EARCANDY: '68 - Two Parts Viper (FFO: The Chariot, Norma Jean)

Steemit is getting this one early!

Many people who are already into this scene may know about these guys but for those of you who don’t, I wanted to write up a little piece on them. It won’t be super long, this isn’t a review. I just want to do posts like this to share bands or albums that I don’t think enough people have been listening to or that I just really enjoy and don’t see a lot of buzz about.

'68 - Two Parts Viper
June 2nd, 2017

Josh Scogin has been a part of the hardcore music scene for over fifteen years. He was originally in the band Norma Jean, who I’m sure many of you who are into the metalcore/hardcore scene are very familiar with but left early on to form The Chariot, another prolific band in the genre. The Chariot was one of the heaviest bands out there and were known for their odd songwriting and intense performances. Personally, I loved them for their dirty southern twang they managed to add to their music, being from Georgia. I caught about five minutes of one of their sets back in 2007 and it’s still one of the most intense shows I’ve seen.

When The Chariot broke up in 2013, it surprised everyone to see a band who’d been around for so long and made so much music disappear but, lucky for us, Josh didn’t let music go and he went on to create the band ’68. They’re a two-piece band with just Josh doing vocals and guitar and Michael McClellan on drums. They take that unbelievably heavy style and mix it with even more of the southern twang and weirdness that made The Chariot so great.

In July of 2014, the band released In Humor & Sadness. It was well-loved by fans and I definitely listened to it for a few months. It felt short, though, and I hoped that they wouldn’t be one of those bands who makes one album or EP and then disappears. Luckily, though, they started promoting their new album, Two Parts Viper earlier this year and it released in June. To me, the album is more interesting and well put-together and a little less heavy, while still having parts that will knock you on your ass when you hear them.

The album is out now and that you get it from the band or from Amazon on vinyl, CD or digital.