Kamis, 24 November 2011

All About The Chariot

The Chariot is an American mathcore band from Douglasville, Georgia, formed in 2003. The current lineup consists of drummer David Kennedy, bassist Jon "KC Wolf" Kindler, vocalist and bandleader Josh Scogin, and guitarists Brandon Henderson and Stephen Harrison. The band has experienced frequent lineup changes since its inception, with Scogin being the only original member. The band plays an abrasive style of hardcore that does not adhere to typical stylings such melodic/abrasive dynamics and harmonic vocals. They have built a reputation around their powerful live performances, with Scogin's lyrics covering topics like materialism, personal struggle, current events, politics, and Christian themes. Their music has been critically acclaimed as something "that will melt your face and leave you wanting more."
The band was formed by Scogin shortly after he left his position of vocalist in Norma Jean. In 2004, a record deal was signed with Solid State Records and a debut album was released, entitled Everything Is Alive, Everything Is Breathing, Nothing Is Dead, and Nothing Is Bleeding. The band has toured constantly since then. The Chariot released the Unsung EP in 2005, which was then followed by three successful studio albums: The Fiancée in 2007, Wars and Rumors of Wars in 2009, and Long Live in 2010.

Biography

2003–2004: Formation and debut album

The Chariot was formed by Josh Scogin almost immediately after leaving his previous band Norma Jean, a metalcore group based in Douglasville, Georgia.He recorded one critically acclaimed album with them entitled Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child in 2002. Later that year, following Norma Jean's set at Furnace Fest, Scogin shocked the audience and his unaware bandmates by announcing his departure.[2][3] "I wish I had some great story about a big fight or aliens or something," he later explained, "but really it was just something that I felt led to do."When asked if his leaving was the result of internal conflict, Scogin replied "Not at all. My leaving them was completely a peaceful event. It was all something personal for me and had nothing really to do with the band at all."The event generated a public outcry from fans in hardcore circles.Scogin returned to Douglasville in 2003 and started the Chariot with other musicians in the area; the first lineup included guitarists Keller Harbin and Tony "Taco" Medina, bassist Joshua Beiser, and drummer Jeff Carter. The band's name was inspired by the Biblical story of Elijah and the chariot of fire.
In 2004, a record contract was signed with Solid State Records, a metal subdivision of Tooth & Nail Records and their first recorded song entitled "It Is Usually the Boys Who Cry Wolf That Grow up to Be the Men ho Cry Sanctuary" was released on the compilation "This Is Solid State, Volume 5".This song was later re-recorded as Yellow Dress Locked Knees on their debut. The band traveled to Atlanta, Georgia and worked on their debut album with Matt Goldman.The entire album was recorded live. "It is more comfortable for everyone," said Scogin," [We] wanted to record it all natural and leave many of our screw ups and many of our flaws. [...People] see perfect shows and they hear perfect recordings. We really wanted everyone to hear something that was authentically us and not a computer."The album was released in November and titled Everything Is Alive, Everything Is Breathing, Nothing Is Dead, and Nothing Is Bleeding,which was a parody of albums that featured morbid names: "[Death], or killing, or bleeding," Scogin explained, "[We] just sort of thought it would be a breath of fresh air to name our CD the exact opposite of all that."The album debuted at #23 on Top Heatseekers,and received favorable reviews from critics.Touring followed with As Cities Burn, He Is Legend, and Showbread on the Young Bloods Tour in Winter.

2005–2008: The Fiancée

Medina and Carter left the band soon-after; they were replaced by Brian Khounvichit and Mark Nicks respectively. Nicks was later replaced by drummer Jake Ryan. In September 2005, The Chariot began a 27-city tour at Poughkeepsie, New York with High On Fire, Every Time I Die, and The Red ChordAn EP, entitled Unsung, was released at the beginning of December. It featured two new tracks and four re-recordings from their debut and was well received among critics.The band played shows with labelmates As Cities Burn, mewithoutYou, and Underoath later that month. Touring continued through 2006 as the band shared a national tour with P.O.D. in spring and garnered a spot in the Sounds of the Underground Tour with As I Lay Dying that summer.In June 2006, Beiser and Harbin stepped down and were replaced by bassist Dan Eaton and guitarist Jon Terry respectively. The two men had been longtime friends of the band.
The Chariot embarked on the Youngbloods II Tour in fall with Solid State labelmates August Burns Red, Destroy The Runner,and Inhale Exhale.In January 2007, the band toured through Europe with Becoming the Archetype, and Shaped by Fate.By this time, yet another bass player had been recruited—Jon "KC Wolf" Kindler.[1] In April of the same year, after delays relating to lineup changes, their second album, The Fiancée, was released.The record was produced by Matt Goldman. The writing and recording process had been driven by time constraints. "It was actually a very easy record to write," said Scogin, "It came more naturally to us." However, Scogin waited until the music was written before writing lyrics, an exercise he vowed never to attempt again.Hayley Williams of Paramore made a guest performance on the track "Then Came To Kill" as did Aaron Weiss of mewithoutYou when he plyed the harmonica on "Forgive Me Nashville";Scogin had been friends with both artists for many years.The Fiancée broke the Billboard 200—it debuted at #169, selling 6,800 copies[— and was well received in the Christian and secular markets.The group played a release tour with Misery Signals, I Am Ghost, and I Hate Sally,and then made a short run on the Warped Tour in summer.[19] Another leg of The Fiancée Tour extended into spring 2008 with LoveHateHero, Alesana, Our Last Night, and Sky Eats Airplane.The lineup underwent another drastic change in mid 2008, as Jake Ryan, Dan Eaton and Jon Terry all decided to step down.Ryan and Eaton went on to form the indie pop band Queens Club and were signed to Tooth & Nail Records.

