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Overdose: Progress of decadence
27/12/12 || Habakuk
If you ever want to know what a historical sidenote band is, then check out Overdose. The Internet has word that supposedly Igor Cavalera played his first set on a drumkit borrowed from these guys. And that’s that. So, they were from Brazil, signed to Cogumelo Records and their development resembles more that of Pantera than Sepultura (without the success) – from power to groove thrash. Yet just because no-one outside of Brazil has heard of them, that doesn’t mean they don’t have anything good to offer. In fact, it sounds like Max Cavalera took a good deal of inspiration for his change of ways somewhere post- Arise from exactly this band.
And here’s how. Overdose rely heavily on percussion elements like the omnipresent samba drums. Around these, the band weave simplistic chugging riffs, which really give this a distinct identity despite what’s happening on the guitars is far from special. A triplet riff really is the edge of progress here. The lead guitars are often basic transpositions of the basic riffs onto higher parts of the fretboard, and solos are generally rare, but sort of well-played. Sounds familiar? Well, it probably is.
Smashers like Street law show that these guys meant business, and knew the works. The problem this album has lies however embedded in the very foundation of its style. In short doses it is absolutely kick ass, effective rhythmic groove – that samba shit is a damn perfect fit. Yet after the initial slab of power, or on songs that simply don’t feature any percussion additions, there is hardly anything to make for any lasting value. That is, unless you can get your kicks from solid, but generally midpaced riffing and the social commentary-themed “I will shout slogans at you” style that Max Cavalera later adopted ad nauseam. Just that the singer here is good, but not great over longer time.
This album shows great ideas and “foresight”, if you will, but it is too long for its own good. The band simply were better riff- than songwriters. And while I of course couldn’t, and don’t need to “prove” that these guys influenced Sepultura and so forth, their acquaintance (both are from Belo Horizonte) and the timings of the two bands’ releases speak a rather clear language. Check this one out for a couple of great tunes and of course historical value, but be aware of the low lasting value.
- Information
- Released: 1993
- Label: Cogumelo Records
- Website: Overdose MySpace
- Band
- Pedro Amorim “Bozó”: vocals
- Cláudio David: guitars
- Sérgio Cichovicz: guitars
- Eddie Weber: bass
- André Márcio: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Rio, samba e porrada no morro
- 02. Street law
- 03. Straight to the point
- 04. Progress of decadence
- 05. Capitalist way
- 06. Deep in your mind
- 07. Noise from Brazil
- 08. Aluquisarrera
- 09. Favela
- 10. No truce
- 11. Faithful Death
- 12. Stupid generation
- 13. Zombie factory
