The Chariot

The Chariot are true artists whose determined passions lead them down winding pathways as they buck trends and avoid formulas. The noisy, rambling, shambling, Southern-fried, punk-infused, heavy metal hardcore band has long rejected the conventions of the genre that surrounds them by refusing to conform to established structures. After all, The Chariot is the band whose debut was recorded live in the studio in one take, whose frenetic and often destructive live shows are the stuff of underground legend and whose evolving lineups have generated a body of work as vibrant in the hearts and minds of those who’ve witnessed the mayhem live as those who own the discography.

The Chariot’s sound and presentation owe more to At The Drive In, Refused, Nirvana or even The Sex Pistols in spirit and vibe than the formulaic processed sounds of their contemporaries. The burgeoning “Noisecore” movement of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s (Converge, Botch, Isis, Dillinger Escape Plan et al) informed them as well. The Chariot is raw and real, but never lacks sophistication or intelligence in craft. To fully comprehend The Chariot, one must see, smell, touch, hear and feel a performance up-close-and-personal. One Wing, the band’s latest album for Good Fight Entertainment, is the closest they’ve come yet to capturing their kinetic energy and boundless creativity for posterity.

Wars and Rumors of Wars (2009) and Long Live (2010) threw out the tattered remaining pages from the rule book the band started shredding with Everything is Alive, Everything is Breathing, Nothing is Dead, and Nothing is Bleeding (2004) and The Fiancé (2007). And with One Wing things are now even more wonderfully strange. When the band reconvened with longtime collaborator / producer Matt Goldman (Meg & Dia, Underoath), the only rule was that there were no rules. Longtime observers needn’t fear the unbridled experimentation, as the band’s artistic integrity and authenticity is never in question. And true to form, guitarists Brandon Henderson and Stephen Harrison, bassist Jon “KC Wolf” Kindler and drummer David Kennedy pound, screech and devastate their way through feedback-drenched high-energy songs all over One Wing. But piano interludes and other manners of trickery abound on the album, adding new dynamics and texture.

The live setting is the place where The Chariot’s dense, chaotic, at times disturbing and always-visceral music takes physical shape. A Chariot show is dangerous, combustible and always engaging. It makes sense considering the seeds of the band were planted during an unpredictable moment on stage. Just as Norma Jean were blowing up in the underground scene, singer Josh Scogin calmly announced on stage at a festival that he would be leaving the group, much to the surprise of the crowd and his band mates. He resurfaced in The Chariot not long after. Certainly no sane observer of The Chariot will ever accuse them of going through the motions. Having made several very personal albums touching on a wide variety of subjects (including Wars and Rumors of Wars and its darker tones following the death of the singer’s father), the unashamed but constructively critical believer and family man is well aware of the significance of the body of work he’s accumulating. He has plenty to say and he’s mindful of how he goes about saying it. 

With a family at home in Georgia and well over a decade of touring and recording under his belt (Norma Jean’s debut album, featuring Scogin on vocals, remains a highly regarded genre classic), The Chariot’s frontman has avoided the moment of crisis that hits many touring guys when they choose to slow down and get a “real” job. Despite the changing scene, Scogin is full of purpose to continue on. “When I was a kid, dreaming about being in a band, it was very simple,” he said. “I'd envision myself playing the show and as I was playing the show I'd jump up on my bed and pretend it was the crowd. As long as you never forget your first love, it's very easy to keep excited about this. For me, it's the live shows. When I'm playing live, I’m just happy to be playing the show, doing what I always dreamed about.”