Heavy metal thrives on power, storytelling, and raw energy—and Chariots Overdrive is bringing all of that and more to the scene. A pretty new Chinese old-school heavy metal band, based in Atlanta, U.S.A, CO is carving out their place in the metal world with a sound that stays true to the genre’s roots while exploring ancient Asian tales and epic historical events.

With a fresh perspective and a deep passion for heavy metal, Chariots Overdrive is on a mission to make their mark. In this interview, they share their inspirations, creative process, and what lies ahead for the band.

Interview

TheNwothm: Hey there! Can you introduce to our readers the name of the band, members and where you are from?

C.O: Hey, we’re Chariots Overdrive! The crew: G.H.Z on vocals and guitar, lead guitar Y.Z, Z.Z.Y bringing the bass tune, and W.R.C on drums. Those letters are just our initials. We’re all from China but didn’t even know each other back home. The band started in Atlanta, USA. Pretty interesting line-up, huh? This interview is done by the 4 of us together \m/

TheNwothm: You have only been around since 2023! So can tell you tell us how you formed?

C.O: Our two guitarists met back in 2016, in Atlanta. Both from Beijing, never met before, but had some mutual friends. This is not that surprising because we were born in the same year. In the first couple years, we played together at some gigs, believe it or not, experimental music mostly. At one point, we even played Indian-style music written by an Indian friend. We caught Manilla Road’s 40th-anniversary tour together, R.I.P, Mark! 

C.O: Now, let’s fast forward a bit, we found our first drummer Z.L.H during covid, then in early 2023, our bassist joined us. We started trying writing riffs and solos, and songs started coming out. A few weeks later, we had our first 3 tracks, two of them made it onto our debut demo – Nomadic Warfare and Parasite.

TheNwothm: And how did you choose the name?

C.O: We basically named ourselves Chariots Overdrive to bottle that classic NWOBHM lightning in two words. “Chariots” gives you that amped-up, charging-into-battle vibe – like iron horses kicking up dust, y’know? Then “Overdrive” slaps on the gnarly guitar distortion AND that feeling when your engine redlines. It’s our recipe: take tight metal riffs, crank ’em till they’re sweating, then smash ’em together with pure chaos. Old-school respect meets new-school riots – that’s the juice we’re spilling. Of course, heavy metal maniacs would recognize both “Chariot” and “Overdrive” are both NWOBHM bands.

TheNwothm: Being a Chinese old-school heavy metal band based in Atlanta, how does your cultural background shape your music? Are there specific elements from Chinese traditions, history, or your personal experiences that influence your sound, lyrics, or creative process?

C.O: Musically, we keep it true heavy metal, straight–forward. Our biggest influences? NWOBHM, USPM, and Traditional Doom. But what makes us different is our lyrics and themes. Our songs dive into Asian history and legends—some are epic myths, some are real historical events. If you want to know which events we’re talking about, you’ll have to dig into the lyrics and figure it out by yourself. We won’t directly tell the answers in the lyrics, it is not that hard. Anyway, we’re just getting started in this direction, expect more in our LP.

TheNwothm: Can you expand more the Asian tales and historical events you pull inspiration from?

C.O: Nomadic Warfare is self-explanatory, Northern China saw centuries of these battles over the past 2,000 years. A Taikonautic Alchemist takes inspiration from Wan Hu, the guy who tried to build the first ever rocket to reach space, in the 1300s! In reality, of course, he was killed immediately. But in our lyrics? He made it! This song is also a salute to all the historical figures who looked into the sky and pursued the stars, who represented the bravery and creativity of mankind.

TheNwothm: How do you find the Chinese metal scene compared to the US? Are there a lot of similarities?

C.O: China’s metal scene didn’t really take off until the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, so most of us completely missed heavy metal’s “golden era.” A lot of metalheads here got into the genre through thrash, black, and death metal instead.Just a few weeks ago, Mayhem played two shows in China, tickets were sold out in seconds.

Two legendary Chinese bands in the 90s must be mentioned: Tang Chao and Chao Zai. We are confident to say almost every single Chinese metalhead is influenced by these two bands. And they’re still going strong today. The 2008 documentary Global Metal also has a segment on Chinese metalheads, check it out. For famous metal record stores, we used to drop by The 666 Rock Shop in Beijing from time to time, it’s in the documentary too. Even James Hetfield has stopped by.

The U.S. metal scene? No introduction needed. Who hasn’t banged their heads to some killer Metallica riffs? Do we need to explain who Dio is? It’s one of the ultimate metal strongholds in the world.

For similarities, metalheads are die-hard supporters. Doesn’t matter where they are, they’ll travel for a single show, even if it’s some underground gig in a bar. That passion has no borders. The above-mentioned Mayhem show and the Manowar show in New York City last year are both great examples.

TheNwothm: And are there any particular bands from both countries you feel are making waves in the scene?

