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The Detroit based Overloaded is a relatively new band as being formed in August of 2004. The "Hellfire" EP is their second self-financed release and as the previous one, "Hail The Kingdom", the band delivers hard rock songs with influences of 80s American heavy metal. The EP features 5 songs, all having anthemic, big chorus parts that will stick to your ears quite easily. Overloaded sound like real professionals, not like any newcomers from the American hard rock scene. They also have a cover band to maintain enough a budget to support the band. So I guess this can be considered as the reason for their professional sound. Chris Gillen’s way of managing the vocal duties reminds without doubt of Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row) but Gillen has a more bluesy dimension in his voice. This bluesy dimension makes him sound more mature and experienced. “Hellfire” is the opening track of the EP, and it sounds like it was written (designed could also be the correct word) especially for Gillen’s vocal talents. His high pitched vocals and screams take the song to another level. “Shotgun City” kicks off with a very 80s riff, and continues delivering all the clichés of the 80s metal until the end. “Zygote” is the only down-tempo track of the EP. The song is built upon Michael Massie’s bass lines and Gillen’s vocal performance and I think that it’s definitely the best song featured on the "Hellfire" EP. “Heavy Metal Highway” is the most anthemic (take a look at the song name) cut, sounding like a geared up AC/DC with riffs reminding of Uriah Heep’s early days and dual guitar solos. The last song of the EP is a cover of The Osmonds' song "Crazy Horses" and it's the heaviest track. The drummer Lorenzo Gonzales and the two axemen Erik Kluiber and John Sullens are doing a great job in this song. Maybe for the first time you really start paying attention to the band’s playing skills. And, for the last words of this review (as written in the “How to write an album review” handbook, I have to write a good closing line!), you can easily get the impression that the band’s not getting the attention they deserve. But hopefully they will.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Hellfire |
| 2. Shotgun City |
| 3. Zygote |
| 4. Heavy Metal Highway |
| 5. Crazy Horses |
: 13.55
| Buy other Overloaded albums |
