The thrash metal genre has been spinning its wheels for a few years. However, Venezula’s Overhate adds some much-needed polish to the style. Relentless is Our Strength is their latest album, and it pushes the boundaries about what metal (and thrash specifically) can be. The disc begins with When Nothing Is Mine, an utterly relentless sort of track. Each member of Overhate gives it their all, meaning that the drums, guitars, bass, and vocals immediately will be smashing listeners. Guitars blend together hints of Megadeth and Slayer, while the vocals are at a Sepultura or Black Label Society level.

The production unites these elements, creating a song that will get a pit whipped up after the first minute. None of the tracks on Relentless is Our Strength are short – With Us Or Against Us blasts past the seven-minute mark – but Overhate continually innovates and keeps things lively. International Slavery Song soars on the backs of sizzling guitar work and speedy drum rolls.

The band loves to go balls out with each track, meaning that listeners will be only able to bleed during the brief interludes (the bass line during The Consuming Element, for example). Each track on Relentless is Our Strength adds to the mythos that is Overhate; the act simply does not give up. Rather, they blast through the final track (Holiday in Wasteland). I really want to hear these guys live; I have little doubt in my mind that all of the fury and power present here would be amplified in a live setting. Check out this album today and see if they are coming to your country in the months to come.

Top Tracks: When Nothing Is Mine, Holiday in Wasteland

Rating: 8.4/10

Posted by James McQuiston on April 4th, 2012 

“Relentless Is Our Strength” is the most recent offering from the popular Venezuelan thrash/progressive metal quartet Overhate. The progressive elements are welcome, as they add both complexity and dynamic variance to the music, much like renowned prog/death metal veterans Decapitated and Death. With an extensive production team working on the mixing and mastering of the disc, the sound is polished, yet just sludgy and dirty enough, and more bass-heavy than most metal recordings, unless my headphones are deceiving me. Either way, this is an enjoyable kick in the gut.

Tracks like album opener “When Nothing Is Mine” waste no time in tearing faces off with hardcore breakdowns, double bass, and punishing riffs. All par for the course for an experienced metal band. What sets them slightly apart from the pack is the occasional variation in the vocals and the switch to melodic vocals a la Shadows Fall or Mnemic. Jumping from speed metal and thrash to half-time progressions, it’s a good listen.

“International Slavery Song” is where things get more brutal, as if Max Calvera stopped by to inspire the guys in studio. Sped up and sounding inspired by early era classic Sepultura, the dissonance aims through the wall and the pace doesn’t let up. Tracks like “From the Shadows” would appeal to fans of somewhat more mainstream metal and hard rock. While I’m sure some of their fans dislike the direction here, I applaud any intention of expansion within metal. I know there is always pressure within the genre to simply cater to the exact same sound on every release. The heavy melodic vocals are among the best on the album.

“In This Disgusting Planet” is another album highlight, showcasing both the relentless thrash and more rock elements of the band. By the time “4204” comes around, the album has faltered a bit, with the riffs and vocal lines sounding worn and quite similar to the ones on the previous tracks. This is not necessarily a bad thing in heavy music. After all, have you ever listened to Helmet’s “Meantime”? The tone doesn’t change much until the epic closer “Holiday in Wasteland”, which blasts off with frantic toms and intense octave chords before jumping into the main groove. Not entirely progressive and needlessly over the 7 minutes, the track doesn’t ever reach a climax, although the final breakdown is impressive musically. The piano outro doesn’t make much sense in this context, as it felt like the band should have been demolishing this track to absolute shreds.

Overall, “Relentless Is Our Strength” is a solid metal album that has both the positive and negative aspects of many metal releases. The songs sound extremely similar to each other, and it’s questionable whether it was necessary to put 10 tracks on this disc. However, most metal fans, I’m aware, are not looking for much experimentation, so if you’re looking for tight, well-played thrash metal with traces of progressive hard rock and hardcore, Overhate will be a welcome addition to your music collection.

By James Moore: james@independentmusicpromotions.com

skopemag.com

I confess that I heave heard virtually nothing of Venezuela’s music scene. Actually, no. I have heard absolutely nothing. Argentina, Brazil, even Peru, but not Venezuela. Imagine my surprise when Relentless Is Our Strength dropped into my lap. Now if I had tried to imagine what Venezuelan music would sound like, I would not have guessed it would be this.

It just goes to show the extent to which metal has conquered the world. Overhate play a brand of thrash metal that lies somewhere between Black Sabbath and Slayer and that means they have a lot of completion when it comes to making a name for themselves for that is a crowded market. The difficulty with any thrash metal album is to distinguish itself from the competition. Overhate have made a good attempt, but fallen somewhat short of that aim.

The album kicks of with “When Nothing Is Mine” and promises much. There is a driving riff and some powerful drumming. However, the potential problems have already begun to rear their heads. Vocalist Giancarlo Vettor alternately sings and growls and ends up doing something half way in between. Overhate sing in English and so the listener is drawn towards the lyrical content having settled into the groove of the music.

At this point the listener can detect a theme running through the album. There is a greater degree of social awareness, even politics with a small “p”, in the lyrics. This certainly makes a change from running through forests being chased by gnomes or whatever and offers Overhate scope to really develop their music and their lyrical themes. “International Slavery Song” is emblematic of the chance this theme offers the band and is followed up later by “In This Disgusting Planet” which deals with the broad themes of not just environmentalism but how we as a species have failed to live up to our own expectations while at the same time spoiling things for our children. The album’s stand out track is undoubtedly “4204″. This nine minute epic has a more personal feel to it, with the best guitar solo and lyrics on the album. Hardly surprising that it should be a tribute to the dead brother of drummer Joseph Ortiz. At the same time it is a comment on militarism and any society which lives by it.

Relentless Is Our Strength offers a challenging perspective for the connosieur of metal. Technically, this is a good album – taut and proficient in every respect. Even the production is not as heavy handed as is sometimes the case with metal albums. The songs offer a new perspective and show potential for developing themes which have the capacity to mark the band as one which stands apart from the crowd. On the downside, there is not sufficient variation in the tracks to really give the band scope to show their abilities. The clean vocals are better than the growling (but I dislike growling anyway, so that may be an obvious statement from me), but the overall feel of the album is that it is an attempt to bludgeon the message through, irrespective of whether you wish to receive it or not. The tracks are not sufficiently differentiated to make one stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Reviewed by: Charles Martel on 2012-04-06

musicemissions.com