2009–2010: Wars and Rumors of Wars

The group's third album, entitled Wars and Rumors of Wars, was released in May 2009. The lineup changed once again, leaving Scogin as the only member to appear on their first two releasesThe album title was inspired by Matthew 24:6, which contains the passage "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars..." Scogin explained that the album title referred to internal conflict that people experience, not literal war.The band hand-made the artwork and liner notes for the first 25,000 copies of the album.Wars and Rumors of War debuted at #112 on the Billboard 200, their highest to date.Critical reception was very positive about the release.The Chariot performed on the Scream the Prayer Tour with Haste the Day, Sleeping Giant, Oh, Sleeper, and Project 86 that summer.Beginning late November, The Chariot and a group of hand picked artists, including Horse the Band, and Arsonists Get All The Girls supported Norma Jean who headlined the nationwide Explosions 2009 Tour.

2010: Long Live

The Chariot released their fourth studio album Long Live through Good Fight on November 22, 2010. The album was produced with Matt Goldman.They began touring with Haste the Day in February 2011 for Haste the Day's Farewell Tour, along with A Plea for Purging and MyChildren MyBride.

Musical style and influences

Josh Scogin performing with The Chariot at Camden Underworld, London in 2006.
The band's music is characterized by a metal sound,and the screaming vocal style of band leader Josh Scogin.Journalists have frequently referred to the music as "chaotic";Allmusic writer Alex Henderson described it as a "dense, clobbering sledgehammer", while Brian Shultz of Alternative Press called it "manically pounding, distortion-soaked exercises of catharsis".The Chariot has often been labeled a metalcore band. However, the music generally defies genre standards like melodic/abrasive dynamics and harmonizing vocals; it wouldn't leave room for the "nonstop firestorm of exploding drums, heaving guitars, and visceral shrieking," as Allmusic writer Corey Apar put it.The band utilizes time changes and start-stop shifts,and typically write very short songs. Some journalists believe the music is challenging and an acquired taste.
Live performances are very important to the band. "We love playing live," said Scogin, "That's what this band are all about: playing live shows." This mentality leaked into their recording process: the band's first album was recorded entirely live in one take. Their next two efforts followed more traditional recording sensibilities: "We may go in and [fix] this one part," explained Scogin, "but [...] there's lots of stuff we probably should have tightened up. [Laughs.] But that [keeps] it feeling like a real record."Despite their attentiveness to the recording process, Scogin has maintained that their focal point is live performances, "...recording records, that's all circled around hopefully bringing more kids to the live show so we can perform for them." The band's shows have built up a reputation; MTV called them "the thing of metalcore legend".When tasked to describe their set on the Scream the Prayer Tour in HM Magazine, Corey Erb wrote:
“ The best word I can find is destruction. There’s a frantic mix of bodies flailing, limbs flying, strings bending [..] Scogin threw his microphone twice, the guitarist climbed up on the stack of amps and hung from the rafters twice, and the set ended with the band piling up amps, drums, mic stands, lights and instruments in the middle of the stage and scraping their guitar strings across the edges of the pile. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they poured gasoline on the mess and lit it up. ”
"Daggers"
The eighth track from Wars and Rumors of Wars, "Daggers", contains lyrics about war, a prevalent theme in the album.
Problems listening to this file? See media help
Artists who possessed strong showmanship skills have largely influenced Scogin; some of these artists include James Brown, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley.He is also fond of Arcade Fire, The Beatles, Björk, Interpol, and The Killers.In an interview, Scogin expressed a desire to have seen At The Drive-In and Nirvana before they disbanded.
Scogin's introspective lyrics have covered topics like materialism, death, and the Nashville Christian music industry.The lyrics for Wars and Rumors of Wars were formed after a family loss: "...only a year ago my father passed away. And I hate to say this, because it sounds like such a band-dude thing to say, but the lyrics are a lot darker than any other record just because of how personal they are for me."Scogin usually refers to his lyrics as poems and has maintained that "a song is never finished but abandoned." "...as an artist you can forever be changing a song or making a song 'better' or whatever but the moment that you stop recording and send it off to be mastered you have not 'finished' the song…you have only abandoned the song and that is how it will stay forever."His lyrics sometimes espouse Christian themes and beliefs, albeit subtly.For example, the track "Yellow Dress: Locked Knees" from Everything... contains the Spanish lyrics "Jesus, yo quiero que este mundo te conozca."; when translated, it says "Jesus, I want this world to know You."The song "And Shot Each Other" from The Fiancée fades out into a Sacred Harp choir singing the song 'Child of Grace', which features the lyrics "How happy is a child of grace, who feels his sins forgiven / This world, he cries, is not my place / I seek a place in Heaven."
The Chariot is frequently called a Christian band, which Scogin agreed with in a 2005 interview: "We are Christians in a band therefore we are a Christian band. We are not ashamed of our beliefs but we don’t force feed people what we believe either."In 2006, he reaffirmed his previous statements and further opined, "When I was growing up, if I liked [a band], I listened to it — and I went to the shows. If I didn't, I didn't. It wasn't like, 'Oh, they don't believe the same thing I do,' [...] People care too much about the fashion of it all. To me, a band's either good or they ain't, and that's the only thing that should matter."

