The Chariot – The Fiancée

It feels like only weeks ago that I first got The Chariots first release to review, but when I think about it, that was two years ago or so. Now I’m not the most adamant fan of this band, I know some various pieces of trivia that I’ve read here and there though. The former front man of the band Norma Jean started the Chariot, so as you may imagine, this band bears quite a bit of resemblance (albeit to Norma Jean‘s first album where said front man was still present). They’ve got very similar vocals; it’s that same scream that seems to sound partially muffled and notes dragged out for unnatural amounts of time. Basically what I’m getting at is this guy must have an unfathomable lung capacity. The guitar riffing is extremely heavy, if you’ve ever taken a listen to Botch, The Chariot is pretty much a copy of that bands style. The same goes for the drumming and bass lines, except I swore I heard a cowbell at least once (any beat that includes a cowbell automatically becomes awesome no matter what circumstance).

Much like many other bands of this particular style, although a few songs here and there are fine and quite welcome by me, an entire album becomes very overpowering. The Chariot doesn’t really strike a balance in their music, even the interludes that somewhat give a break begin to build up to a part which will inevitably become thrashy. It’s just the kind of music you have to be in a certain mood to enjoy because it is unrelenting. I couldn’t really pick out an exceptional song either; they’re all basically on par with one another. Although, this also means that there were no songs I hated, which I suppose is nice. Actually, scratch that, the last song on the album is people chanting biblical hymns or something of the sort. I have no intention of finding out the origin of the lyrics because I have a particularly strong “keep Christ out of music” sentiment that I try hard not to affect my opinions on music, but it can be tough. Especially when I find bands pushing their religious beliefs on their audience through their lyrics. I have found that at this point in human history, most people have decided for themselves what to believe in, and I’m sure “God” won’t exact revenge on any Christian band for not proclaiming how glorious their lord is.

Anyways, I would only really recommend this cd to those who are really into this kind of music, or those who think they’re really into this kind of music. It’s definitely not for anybody who maybe heard a song or two and got partial joy from it. In such a case, this album would most likely spend its life on a shelf collecting dust. Even I’ve got a feeling that this may be the case with my copy, it lacked a hook on my musical taste. They do deserve a chance though because they’re a fairly decent band, perhaps they’re just not my thing at the moment.