OVERTOUN

OVERTOUN     “Death Drive Anthropology”

By Dr. Abner Mality

Really not sure what to make of this one. The band is from Chile and are certainly ambitious. The album is massive….too much so, in my opinion…and seems determined to show that OVERTOUN is not simply just another death or thrash metal band in the mode of so many others.

I applaud that sentiment for sure. But “Death Drive Anthropology” leaves me in an ambiguous state. I can’t say I really enjoy the album but I don’t dislike it either. It may just be that OVERTOUN’s style is just not for me. But I support their desire to stand out from the crowd.

It’s described as “death/thrash” metal but the emphasis really isn’t on speed. It seems much more focused on powerful rhythms. That brings SEPULTURA’S “Roots” to mind, but this is definitely NOT Ross Robinson nu-metal style groove. The drums absolutely drive the album and Augustin Lobo is right up there with Iggor Cavalera when it comes to punishing the skins with a tribal rhythm. Guitar riffs are chunky, sometimes very angular and “math metal”, but there’s plenty of influence from traditional thrash metal as well. The vocals tend to be super guttural and that’s where the death metal vibe comes in.

This is a LONG album and that works against it in the long run. A couple of tracks could have easily been pared. But what remains is something that doesn’t sound like a lot of other South American thrash and death bands. The influence is SEPULTURA but not in the usual fashion. OVERTOUN reminds me of the more adventurous SEPULTURA that arose after the Cavaleras left…the band that did underrated albums like “Dante XIII” and “The Mediator Between the Head And the Hands Must Be The Heart”. That might turn off some of you, but the experimentation with jazz-like leads, symphonic touches and strange percussion makes OVERTOUN stand out from the crowd.

That being said, something about this didn’t quite click with me. But it leaves me interested in where this band goes next.

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OVERTOUN