Members

Present members
Name Instrument Years Other Groups
Josh Scogin Lead Vocals 2003–Present A Rose By Any Other Name, Norma Jean
Stephen "Stevis" Harrison Guitar, Backup Vocals 2009–Present Written in Red
Jon "KC Wolf" Kindler Bass, Backup Vocals 2006–Present Asleep for Dreaming
David Kennedy Drums 2008–Present The Rein
Brandon Henderson Guitar, Backup Vocals 2011–Present Written in Red, I Am Terrified
Past members
Name Instrument Years Other Groups
Jon Terrey Guitar, Backup Vocals 2006–2008, 2010 The James Dean Trio
Bryan Russell Taylor Guitar 2008–2010 Slowriter, The Rein
Dan Vokey Guitar, Backup Vocals 2008–2009 I Hate Sally, I Accept Defeat
Mark McGee Drums (Fill In) 2008 I Hate Sally, I Accept Defeat
Dan Eaton Bass, Guitar, Backup Vocals 2006–2008 Flattery Leads to Ruins, Brunette, Queens Club
Jake Ryan Drums 2005–2008 Flattery Leads to Ruins, Golden Reach, Queens Club
Joshua Beiser Bass 2003–2006 The Glass Ocean, USS Shreveport
Keller Harbin Guitar, Vocals 2003–2006 The Glass Ocean, Every Time I Die, USS Shreveport
Mark Nicks Drums (Fill In) 2005 Cool Hand Luke
Jeff Carter Drums 2004–2005 Deus Invictus
Tony Medina Guitar 2003–2005 Juliette, USS Shreveport

Discography

Studio albums
EPs
B-Sides
Compilations

Filmography

  • 2004: Ladies and Gentlemen... The Chariot
  • 2007: One More Song

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Mason, Stewart. "The Chariot biography". Allmusic. All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  2. ^ a b c MTV staff. "The Chariot biography". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  3. ^ a b c d e Sharpe-Young, Gary (November 2005). New Wave of American Heavy Metal. New Plymouth, New Zealand: Zonda Books Limited. p. 312. ISBN 0-9582684-0-1.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Koutsou, Rena (2009-08-09). "Interview with The Chariot". MetalPaths. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  5. ^ a b Taylor (2004-11-04)
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ a b c d e Herbel
  8. ^ a b Allmusic staff
  9. ^ Henderson: Everything; Spenceley; Taylor (2004-11-04)
  10. ^ Taylor (2004-12-03)
  11. ^ Taylor (2005-12-06)
  12. ^ Loftus; Langley; Taylor (2005-12-06)
  13. ^ Cromwell (2006-03-23)
  14. ^ Cromwell (2006-04-05)
  15. ^ Harris & Wiederhorn (2006-06-16)
  16. ^ Foucart
  17. ^ Cromwell (2006-11-30)
  18. ^ a b c Goodman
  19. ^ a b c d Harris & Wiederhorn (2007-05-11)
  20. ^ Harris
  21. ^ Apar; Goodman; Whitman
  22. ^ Cromwell (2007-05-27)
  23. ^ Sailer
  24. ^ a b Estabrooks
  25. ^ Van Pelt, Doug (September 2009). "The newest member signed to T&N: Queens Park". HM Magazine. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  26. ^ Shultz (2009-02-20)
  27. ^ Estabrooks; Goforth; Henderson: Wars; Shultz (2009-04-14)
  28. ^ a b c Erb, Corey (2009-07-28). "Scream The Prayer Tour". HM Magazine. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  29. ^ Karan
  30. ^ "The Chariot Signs With Good Fight Music". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. October 4, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  31. ^ a b Henderson: Wars
  32. ^ Langely
  33. ^ Goforth; Goodman
  34. ^ a b c Schultz (2009-04-14)
  35. ^ Goodman; Henderdon: Wars; Karan
  36. ^ a b Apar
  37. ^ Langley
  38. ^ Goodman; Henderson: Wars
  39. ^ a b Whitman
  40. ^ Henderson: Everything...

References

External links


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