The cover art to French melodeath band Overload’s second full length is one that manages to be both appropriate and misleading at the same time. Slick and attractive but devoid of depth, it’s the kind of thing that’s graced the front of a thousand other polished metal releases before now, giving little reason to suppose that the listener is in for anything other than yet another jaunt into familiar territory . In this much it’s absolutely spot on, as ‘The Imagery Process’ consists of track after track of catchy Gothenburg riffing that amounts to naked Dark Tranquillity/In Flames worship from start to finish. The cover is deceptive too though, as the songs are performed with such conviction and passion and possess enough kick to them to be able to transcend the mundane and instead push the band’s sound right up there with the hard-hitters of the genre.
The aforementioned DT worship is instantly recognisable in the title track, which employs crunchy, catchy galloping riffs backed up by subtle, dreamy keyboards and sad breaks with just a hint of Crematory about them, throwing in some almost Satriani-like widdling here and there for good measure. This formula makes up the backbone of the album; punchy, urgent, Slaughter of the Soul riffs filtered through poppy/gothic sensibilities yet emerging from the other side with their ability to tear and rend still intact, forever switching seamlessly into crunchy, clinical mid-paced grooves and back again, topped off by a sprinkling of rocky, almost bluesy soloing and cemented together via passages of poppy electronica throughout. The vocals are as convincing as the riffs, consisting for most part harsh, rasping screams and growls in the style of In Flames’ Anders Frieden back before he discovered teen-angst and ditched the throat-grating in favour if incessant, bitchy whining, though melodic clean vocals pop up frequently as well, these being equally well-executed and refreshingly un-cringeworthy.
Despite making only narrow variations on this well-established formula, the songs still somehow manage to sound fresh and distinct, partly because both the songwriting and execution are so wholly convincing and partly because the band are willing to try out subtle new arrangements in mood and pace to help keep things interesting. ‘Burden’ flits between urgent and jagged breakneck riffing, Amorphis-like clean choruses and a melancholy, searching bridge, whilst the excellent if intriguingly titled ‘Hedgehog Dilemma’ (Finish that homework or play another few levels of Sonic? Squash the little bugger flat or plough into that tree?) centres around urgent, tail-chasing melodies and some positively epic and anthemic fist-in-the air grooves, all of which are firmly in the old In Flames-mould, as is the folksy semi-acoustic passage that helps bring the song to a close.
Elsewhere ‘Distorted Fates’ ups the BPM sufficiently to push things into symphonic black metal territory momentarily before slipping back into familiar pounding, synth-drenched melodeath once more, whilst ‘First Dead Born’ brings some double bass pedal hammering, electrifying, almost Painkiller-esque power-metal riffing and crunchy mid-tempo slugging to the table, effortlessly managing to somehow make this work alongside a ridiculously poppy clean chorus that on paper just shouldn’t fit. ‘Thirst For Speed’ kicks off like an undiscovered track from ‘The Jester Race’ before being dragged down by the current of a clattering, stop-start groove that slows gradually into passages of keyboard euphoria, the shimmering, razor-sharp opening melodic riff resurfacing again at intervals throughout, with last song proper ‘ Final Line’ carrying a similarly familiar yet no less gratifying mix of pummelling old-school melodic riffs and accompanying clattering drums that flitter eclectically as the song shifts between passages of rapid hammering and softer, drifting introspection.
Commercially-oriented Melodeath is a scene particularly blighted with blandness and over-dilution, but whilst ‘The Imagery Process’ hardly breaks any new ground, it still manages to be a hugely enjoyable album by excelling at all the disparate elements of the genre, successfully imbuing the raw and energetic melodies and thundering drums with a poppy catchiness and thick layer of underlying polish that accentuates rather than detracts from the overall impact. Within the context of its own narrow remit, ‘The Imagery Process’ possesses both balls and invention, and this combined with its excellent execution makes it one mainstream melodeath album that’s well worth seeking out.
http://www.myspace.com/overloadfr
