### Black Overdrive: Demo

#### 21/12/12 || Cobal

Well, I’m glad to announce that after almost a year I wrote my first review for GD, I’ve finally decided to cover from my homeland. I had been reluctant to do it as I was waiting to find some release that I considered interesting enough and that wasn’t the latest overproduced album by one of the trendy bands out there, or one of those classic releases every-fucken-body claims to have come across since the eighties themselves. Instead, I decided to go for the debut of an act that seems truly promising to me: Black Overdrive.

This demo is infested – the good way – with Sabbath-like riffs and alcoholic shouted vocals, and it displays a very nice kind of raw retro production that really put me in the 70’s mood if you know what I mean. The fine use of the wah wah on the guitars definitely worked for that. Exactly as expected in such music, I found the guitar solos simple yet solid, and always fitting the songwriting well. Fortunately, the appealing here is not only some competent guitar playing, but these guys took care of keeping a nice balance among guitars, bass and drums. As a highlight, I strongly suggest to equalize your system so that you can pay special attention to the rocking bass line in “Getaway”. Also, there’s some space rock sounds to be enjoyed here.

In fact, the whole record sounds like Lemmy meets the Sabbies, you know. Not only for the vocal style, but also for the intensity and the uninhibited attitude that lies on the very core of it. Sadly and although they aren’t quite bad, I believe the vocals are the weakest point on this one. They are well written and all, but they never manage to stand alone among the final mix. Perhaps the shouter could use some more air, who knows? It’s interesting how a demo that takes off sounding as a proto-doom release, ends up turning into a crossover thrash or even hardcore punk one. I dig it, mainly because one hardly notices it. It unfolds smoothly, or as smoothly as you can get. Way to go, guys.

- Information
- Released: 2012
- Label: Independent
- Website: Black Overdrive Bandcamp
- Band
- Iván “El Patas” Nieblas: vocals/guitars
- René Villanueva: guitars
- Ángel Castillo: bass/back vocals
- JC Pintor: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Misery Mountain
- 02. Getaway
- 03. Soulless
- 04. Doomination
- 05. Squash That Fly
- 06. War Weather Worshiper