Record #719: The Chariot – Everything is Alive, Everything is Breathing, Nothing is Dead, Nothing is Bleeding (2004)

For a certain subset of music fans within a certain age, there are few bands as important as The Chariot. For former scene kids who put their girl jeans through their paces two-stepping in the church gym or muddied in the mosh pits of Cornerstone Music Festival, The Chariot represents the absolute epitome of mid-2000s Christcore.

And a decade and a half later, their debut record, Everything is Alive, Everything is Breathing, Nothing is Dead, Nothing is Bleeding is still every bit as chaotic and cathartic as it was back then, containing the blueprint for every riff, breakdown, and fist-pounding one-liners that throngs of metalcore bands are still trying to recapture.

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Record #693: Anodyne – Salo EP (2003)

In the record buying community, every once in a while you might get a surprise. In this case, I had ordered a copy of post-hardcore legends Quicksand 2017 album Interiors, and was surprised to find that the seller had also included this ten inch.

Knowing nothing about the group, I popped it on the platter and gave it a spin.

What ensued was 23 minutes of as brutal and chaotic mathcore as I’ve ever heard.

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