Overt Enemy - Possession (review)
Fun, intense, and extravagant. Instead of imitating, Overt Enemy stands on the shoulders of thrash metal’s Big Four.
Score: 8/10
After being a Slayer tribute band for years, being named after a Slayer song, and including a Slayer cover (At Dawn They Sleep) that matches everything right down to the song length, the biggest challenge for Overt Enemy’s second EP is distancing themselves from the usual trademarks of thrash metal.
The album opens with its titular track, and right away the band reveals a wider capacity of sound with a death metal chorus, strong galloped drums, and dual lead guitar assault. While most of the album sticks to obligatory apocalyptic imagery, this song is about technology’s and social media’s grip on our lives. The song goes back into Slayer territory with its guitar solo (as do the solos on the rest of the album) and although the Kerry King influence is blatantly obvious, they are impressively performed. More influences are drawn from outside of thrash metal’s big four, such as the parallels to Strapping Young Lad’s well-defined grooves, clean mixing, and wall-of-sound production.
On the flip side, the most derivative of the track list (besides the cover) is Pray For Death with its blast beats, emphasized refrain (“PRAY! FOR! DEATH!”) and Raining Blood melody variations. Despite all this, the song has no filler and ends up being the most memorable.
The biggest surprises come from “In the End We Died” as the band dips into symphonic metal. Horns and thundering toms create an approaching storm to kick off the song, then horror violins screech over menacing deadpan vocals in the bridge section. It all provides a much-needed breather from the typical hallmarks of thrash.
Although Overt Enemy is no longer defining themselves as a Slayer cover band, Possession still pays great tribute while taking a few detours from the formula. A bit of premium production, strong discernible riffs, and lack of padded runtime are enough to break the stranglehold that the “big four” has on this well-established sound.
Purchase and listen to Possession here
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