Reviewed by Graeme Crawford

Hailing from Bentonville, Arkansas, The Overseer are another young metalcore group who cite Underoath, As Cities Burn and Thrice as influences. Unfortunately, they are nowhere near the levels of those bands and in truth end up falling into the same pool of mediocrity of many other metalcore wannabes. Their songwriting is too simple and lacking in imagination. You wait for an unexpected chord change, or a shift in direction, but these sadly fail to appear and the songs just follow the expected path. The more melodic moments in general display more talent, but these are overshadowed by the uninspiring heavy sections. Vocalist Anthony Rivera appears to lack the stamina of his contemporaries as his breathing interferes with some tracks, especially opener "Secrets". He does have a powerful voice, but it would appear that he needs to develop his technique further. The playing and production are good, the sound is clear, the instruments each have their own space in the mix but better songs and better vocals are clearly needed.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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