Review Summary: Wars and Rumors of Wars delivers dissonance, but no substance and no source of intrigue for the listener.
It's a tedious chore to have to experience an artist constantly accept their flaws as a byproduct of their works. By being incapable, or just not desiring to hone their skills, these artists seem to never progress, or partake in regression. Even though this is an unfortunate event, time continues, and people will frequent and eventually exit the territory of genericness. Joshua Scogin seems to be the poster boy of this ill-fortune when it comes to the metalcore scene. Frequently plagued by the same problems,
Wars and Rumors of Wars shows that Scogin is a bona fide case of either nonchalance towards his works, or his incompetence to write interesting, original music.
From the get go, it seems that dissonance and discord will yet again become an integral part of this album's structure. That assumption, as the album rolls on, proves to be entirely correct. Seething with rigid discord, The Chariot's
Wars and Rumors of Wars is completely generic, haphazard, and raw. From the steadfast rhythms of “Teach” to the hollow breakdown of “Daggers”, it becomes evident that
Wars and Rumors of Wars is void of any originality. Riffs are forgettable and recycled, the drums are painfully predictable, and any shifts in time signature are choppy and awkward. This leads to an aggressive sound that rarely ever shines. However, these highlights are apparent, and do improve the album's quality. For example, the aforementioned flurry of notes present at the beginning of “Teach” are used effectively. The start of “Daggers” while far less technical, gives off a rough, yet memorable feel. The flaw here is that neither track accomplishes the feat of being completely interesting and thus memorable. On both tracks, the vocals never leave a monotonous mid-range yell, the guitars churn out forgettable riffs, and the drums are nothing more than competent. However, all hope is not lost. “Ms. Montgomery Alabama III” shows The Chariot attempting more than one bland style of music. For the most part, they succeed. A droning cavalcade of instruments with portent lurking beneath its depths cannot save this album from being the poor effort that it is, as repetition becomes a key component of the auditory assault shown on
Wars and Rumors of Wars.
Throughout every dissonant chord, every half-baked musical idea, and every glimmer of hope that washes away, there is The Chariot's third LP,
Wars and Rumors of Wars. By making some of the most generic and chaotic metalcore released in the past ten years,
Wars and Rumors of Wars accomplishes the feat of being an aural assault as generic as it is pugnacious. The utter lack of originality or disparity is appalling and the technical merit of the group is sub-par. Ergo, the album lacks substance, and is not interesting at all. Every component of
Wars and Rumors of Wars is rehashed and does next to nothing to pique the listener's interest. Therefore, the album stands as one of the most unobtrusive releases of the ten years.
