{"id":20725,"date":"2014-07-27T00:01:36","date_gmt":"2014-07-27T00:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=20725"},"modified":"2014-07-27T12:59:39","modified_gmt":"2014-07-27T12:59:39","slug":"album-review-overdrive-the-final-nightmare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-overdrive-the-final-nightmare\/","title":{"rendered":"OVERDRIVE – The Final Nightmare (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

OVERDRIVE
The Final Nightmare<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nPure Rock (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Blessed with an album cover that is pure gold when it comes to metal design, obscure UK rockers Overdrive \u2013 who are not to be confused with the Swedish act of the same name \u2013 have released their first opus since 2006\u2019s Three Corners To Nowhere<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It would seem that this quintet, who formed in Grantham way back in 1977, are as mysterious as their Swedish metal brothers of the same moniker in that they\u2019ve certainly been round the block and yet still remain as a vastly underrated combo responsible for some fine records.<\/p>\n

These guys may have aged since their debut vinyl release, the \u2018On The Run\u2019 7\u201d single in 1981, but boy are they showing the new kids on the block how to rock. Forget all this New Wave Of British Heavy Metal mimicry, because this is real pure rock entertainment.<\/p>\n

Overdrive is David Poulter (vocals), Tracey Abbot (guitars), Ian Hamilton (bass), Ian \u201cScratch\u201d Padgett (drums), Tim Hall (keyboards), and if I could describe the heavy metal thunder they make in three words I\u2019d have to say \u201cSaxon-meets-Mot\u00f6rhead\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Final Nightmare<\/em> opens with the juicy rattle of \u2018Invited To Hell\u2019, which kicks in with a killer narration that evokes images of some crusty Dungeons & Dragons<\/em>-type fantasy before the band lurches into its stride. Hardy percussion, a steady bass and a driving guitar set the scene, but Poulter\u2019s vocals add that extra murky weight; the Overdrive frontman has an almost Lemmy-styled strain, yet less whisky-stained. Although I was initially concerned about the keyboards as a feature, they work perfectly. But for the most part this is cool, powerful metal kept simple and majestically genuine. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s almost as if we\u2019ve stepped back to the early 80s as Padgett slams his skins and Abbot twiddles his life away, but as \u2018Twice Shy\u2019 comes crashing through the window I\u2019m consumed by that unique air of British-ness which so many foreign bands are just unable to match. With elements of Black Sabbath<\/a> circa the late 1980s and a marrying of Judas Priest, Saxon, Mot\u00f6rhead and Thin Lizzy, there\u2019s a murky air of Northern England hanging over this mini-masterpiece; maybe it\u2019s the glimmering starkness and just the pure yet simple energy the band applies.<\/p>\n

The melodies come so naturally as \u2018Glass Game\u2019 leaks from the 80s into the modern day; there\u2019s a stench of petrol as the denim-clad mercenaries drive off into the night perched on the back of flaming motorcycles. The grooves are enormous on \u2018Glass Game\u2019, but it\u2019s not by mere fluke as \u2018Twisting My Mind\u2019 and \u2018Wasted\u2019 show the variation; the former is initially a prog rock sort of meandering, while the latter is a straight up, Mot\u00f6rhead-styled balls to the wall rocker. \u201cPour me another drink, pour me another wine, when my head is in the clouds I\u2019m feeling fine… turn the music up real loud I don\u2019t wanna think, pass me that bottle give me another drink\u201d<\/em> beams Poulter amid another sweat-fest of raging guitars and pacey drums. It\u2019s classic rock \u2019n\u2019 roll delivered straight from Lincolnshire, and it\u2019s heavy metal as it should be played.<\/p>\n

Need any more convincing? Then check out the heart-wrenching chords of \u2018Taken Young (Ben\u2019s Song)\u2019 and the closing \u2018Final Nightmare\u2019 which won\u2019t just coat the walls with sweat, but bring them down with one fell swoop. For those who weren\u2019t there, this is what the 80s sounded like \u2013 and it\u2019s proof that it still sounds better than anything today.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OVERDRIVEThe Final Nightmare Pure Rock (2014)Rating: 9\/10 Blessed with an album cover that is pure gold when it comes to metal design, obscure UK rockers Overdrive \u2013 who are not to be confused with the Swedish act of the same name \u2013 have released their first opus since 2006\u2019s Three Corners To Nowhere. It would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1343],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-overdrive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20725"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20730,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20725\/revisions\/20730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}