International band Overture have crafted a thrilling, haunting and provocative metal sound that aims to take the listener on dramatic, theatrical journeys and they describe as “progressive melodic metal.”
The band’s origins trace back to 1992, when vocalist Michael Goldsmith graduated from the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, California. He started a band and, after a show at The Roxy, he was approached by Overture, which led to a few open rehearsals and they began writing songs together, going on to release several demos, EPs and albums.
Fast forward a few decades and Michael, now based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, met guitarist Christopher Young, from Ontario in Canada, in 2020 and they began work on Overture’s first album for several years. Together, they write and record music remotely from their home studios, alongside a group of world-class musicians from around the world: Argentinian keyboard player Diego Palma, Boston bassist Peter Albert de Reyna, and German drummer Jonas Schütz.
And on the sound they’ve crafted, Michael told us: “Overture combines classic and modern heavy metal elements while keeping melody at the forefront of every song.”
To give us a taste for this, they sent us Soldier On, which was released at the end of last year. It starts out light instrumentals and the sound of gunfire replaced by a stabbing guitar that continues under drawn-out vocals and a funky little keyboard sound. It picks up pace as it builds up to a powerful opening verse, which ends with the line “Demons calling your name” flowing into a big chorus “You must soldier on, Pledge your allegiance to your soul.” It continues straight into another big verse and chorus, which gives way to a delicious guitar solo that hands the baton to a funky keyboard retort. The pace slows with a noodling guitar lick setting up a key change and a dramatic conclusion. Check it out in the awesome animated lyric video below.
On the track, Michael said: “The song serves as a reminder to stay grounded and vigilant. Even when temptation or darkness tries to pull you off course, you have the strength to resist. It’s about keeping your soul in check and continuing to push forward. You can win. Even though evil may always know your name, you have the power to overcome it—by soldiering on.”
That’s been followed by a couple more singles this year, the big feisty Face The Void and their slow-building most recent release Victim of Fate, which were the final two albums on their most recent album ALLEGIANCE. And the band has an impressive back catalogue of music to dig into, including their 2022 album Edit Evolution, which includes a personal favourite track Insanity.
The Overture sound has been influenced by metal legends like Black Sabbath, Queensryche, Dream Theater and Rainbow. And on what inspires them to write music, Michael explains: “ Writing music is in our blood. Having a creative outlet has always been a passion of ours. We like to focus on topics that touch all aspects of life. The human condition.”
Overture are currently hard at work in their respective studios, writing music for their fourth full-length album, which should be out next year.
And Michael added: “We feel Overture’s sound is instantly unique in our approach to Metal. All bands have influences, but we try to maintain our own recognizable sound.”
You can follow Overture on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, YouTube and via their Discography.
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