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Chariots of the Gods: Tides of War

I haven't been to Ottawa, Ontario in over twenty years, but if I were to go back it would be to check out Chariots of the Gods. For those of you in the area, I'd recommend putting these guys on your radar and discovering what they have to offer. If they are as good live as they sound on this album, you are certainly in for a treat. Tides of War, their debut album, is a strong and aggressive release that needs to find a large body of listeners.

The band describes their music as "melodic death thrash." Normally, I would take issue with such a grab-bag description; these days, everyone wants to blend as many genres as possible in an attempt to discover something new. Sometimes it's worth doing; other times, it isn't. To my ears, Chariots of the Gods blends each style skillfully. The band members seem to have genuine talent and a real hunger for creating solid metal music. I was a little surprised they didn't add the word "core" to their description since there's a pretty healthy dose of metalcore here, especially in the rhythms and drum patterns. In any event, Chariots of the Gods sounds great. Musically, they aren't trying to press themselves too far out of comfortable bounds; instead, they've come to demonstrated strong songwriting ability, technical proficiency, and a terrific blend of aggression and melody. Even better, the album is fun to listen to as a whole, something that isn't as true these days as it was in the past. Be sure to check out the three song sequence in the middle of the album. You'll know it from the dates after each song title. I would love to know more about what inspired this trilogy of songs.

The best thing about this band, in my view, is the powerful melodic style they bring to each song. The guitarists are especially strong on several tracks, including "Tides of War," "Revillusion (1905)," and "Unbound." I loved the instrumental track "Snow Falls on the White River (1914)," yet another piece of evidence that these guys have a keen sense of melody, at times, one that even approaches beauty. Mathiew St-Amour and Dimitri Gervais play their guitars with grace and precision and sound especially great on their harmonized parts. These guys have a bright future as twin guitar leads and I hope they'll take advantage of what they can do together. Readers who like their guitars to come in pairs will love this album.

I was impressed to find out that St-Amour, with a couple of small exceptions, wrote the music and lyrics for this album. He has genuine talent and is lucky to have such a strong group of band mates playing with him. His lyrics, which I only browsed briefly, are clearly intelligent and interesting, engaging with difficult themes of war, bloodshed, and worldly conditions. There's also a strong amount of fantasy themes mixed in here that drew my attention. I am going to keep my eye on these guys. This one is definitely worth a listen.

Track Listing:
1. Overture
2. Seventh Weapon
3. Blind Assassin
4. Tides of War
5. Ambrosian Wings
6. Revillusion (1905)
7. Snow Falls on the White River (1914)
8. Severing the Bloodline (1917)
9. Collapse of an Empire
10. Red Skies
11. Nebula
12. Starborn
13. Unbound
14. Annihilation of the Gods

Added: January 25th 2013
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 2540
Language: english

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Chariots of the Gods: Tides of War
Posted by Steven Reid, SoT Staff Writer on 2013-01-25 14:55:51
My Score:

Canada may not be exactly renowned for its metal scene, but in recent years there has been a slow steady trickle of acts from up north beginning to make an impact. Hailing from Ottawa, we can now add melodic death thrashers (I swear there's a new sub-genre dreamt up every three minutes or so) Chariots Of The Gods and their full-length debut effort Tides Of War to the list. Combining a sound that evokes a bit of Megadeth, a smidge of the Gothenburg sound, harsh vocals that sit somewhere between growling and screaming (greamo anyone?), hints of classic thrash and even standard power metal, CotG may not be exactly reinventing the wheel. However they are slamming their sound home with a mighty power and guitars that hit so hard they'll leave you winded. Vocalist Renauld Jobin is a real weapon for the band, with an air of authority that hints at the experience that constant stage work over the past four years has obviously built up. In that time Chariots Of The Gods have propelled out a debut EP Reverence in 2010, but wisely this is a band that has worked out that only time spent learning their craft, honing their skills and sharpening their attack will result in music that stands out from the pack. Especially in such a crowded genre.

Unsurprisingly the obligatory "intro" arrives in the shape of "Overture", but from there "Seventh Weapon", "Tides Of War" and "Red Skies" mark out the Chariots territory through a convincing mixture of stomping beats, galloping guitars and spitting vocals. Thankfully no one's kidding on that any of this is a new idea, instead this Canuck five-piece are intent on making themselves heard through strong songs and pinpoint execution. Dive into this album headlong at any juncture and the break-neck, but considered drumming and blazing yet focused guitar work immediately capture your attention. Although interesting and intelligent lyrics help too, especially through the trio of "Revillusion (1905)", "Snow Falls On The White River" (a short instrumental piece) and "Severing The Bloodline" which cover Russian revolutions and First World War conflicts.

With Glenn Robinson (The Ramones, AC/DC, Voivod) joining the band behind the production desk, you can rest assured that Tides Of War sparks with intensity and possesses a razor sharp edge. An aspect that raises good songs and makes them into something all the more intent on damaging your senses.

As full length debuts go, Tides Of War hits the mark fairly and squarely. Live this band will kill!



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