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OVERLORD
Tolerance Collapse

Self-released (2014)
Rating: 8/10

Overlord is a one-man thrash band that I really enjoy listening to, and have done since the Tiempos Antares debut which emerged in 2011. Since then, the one and only multi-instrumentalist known as Flatuleitor has carved out quite a career, resulting in a trio of albums, with this one following on from 2013’s Blackout.

The man rises every morning out of Santiago, Chile, and believe me, this is the sort of thrash metal you should get up for too. Forget the current batch of pretenders; Overlord is a sneering, dry-throated and nefarious project which comes complete with some truly staggering soloing and thrash compositions that blend grisly black metal and technical old school thrash metal in the vein of old Kreator and the likes.

Considering this guy was born in 1991, I can only applaud his knowledge, maturity and passion for thrash metal, and bow down and worship some of the blistering numbers he has to offer here. Clearly pissed off with the world, Flatuleitor finds time to let off steam amid a barrage of evil drums, raw stripped down guitars and earthy bass, but without sounding like all the crust-covered, punk-influenced black metal bands doing the rounds. Instead, this is best described as no frills yet thrilling thrash metal.

This release has everything you’d want from a thrash metal album; the chugging riffs which make way for starker practice to a progressive bass ramble, those vicious, ash-coated vocals which come to life on the likes of ‘Don’t Fuck With Science’, the snarling opener ‘Karadima Boys’ which vents anger and condemnation at the Catholic church, and the technical prowess of ‘Modern-Days Skeptic Flux’.

It’s one of those albums that deserves recognition, because I can only guess at what this guy could be capable of with a more substantial team behind him. If – like me – you’ve been brought up with primitive thrash metal then Tolerance Collapse really is going to be your thing, because it boasts clever lyrics, some superb riffs, solos and fluent structures which enable the record to haunt the ears like some malevolent spectre. While old school Kreator comes to mind, I’m also hearing the likes of Protector as well as Sadus within those scathing rhythms and bestial vocals.

While there may be countless bands called Overlord, make sure you lend an ear to this one. As one-man bands go, this is mightily impressive thrash metal. Laced with melody and hinting at death metal with shades of blacker influence, this is at times a progressive extreme metal experience that only gives us a glimpse as to what this man is capable of.

Neil Arnold

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