Reviews: Overthrow, Erebor, Catalysis, Cult Burial (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Overthrow - Strike Down The Saviour (Self Released)

Overthrow play thrash, blackened thrash in fact, gnarly, nasty explosive thrash that takes as much from the Teutonic thrash scene as it does from the Scandi black metal scene. So bands such as Aura Noir, Sodom and Venom all come to mind as soon as you start to spin this London band's debut offering. A dramatic intro guides you into the record, but soon the riffs come fast, ripping and clawing their way out of the their way of the speakers, blast beats going hell for leather and that's before the growling vocals come in. The title track easily switches from choppy grooves the fluid thrash riffs, Alex Harris and Jay White playing off each other well as the bands axe-men, touching on a more modern sound than many of their blackened thrash friends, making the title track, and most of the album in fact become similar to the style of bands like Trivium, Revocation or Sylosis. 

White has great voice too, growled but with a black metal edginess to it, Seeds Of Disease probably his most powerful performance. It's a brooding doomy track where drummer Scott Lindsay, unleashes double kicks underneath a mid-paced riff, his concussive percussion leads us into the final Altar Of The Fallen which is a great slab of modern thrash metal, underpinned by Alin Iordache's bass riffs. Strike Down The Saviour is a record that is full of the type of thrash I really enjoy, it's got melodies and solos, lots of moody darkness and explosive riffage. I'll be catching them if they play live anywhere near me as this album is impressive. 8/10

Erebor - Inherent Malevolence (Self Released)

Named after the Lonely Mountain, home to the Dwarves in J.R.R Tolkien's collected works. This Erebor are a technical death metal band from Durham, which is a home of tech death right? Now when I say technical, I mean technical jazz time signatures, inhuman drumming, janky guitar riffs, fret slides, guttural vocals, the works. Fans of Nile, Obscura, Beyond Creation etc will get deep into this record lapping up the multitude of time changes on tracks such as the bruising title track as Shadows Of An Age Negated presses the button for lightspeed, the riffs coming almost to fast that they are relegated to cutting in over the relentless drumbeats and bullet train speed bass. Erebor don't really do nuance, no cinematic flourishes, no clean vocals or strings. It's about being in your face as much as possible, even with the instrumental interlude Of A Starred Continuum everything is at 11 before it leads into the 10 minute closer The Stillness Of Unending Sleep which is a journey to say the least, virtuoso playing and bludgeoning heaviness, evolving as it moves through it's run time. Delivered with the precision of a laser guided missile Inherent Malevolence is a destructive, tech metal album that will excite fans of the genre. 7/10    

Catalysis – Relicta (Self Released)

Having previously covered their debut album in 2020, with Paul Hutchings taking Connection Lost, so now it’s’ my turn to delve into another offering from the Dundee metal crew. Catalysis are a five piece groove metal act that have been around since 2016 and Relicta is their third EP release. This one coming off the debut full length as the most current modern sound Catalysis has to offer. By modern I mean the sort of metalcore/groove metal sound of bands such as Machine Head and Chimaira from the 2000’s, thrashy riffs, grunted/roared vocals and some pit ready breakdowns, along with a bit more melody than they have previously had, especially in the solo department. Tracks such as Laid To Waste and The Point Of No Return, are ideal examples of Catalysis’ at their most brutal, crushing riffs that shift into explosive solos and gang vocals. The lyrics dealing with loss and mental health issues in a change to the normal content the band deal with. At six tracks Relicta doesn’t hang about longer than required but unless you are a massive fan of Machine Head and that NWOAHM from the 2000’s then Catalysis’ groove metal won’t do much more than be a single time listen. However if you love music to pit too then Relicta is a recommendation. 6/10

Cult Burial - Oblivion EP (Self Released)

Written after their previous full length record the three tracks on this EP are Cult Burial changing up their sound, moving away from their doom beginnings into the thrash/death metal style. Oblivion opens up this EP of the same name with some double kick blasts, frantic tremolo picking and some doom elements as well. The tremolo picking comes back on the crushing Parasite which is probably the best song on the record as the EP finishes with the crushing Paralysed a song that adds some more synth elements towards the end. It's a heavy EP, the change from the doomier sound to this faster, aggressive style of music gives you a hint towards what their next album will be like. Oblivion is over in a flash, but doesn't settle in for long enough to really hook you. Lets see what that next full length offers. 6/10