Overture is the heavy metal project of guitarist/ vocalist Adrian Tobar (also in thrashers Eternal Evil), which he started back in 2021. Working alone, he released a demo in 2022 and another three-song EP at the start of this year, before collecting a full band line-up and signing a deal with Dying Victims for the release of a five-song mini album, called The Final Straw.
You can tell from the very first few seconds and guitar chords of the opening title track, that this is heavy metal done right and by the old-school rules forged by the gods. The guitars are center-stage, but Adrian’s vocals are also very competent, with an overall great headbanging quality of the composition. The up-tempo Fading Away is an absolute classic reminding me of Gotham City or Overdive, featuring a neoclassical guitar solo in an early-Yngwie Malmsteen vein. Then we have Lonely Awake, which cleverly changes the mood – a melodic, atmospheric song with a strong classic Dokken or Madison mood. Once again, the solo is stellar but the amazing thing here is Overture’s ability to compose a total Eighties hymn, even if they weren’t even born then.
Break On Me continues this melodic, melancholic mood during its first minute, before launching into a speed metal riff-storm and another stellar, genius chorus. What a fantastic song. The final track in this really impressive debut is Escape, which reminds me of late-seventies Scorpions: a mid-tempo, melodic hard-rock hammer, with a killer solo and a strong presence of keyboards, enhancing the musical message in a beautiful way.
I knew this band should be followed closely from the very first single Adrian released and I am glad I was right. The Final Straw is an ambitious statement of intent from these young musicians and I can’t be more impatient for their full-length.
9/10
The Final Straw is out on November 20th and can be ordered from HERE
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