I've not always been a fan of The Chariot. When they released their debut "Everything is Fine..." I wasn't very impressed. I'm not sure if I was bitter over lead singer Josh Scogin leaving Norma Jean to form The Chariot or if I just didn't like the style of noise that the band made. So I wasn't really looking forward to the sophomore effort "The Fiancée". It wasn't until "Wars and Rumors of Wars" did I finally get behind The Chariot. Maybe there was enough time since the Norma Jean thing. Regardless, I'm totally on board now. Does "Long Live" continue to show that their sound is improving or does it make me wish he was still with Norma Jean?? Did I say that he was in Norma Jean????!???
"Long Live" is the first album by a noise-core band that I've listened to in years that I liked from first play though. Normally it takes me being in a certain mood or several play through's for me to even get the direction of the album. This one came very easily, which is surprising because this album is brutal. Its not for the faint of heart. It makes me laugh to listen to it because it really defines how my brother described these bands back in their heyday. He actually put on the back of my Ipod that it was my "Dun dun Chee machine", which this album is full of. It never feels like the same song though and thats the most impressive part of "Long Live" by far. Its would have been so easy for them to just repeat the same sounds of the songs, but each song has a distinctive sound. The song "David Da La Hoz" and "The Earth" really stand apart from the rest having some of the most interesting tempo changes music has seen in a while. Whats amazing about this album is how progressive it is without actually sounding that way. Its might be more "progressive" than the bands that share the name of their genre of music. It truly stands out in the shrinking crowd of noise-core bands.
With its fresh sound and brutal nature "Long Live" isn't for every one... it might not be for anyone who actually will take the time to read this. I challenge you though to at least give some of the songs a listen to. "Long Live" gets a 4.5 hearing aids out of 5.
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