Overtorture – At the End the Dead Await
When the need to satiate the beast within takes hold, often only juggernaut-size riffs can perform the task to satisfaction. Thankfully, we have bands like Bolt Thrower to turn to when the jonesing comes on. Though few bands match UK’s Warmasters for M1 Abrams riffery, other candidates make their own case for glory from time to time. Take Overtorture. Though far more technical in approach than the aforementioned World Eaters, At the End the Dead Await has waiting amongst its scales and intriguing finger-finagling a reverence for the Riff with a capital ‘R’, whether tremolo-picking with ease or doing the good ol’ open-chord-on-one side, downpicking on the other panned goodness. But there’s more here than the expected. Overtorture uniquely and thoughtfully place requisite evil thirds and fifths amidst runs in their playing, but are mindful of wanking overspray that clutters and ultimately weakens intricate DM. Well-played melodicism buoyed by supremely heavy low-to-midtempo moments sprawl across the tracklist (especially when dual-harmony solos are employed), keeping the songs weak-free throughout. Even the very clean production isn’t a detriment for this band; atypically, Overtorture’s cleanliness adds to an intended haze of subterranean heaviness, carried further below by Joel Fornbrant’s Covenant-sounding David Vincent vocalizations. The deeper I delve into At the End the Dead Await the more an inconspicuous vein of originality arises in prominence, with its string bends and quick scales in unexpected areas, crazed-chord dissonant breaks between measures, and the completely impassioned and professional drumwork. But again, the album’s disparate parts making up its whole never peg out the hey-look-we-play-good-mmmhmm thermometer that with other records always has me snoozing. I surmise lead guitarist Magnus Martinsson’s tenure in Grave and drummer Fredrik Widig’s efforts in Rage Nucleaire (destructive bands both) provide the balance of substance over style on this album. Whatever the reason, this At the End the Dead Await has the boredom-ending power of a Death Metal NoDoze suppository, were such a thing to exist. Perhaps it does, and Overtorture has positioned themselves as our over-the-counter provider. -Jim
Apostasy Records
Worm Gear 
“At the End the Dead Await has the boredom-ending power of a Death Metal NoDoze suppository, were such a thing to exist. Perhaps it does, and Overtorture has positioned themselves as our over-the-counter provider.”
????? Do you like this release or not?
“boredom-ending” = ending the spate of boring releases I’d been checking out prior, so yes I did enjoy it \m/ Thx for the shoutout on Dark Matters; we appreciate it!