C.O: When it comes to NWOTHM, there are tons of killer projects out there. Well, let’s only highlight one band from the U.S and China. Demon Bitch, love both their albums and their earlier stuff. These guys never disappoint! Dinkumoil from China, they play amazing epic heavy metal, especially their material since 2018. They even opened for Cirith Ungol in Beijing last year. Their stuff’s kinda hard to find online, YouTube is your best choice:

TheNwothm: Let us talk about the music! Who influenced you growing up and how did you you get into music?

C.O: Our members bring a mix of musical influences, even though Chariots Overdrive is all about heavy metal. G.H.Z started off with classical piano as a kid, until Black Sabbath’s riffs started to “Occupy my Brain”, Beethoven and Sabbath remain as his favourites until today. Bassist Z.Z.Y started with classical music and violin, and got into rock and metal music during his high school. Z.Y started with fingerstyle guitar in high school and gradually into electrical guitar playing, most of his playing background is blues, jazz, and jazz fusion, bringing a different approach to a metal band’s lead guitar work. At the beginning, W.R.C’s drums were heavily influenced by 2000s rock bands such as Bloc Party, but he got into metal/ hardcore punk in recent years.

So yeah, our backgrounds are pretty different, but there’s one influence we all share and haven’t mentioned yet—Chinese pop music! You just can’t avoid those songs growing up, your family’s playing, your friends are listening… and let’s be real, the grocery stores won’t play some Reverend Bizarre (unless we open a store with some metal friends…). Jokes aside, some big C-pop stars are actually metalheads themselves. Take Chang Yu-sheng, for example. Every Chinese person has heard his music, but only few know he started out as the lead vocalist for a metal band called Metalkids in the ‘80s before going mainstream. For our 2024 single release, we’ve got an B-side track showing tribute to that band—Heaven on Fire.

TheNwothm: Are you all self taught musicians or did you take lessons?

C.O: Depends what you mean by ‘self-taught’ – every musician steals moves from the greats who came before. Hell, even cavemen were cribbing from nature’s mixtape (kidding… mostly). These days when you’re glued to a YouTube tutorial or slaving over tabs, aren’t you basically getting schooled by a ghost teacher? As for us? Yeah, we’ve all done the in-person lesson. Call it DIY with training wheels.

TheNwothm: Looking at the band’s music, in 2023 you put out your first demo “When the Wheels Start.” Tell us all about that demo! What was it like putting it together?

C.O: The demo made us feel the potential of this band. We found energy while creating the pieces, and also a definition of our styles—high-octane heavy / speed metal with some classical music influence and Chinese cultural themes. We could’ve made the demo longer with more tracks, but our first drummer Z.L.H had to relocate right after we finished recording.

TheNwothm: Do you all write together in the same room or share ideas mostly over the internet?

C.O: Always in the same room, the chemistry is brilliant!

TheNwothm: At the moment what are you doing outside of music?

C.O: Day jobs, nothing special, our drummer W.R.C is still in college.

TheNwothm: And can you tell our readers a fan or unusual fact about yourselves?

C.O: Not sure if it’s that unusual, but our band does not fit the stereotypical metal bands look, well, except for the long hair and metal band shirts, of course!

TheNwothm: So last year you put our your single “A Taikonautic Alchemist.” What can you tell us about the writing process for the single and what kind of themes both musically and lyrically do you explore?

C.O: The music came together the same way. Jammed, tried out some riffs, then wrote vocal lines at the same time. Once we had the music, we picked a theme during dinner, and Wan Hu’s story felt like the perfect fit. At first, we were going with “An Astronautic Alchemist,” but then Z.Z.Y pointed out there’s a special term for a “Chinese astronaut”—Taikonaut. So, A Taikonautic Alchemist it is! Plus, A.T.A. just looks cooler than A.A.A. The final part was writing the lyrics. We figured we could let our imaginations run wild and give Wan Hu the success he didn’t get in real life.

TheNwothm: Looking ahead, what is next musically for the band? Are you working on a new EP or album?

C.O: We’ve written all the tracks for our LP, and they all came together the same way. Recording is about to kick-off, and this LP will mark the first chapter of our band’s journey.

TheNwothm: And in terms of shows, are you planning any tours this year?

C.O: We’re more focused on finding opportunities to play at heavy metal festivals, that’s really really where we want to be right now. Of course, getting the album done is our top priority.

TheNwothm: How can our readers buy your music and merch?

C.O: Please check out our bandcamp pages! We know the shipping fees to outside the U.S is ridiculously high…

TheNwothm: Where can fans follow you online?

C.O: Facebook & Instagram, Bandcamp, and all kinds of streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Youtube Music.

TheNwothm: Anything else you would like to mention?

C.O: We want to show our respect to everyone who keeps the old-school heavy metal spirit alive and supports the NWOTHM scene! \m/

Bandcamp: https://chariotsoverdrive.bandcamp.com/album/a-taikonautic-alchemist

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chariotsoverdrive

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chariots_overdrive_metal/