The Chariot was an American hardcore punk band from Douglasville, Georgia, that existed from 2003 to 2013. The last lineup consisted of drummer David Kennedy, vocalist and bandleader Josh Scogin, and guitarists Brandon Henderson and Stephen Harrison. The band experienced frequent lineup changes since its inception, with Scogin being the only original member. The band played an abrasive style of metalcore that did not adhere to typical stylings popular among their contemporaries such as melodic/abrasive dynamics and harmonic vocals. They built a reputation around their powerful live performances, with Scogin's lyrics covering topics like materialism, personal struggle, current events, politics, and Christian themes.
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, titled Everything Is Alive, Everything Is Breathing, Nothing Is Dead, and Nothing Is Bleeding. The band toured constantly after that. 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. The band entered the studio in May 2012 to record their fifth full-length album titled One Wing which was released August 28, 2012. The Chariot disbanded following a farewell tour in late 2013.
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 album with them titled 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. Scogin stated that his departure was not the result of internal conflict, but a personal choice. 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. 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. and received favorable reviews from critics. Touring followed with As Cities Burn, He Is Legend, Far-less 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. Carter went on to form the progressive death metal band, Deus Invictus. 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 Chord. The band played shows with labelmates As Cities Burn, mewithoutYou, and Underoath later that month. 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. Scogin had been friends with both artists for many years. The Fiancée broke the Billboard 200—it debuted at No. 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. 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, titled 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 releases. The 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. Wars and Rumors of War debuted at No. 112 on the Billboard 200, their highest to date. The Chariot performed on the Scream the Prayer Tour with Haste the Day, Sleeping Giant, Oh, Sleeper, and Project 86 that summer.
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.
2012–2013: One Wing and final tour
The band announced via Twitter that they were entering the studio in May to record their next album. The album is called One Wing, and was released August 28, 2012. In June 2012, longtime bassist Jon (KC Wolf) Kindler left the band to return to college. The band opted not to replace Kindler, continuing as a four-piece. The bass on One Wing has been recorded by both Henderson and Harrison. A track from the album, "In," premiered on Alternative Press on August 16.
The Chariot had their final tour in October/November 2013 with Glass Cloud, Rebuker, Birds in Row and To the Wind.
Josh moved on to form the band '68. Stephen Harrison became the guitarist of The Fever 333, a supergroup formed by Jason Aalon Butler two months after the disbanding of his former band letlive.
In 2018, David Kennedy joined former The Chariot members, Bryan Taylor and Jon Terrey, forming The Threats.
In 2020, Scogin stated that The Chariot would never reunite in a preplanned way; specifically mentioning that he would rather spontaneously perform with the band members again than plan the event. He also stated that nostalgia needed to remain in the past, rather than always focusing on his prior projects, being present with whatever project he is involved in. and the screamed vocals of frontman Josh Scogin. Journalists have frequently referred to the music as "chaotic"; Allmusic writer Alex Henderson described it as a "dense, clobbering sledgehammer", 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. In interviews, Josh Scogin has described the band as "heavy punk rock", doing away with genres and subgenres, and has also debunked many of these labels. "Sometimes people refer to us as mathcore, which I think is a very incorrect statement, because I feel like that's a very pre-calculated, 'this is weird because this time signature doesn't go with this time…'. It's very planned out. We're not that smart."
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."
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. In an interview, Scogin expressed a desire to have seen At The Drive-In and Nirvana before they disbanded. 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." 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."
;Singles
- 2011: "Music Of A Grateful Heart"
;Demos
- 2004: I Collect Bust
- 2004: Matt Goldman Demo
;Appearances
- 2004: "It Is Usually The Boys Who Cry Wolf That Grow Up To Be The Men Who Cry Sanctuary" - This Is Solid State: Volume 5
- 2010: "The Fox And The Wolf" - There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret.
Videography
This is the list of The Chariot music videos. Among them are official videoclips and live videos.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Name
|-
| 2005 || The Company, The Comfort, The Grave
|-
| 2006 || Yanni Depp
|-
| 2007 || They Faced Each Other
|-
| 2007 || They Drew Their Swords
|-
| 2008 || Forgive Me Nashville
|-
| 2009 || Daggers
|-
| 2009 || Teach
|-
| 2010 || Evolve
|-
| 2010 || David De La Hoz
|-
| 2011 || The City
|-
| 2011 || The Heavens
|-
| 2011 || Evan Perks
|-
| 2012 || Cheek
|}
Filmography
- 2004: Ladies and Gentlemen... The Chariot
- 2007: One More Song
- 2014: Farewell Documentary