The Overseer stormed onto the scene nearly two years ago with their Solid State debut We Search, We Dig. The Arkansas group is back with their follow up to 2012’s well-received release. Rest and let go brings a sound similar to their prior release and at times shares sounds reminiscent of groups like Underoath and Dead Poetic. Overall, the aggression is toned down a touch from the debut. There are definitely plenty of metal elements and screaming, but not much really touches the intensity of songs like “Secret” or “Dreamer.” As expected, though, The Overseer have crafted another great record.
“Fragile Wings” starts things off with some electronic sounds before moving into a grooving guitar riff. The song’s mostly clean vocals feature a hauntingly sung verse followed by a stressed/half-screamed chorus and then a fully screamed bridge later. The song is a pretty solid starting place for the tone of the remainder of the album.”Paper Thin Houses” keeps the beastly melodies and features quite a bit more harsh vocals, particularly during the verses. Between the melodies and the cohesive bassline holding everything together, there’s just no comparison for the different layers to this song. “The Structure/The Foundation”slows things down, with virtually no screaming at all. “Finer Fiend” is probably the heaviest song on the album. “Deluded”is a brief interlude driven mainly by piano, so logically there wouldn’t be anything wrong with it. The problem is that as soon as the listener is getting into it, “Deluded” ends. It does, however, add a nice effect to the overall flow of the record. “Scarlet Wool” gets things back on track, with another nice blend of melody and aggression, a formula the band has learned to use quite well ever since first releasing We Search, We Dig.
“Death March” slows things up again. While the track is far from one of the most memorable on the record, Abishai Collingsworth’s drumming really stands out behind the softer guitars. “The Ferryman, Charon” is an atmospheric interlude that leads straight into “Uproot”, one of the most aggressive songs on the album. “Give Light to My Eyes” is practically all singing, right up until the very end, when Rivera cuts loose to close out the song. The final track on the record, “Depraved “ starts out quiet before slowly building musically, and lyrically it’s also the most thought-provoking (and as a result, the most impressive as well). While the song is building instrumentally right up until the end, it never reaches the same level of aggression that the majority of Rest and let go reaches. This isn’t a bad thing though; in fact, if anything this lack of heaviness gives it that much more power. It certainly finishes the album quite strongly.
Overall: The clean vocals sound very angelic, mixed with soothing and relaxing melodies to make the vocalist’s range go over the place. There are sometimes where the clean vocals sound a bit ghostly or as a ghost would sound if they sang, which gives off a creepy feeling towards his vocal style. For the most part the clean vocalist Darren King has some cords on him and he definitely sticks out with them. The instrumental play differs on every song which keeps a diversity factor very strong for this record. Some of the instrumentals on this record will keep you in amaze or just down-right shock you because some of the things you’ll hear instrumentally aren’t everyday things. Narrowing it down, the keys, or the background music behind the instrumentals, give off a ghostly presence which does some good for originality.
Rating: 7/10
Written by “Stingray”
Tracklist:
01 Fragile Wings
02 Paper Thin Houses
03 The Structure/The Foundation
04 Finer Fiend
05 Deluded
06 Scarlet Wool
07 Death March
08 The Ferryman, Charon
09 Uproot
10 Give Light to My Eyes
11 Depraved
Band members:
Abishai Collingsworth – Drums
Bradley Riggs – Bass
Anthony Rivera – Vocals
Darren King – Guitar
Discography:
‘The author’ (single) 2009
“The Overseer” (EP) 2010
“We Search, We Dig” 2012
“Rest and Let Go” 2014
Record Label : Solid State Records, March 2014
Weblinks: Facebook / Itunes / Twitter
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
USA: Metal Helm
Interview with Bradley Riggs [Feb. 2012]
Lyric video below ‘ Scarlet Wool’
Video below ‘ Fragile Wings’