Review by Daniel for Chariot, The - Long Live (2010)

I'm glad that I selected this album as our February 2023 feature release as it's ended up delivering what I'd hoped it would &, in doing so, has probably surpassed it's more familiar 2012 follow-up "One Wing" in terms of creative aggression too. If you simply can't get into the modern metalcore sound with young, skinny white dudes with long fringes, huge round ear rings & obscene neck tattoos swinging their limbs violently around in windmill fashion then I'd suggest that you might struggle a bit with "Long Live", particularly with vocalist Josh Scogin's continuous barrage of rude screaming. However, if you're partial to the odd rebellious breakdown & give "Long Live" enough time to reveal its charms then you may just discover the highly professional & super-intense band within. There's a great electricity & urgency about everything that The Chariot produce for us here & I never found myself reaching for generic metalcore terms, despite the fact that The Chariot are not attempting to reinvent the wheel here. The A side flashes by in an instant & without too much complaint or fanfare but it's the B side that contains all of the real gold in my opinion with the mathy "The Earth", the post-hardcore inspired "Robert Rios" & the crushingly epic album highlight "The King" taking the album to another level & carrying it up a half mark in my eventual rating. The production is spot on for this type of music as it captures every nuance while losing none of it's visceral edge. If you enjoy high quality, no-holds-barred metalcore then I'd suggest that you check out "Long Live".