OVERLORDE are from the New Jersey area in the USA, and were originally founded in 1985. They existed until 1988, when they disbanded. Somehow the Metal blood kept on flowing through the veins, as in 2000 they reformed, only to still be active until this very day. During their first stint of existence they released an EP, “Overlorde”(1987). Since their rebirth they have released one album, “Return Of The Snow Giant”, which was let loose on an unexpecting world in 2004. Now, over 19 years later, in reality on December 22nd 2023, they finally got our attention again. This time it is due to the release of “Awaken The Fury”, their sophomore album. And to be quite frank, this is very pleasant listening material.

As you might have expected, OVERLORDE play Old School Heavy Metal of the clean variety. So, not too fast, not too slow, but always with a proper sound and intensity. And they haven’t done things by half on “Awaken The Fury”, as the whole album clocks over 56 minutes of playing time. So, you get your money’s worth as far as the amount of music on offer.

The question is whether you also get good quality Old School Heavy Metal thrown at you. The simple answer is yes. OVERLORDE are not trying to reinvent Heavy Metal, are not trying to outplay or impress by technical brilliance. On the contrary, they are attempting and succeeding in keeping their music straight forward and effective. It really doesn’t matter which song you choose on “Awaken The Fury”, it will transport you back to the eighties in atmosphere and feeling. But always with one foot in the current times. You will be reminded of US and Power Metal bands, but you will just as easily be able to think of some NWOBHM bands that clearly have influenced OVERLORDE.

My only concern as far as being a listener is that not everything has staying power as far as remembering how the songs go. Some just are too easy to forget, whilst others will impress you no end. That is why my rating isn’t as high as it could have been. I can only say that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to “Awaken The Fury” while I was walking the dogs, but that the music left my memory as soon as I turned off my headphones. And that is a pity, because I really think that OVERLORDE can do better than that.