Blow the dust off with CHARIOTS OVERDRIVE’s The End of Antiquity
by Scott “Dusty Boots” Belzer
The first minute of CHARIOTS OVERDRIVE’s barnstormer of a debut record, The End of Antiquity, calls to mind… the dusting off an ancient relic.
We hear near-classic acoustic guitar with some distant ambience. It could be someone warming up alongside an orchestra. It could be the soundtrack to a spaghetti western or an interlude on a prog metal album. It’s pretty, albeit fleeting—one minute is all we get before the melody fades. A bell chimes as the song comes to an end.
Then the metaphorical door gets blown off its goddamn metaphorical hinges.
Steady, direct and powerful riffs assault the listener for The End of Antiquity’s remaining 40-minute runtime. Shouts that would fit just fine in any punk rock record accompany soaring guitar solos and hell-on-wheels rhythms. Gang vocals erupt outta nowhere. The record drips with an attitude reminiscent of both Motorhead and Judas Priest. The best of both leather daddies—who says you can’t have it all?
Vocalist GHZ’s bombastic rhythm guitar trudges at a playful pace—not really break-neck, but at a tempo that inspires aggression, stompin’, and dare I say, ass shaking? YZ’s lead guitar and high-flying solos interject enough to electrify each song and without overwhelming. These leads inspire both passion and emotion. When the two axe-bearers collide for harmonies, it’s near sublime.
The album offers a fine mix of calculated aggression and emotional introspection, as demonstrated by “Parasite” giving way to “Marching Maniacs,” or “Sunken Throb” making way for “Chariots Overdrive.” The track “A Taikonautic Alchemist” has the best of both worlds in the same song, with the primary emotion being chaotic joy.
Combined with the prowess from bassist ZZY and dummer WRC, The End of Antiquity offers a balance and fundamental understanding of the heavy metal genre that typically takes decades. There’s a “sweet spot” that Chariots Overdrive hits that’s equal parts catchy, energizing and raw. It’s well-crafted without being overpolished. A ’55 Chevy Couple that’s matte black instead of candy apple red. The rough edges, like GHZ’s shout-singing vocals or the constant train-like rhythms that reach top speed and stay there, seem more intentional than misguided.
And it’s that edge that sets the band apart.
Like other new wave of traditional heavy metal (NWOTHM) compatriots, swords, sorcery and magic are still present in each sonic tale. Chinese myth takes center stage over the typical goblins and ghouls. The band references rockets, steel swords, hordes from the east and conversations with Gods in marble halls. The album’s 12-minute closer, “A Bizarre Pilgrimage to the Cubik Mansion” features all of the above in one epic tale of a song, which wouldn’t be out of place on any prog metal record. That nasty bass-line around the five-minute mark makes me grimace with pleasure, showing these lads know how to write an epic when they want to.
In other words, it’s a damn good time, and sure to make at least a few AOTY lists come year’s end. Listen to it now. Then listen to it again.
… Then think again of that first minute, that dusting off the ancient relic to see if it still has some life. Think of that near-classic melody slowly giving way to Chariots Overdrive’s freight train sound. Metaphorical doors, metaphorical goddamn hinges.
It’s not far off to consider The End of Antiquity (it’s in the goddamn title, y’all) the strapping of a jet engine to a Model T Ford. It’s jumpstarting a tired, overdone and old sound with punk rockin, head bangin’, rough-around-the-edges mayhem. No frills. No falsehood. Just pure heart and havoc.
Don’t believe me? Check out Chariots Overdrive LIVE at Boggs Socail & Supply on June 12 alongside heavy metal maniacs HAUNT and SHOW N’ TELL on Friday, June 12. Blow off some of your own hinges, ya hear?
Tickets to see Chariots Overdrive live in Atlanta with Boggs with Haunt and Show N Tell are on sale here.