Overthrow – Ascension of the Entombed (EP)
Release Date: 13th October 2023
Label: Redefining Darkness Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Blackened Death Metal, Death Metal, Thrash.
FFO: Death, Schizophrenia, Defleshed.
Review By: Andy Spoon
If you’re a fan of the younger waves of the beginnings of death metal, you might be interested in some of the offerings from UK death thrash outfit, Overthrow, who’s set to release their EP, Ascension of the Entombed, on October 13th through Redefining Darkness Records. Some of the “soul” of the new EP clearly draws from the mature years of the genres, but doesn’t lean towards “thrash” as much as it does “Death”, something that allow Overthrow to maintain the argument that its roots draw from the second wave of the movement, rather than the thrash movements which were debuting at around the same time (e.g. the “big 4”). Rather, Overthrow takes its stylistic notes from bands like Death, Obituary, Entombed, and others of the same period, but adds the thrash and grindcore influence. According to the band’s release, they had developed the sound since 2011, which had begun as a “gritty thrash”, but is now described as a blackened death repertoire.
The strong death metal guitar is the most impressive part of the entire offering. I loved the chunky intro to “Ruptured Nebula”, which starts out hast and harmonized between multiple guitar tracks, only to go into a raucous blast beat that fits the theme perfectly. The drums are a little further back in the mix with somewhat of a “muddier” mix, which I can’t tell to be purposeful or not. Either way, it definitely has a stylized voice that is 90% guitar and 10% everything else. The vocal delivery is varied, which is excellent to listen to as vocalist Jay White transitions between low pitch and high pitch delivery.
I never really got much “blackened”, to be honest except for the final track “Caustic Vengeance (Blindly Driven)”. I can tell that the influence is there, but I felt that the thrashy death was much more appropriate. Having only 4 tracks, Ascension of the Entombed left me wanting quite a bit more to understand what the band’s overall “sound” or identity is. That’s not something that listeners ordinarily find while listening to an EP, so I don’t want it to sound like I am being too-critical of Overthrow. If anything, I think that the fact that 4 tracks doesn’t give me enough of a “real” feel for the band means that we can absolutely expect bigger and better things from Overthrow.
There are moments that are blackened, esoteric, and “pagan”-sounding, leaning into the “blackened” (see before). However, I have to re-assert that I’d want at least 8 tracks to get a feel for what Overthrow wants to achieve as a band. This is definitely a mixtape of their better tracks, but I’m curious to see if the variation ends up being as widespread between death/thrash and blackened death. Perhaps an LP effort will spend more time welding the influences together more, as it wouldn’t be hard to tell me that there are at least 2 artists on the EP, given the difference in some of the moments. Again, that could just be me not truly understanding what Overthrow wants to convey, stylistically.
Regardless of some of the notes, I thought this was a great EP and would absolutely spin it again. I enjoyed the high-low difference on the vocals and the guitar work. I think that a longer, more cohesive album would give these guys a fair shake at jumping into the big leagues, as their sound could absolutely stand at the forefront of the scene. I hope that they are able to get some of the backing that they deserve because I’m excited for what this band has in store. In a perfect world, I’d have 8 tracks to chop up, but alas, I am left to merely hope. Let’s keep our ears on for an LP in the next year or so. I’ll be in line to hear it.
(3 / 5)
