OVERPOWER is a Croatian quartet who perform in a Groove-Oriented, semi-Thrash style on their debut album "Greatness Within". Taking 8 years from formation to the release of this first record can be a great thing, as you only have one chance in life to make a lasting impression. Taking a lot of their cues from bands of the late 80's to mid-1990's, the 7 songs in the main (excluding the 1:47 "Outro" that is just a repetitive instrumental refrain) possess a lot of staccato riffing, simplified groove based rhythms and tempos that align very well to fans of METALLICA, PANTERA, and SEPULTURA.

David's solid bass get a little exotic flair on the opener "Paid Trip to Nightmare", a mid-tempo to up-tempo affair that contains interesting transitions and gallops along with forceful word spew from Frane. Sometimes OVERPOWER start certain songs on a more alternative rock outlook, something I would expect from GODSMACK for instance on the straightforward "Conqueror", which contains a lackluster solo break from Daniel that is just very calculated and by the book.

I prefer when the band has a little bit of energy in some of the riffs - "Roulette" may contain some obvious pit/ breakdown moments, but the main chord choices and transitions will make most happy - and Frane once again uses a number of different screams and rough vocal patterns to entertain. Unfortunately the bad outweighs the good moments here - as I feel that OVERPOWER struggles to write interesting hooks, keeping their lyrics very basic with juvenile cursing added for impact, and lead breaks that are more noisy than adding anything relevant to these songs.

Maybe there is hope the second go around for a more original record. At this point though, I think "Greatness Within" may not gain much traction beyond their Croatian homeland. Study your influences a little more and I think you'll see why they stand out and why OVERPOWER is third to fourth rate at best.