I first heard Overoth on the ‘Intoxicated IV’ compilation of Irish metal, a track from their first demo ‘Pathway To Demise’. The production on the ‘Death Personified’ has improved immensely, as has their overall playing and songwriting skill.
Death Personified is a 6-track EP from yet another promising Death Metal act from Ireland (well, Northern Ireland). The EP opens with a short instrumental, which serves as an intro to the first proper track, ‘Suffering The Detained’…and then the fun starts.
The closest I can come to describing Overoth’s sound is a mix between old Malevolent Creation, Unleashed, and possibly a hint of Bolt Thrower in there somewhere. Although Overoth do not exactly break new ground musically, they more than make up for it in naked savagery. From the first few bars of ‘Suffering Detained’ to the closing fade-out of ‘Lord of Desolation’, it feels as though an invisible hand is grabbing my head and forcing it to bang like a maniac. This is Death Metal. Free of pompous over-technical riffs or jazz-influenced strange-time signature noodling, Overoth instead focus on fucking shit up with blastbeats and Thrashy beats aplenty, and even the odd breakdown for good measure.
In conjunction with the pummelling music, Bassist/Vocalist Andy Ennis lays down his fairly standard yet deep and powerful DM growls, which work very well with the old-school DM assault, and for some strange reason remind me of those of Michael O Sullivan, vocalist for Irish DM stalwarts Carnún Rising (not in a bad way).
Unfussy and crushing, yet interesting due to its KILLER riffs and lack of overly-long tracks, Death Personified is definitely worth acquiring if you are a Death Metal fan or simply want to hear the quality that the Irish Metal has to offer. Best €6 Ive spent in a long time.
Rating – 89%
Written by Aaron McKeown