aside, here are some particularly rad things about this record:
-It doesn’t sound much like anything else I’ve heard released in the past year or so.
-It’s nice to hear what Norma Jean would sound like if they hadn’t replaced members.
-It’s fun trying to pick out the melodies and rhythms heavily masked in the distortion.
-The live tone of the guitars and drums are EPIC. They must have tracked most of this record in a gymnasium sized room, mic’d everything close up, then put room mic’s WAAAAAY back in the room and turned them WAY up. It’s like you can hear the natural reverb of the snare drum move all the way around the room. Pretty awesome!
-The guitar tones, while maintaining their brutality, have a cool Texas style twang to them. It sounds like fresh, crisp strings on a classic Fender…then put in a blender of distortion! Yowza!
-The packaging concept is cool and unique. Each CD is packaged in a heavy-gauge printing paper envelope thing with the cover art stamped on. So whoever did the cover art made it into a stamp then the band themselves hand stamped, numbered, and initialed each copy. It gave a pretty cool, unique feel to each individual album. Props for thinking outside the box boys.
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