It's only been a few months since these guys' last demo showed up in my mailbox, and here they are with another four tracks. This time the songs are way more consistent and streamlined, sticking with a core of rhythmic metal that reminds me of a mix of later Sepultura and Epidemic, though not as good as the latter, and not as groovy as the former (thankfully). The vocals are strained midrange growls (with a few higher sneers) that could probably be more powerful, and I'm not too big a fan of the slight tribal drumming influences that pop up on occasion, but the bulk of these songs are a bit stronger than before. "...And They Never Sleep" is a generally faster track with more of a death metal influence, but it fits in with the other songs thanks to some slower and more basic chord progressions; whereas "Sundown" takes those more aggressive vocal snarls and blends them with hugely resonant percussion (probably amped up digitally) and slower, darker rhythms to create a nice, sinister composition. The overall recording is raw, but hey, this is a demo. And honestly, for a demo, I can live with the recording without much of a complaint. The CD-R comes in a slim jewel case with a minimal xeroxed insert with a tiny bit of art and text on the cover, and the lyrics on the back. The lyrics are simple but seem to deal with machinery/industry versus humanity, as some sort of futuristic apocalypse where humanity is consumed by machines. Let's see... to sum it up, this still isn't something that's grabbing my attention, and the visual presentation is still lacking, but... the songwriting is being honed, and "Sundown" is a cool song. So the band is showing signs of progression, meaning that I might be willing to guess that their next demo could be the one that takes them up a notch should this growth continue. We'll see...
[self-released]
Running time - 14:53, Tracks: 4
[Notable tracks: Sundown]
Overlord Industries - [email protected]
