rap | Overtone

A stacked week of EPs for us to check out, from metal to indie to rock. Lets check it all out!

PRESIDENT: King of Terrors

The new mystery masked band (definitely not fronted by Charlie Simpson) have dropped their debut EP this weekend. Does it live up to the insane hype around them? Personally, no, but I’m certainly not the target audience for this sort of music. It’s very Sleep Token, and y’all know how I feel about them. It’s a touch more interesting and heavy than them, but still incorporates a lot of the same pop and electronic elements around the big riffs and occasional screams. It’s not bad, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think it’s quite worth all the hype. ‘Fearless’ was a fun, almost Skillet-esque track, while the riffing in ‘Dionysus’ was good too. However, the good moments were few and far between, and there are only so many trap and hip-hop beats I can hear in metal before I immediately get bored of them. If you are into this sort of thing awesome, you’ll surely get a lot out of it, but it wasn’t for me at all. I can’t give it any more than 5/10, sorry lads!

Wells Ferrari: Wasted Time

The sophomore EP from the indie-Americana duo is just as good as their last, drawing together their last string of single releases into the perfect 23-minute release. The band’s sound is excellent, being a slightly more chilled out version of the likes of Mumford & Sons or even Evan Honer. The lyrics throughout are fantastic and packed full of emotion, while the pairs vocal harmonies are a solid highlight time and time again. From the excellent title track to ‘Bending’ to the epic ‘Cloud of Rain’, there are so many fantastic songs. However, there really isn’t a bad song on here; all of them are excellent. It’s the perfect release to throw on and sit back and chill-out to. The band are on track to become massive in the scene sooner rather than later, and this release will surely push them closer to that. If you are at all into the genres I’ve mentioned check this out as soon as you can! 8.5/10

Delilah Bon: PRINCELESS PRINCESS

Delilah follows up her phenomenal 2024 album with this four-track collection released between all her heavy touring schedule. It honestly feels like it acts as an extention of EHFF, bridging the gap between that and whatever is next. I do have to say it’s not quite as memorable as the album, but is still a damn good release! The opener/title track is awesome and been stuck in my head since I first checked it out. ‘CINDERELLA’ is a fantastic track too that I’m sure will go down a storm live. Meanwhile ‘BUSH’ is tongue in cheek and got a chuckle out of me, though I’m sure she makes some good points for women.

It’s impossible for Delilah to put out something I don’t love though, as her vocal ability is so insanely underrated. From her rapping to screaming, it’s all so good, and she’s very much kept it all turned up to 11. And she is PISSED throughout this, it making the delivery of her fantastic lyric writing even better. The instrumentation is great too, the electronic and heavy punk guitars fitting together perfectly, making an amazing backdrop for the vocals.

It’s a short release that has immediately made me come away wanting more, but for now I am more than glad to settle with this. A great addition to her already stellar discography! 8.5/10

Last Hyena: Suspect Your Elders

The first live gig we covered here at Overtone, this band have a special place in my heart for that. Add to that the fact that they are insane instrumentalists and songwriters, and I was damn hyped for this release. They didn’t disappoint at all, this is awesome! The mainly instrumental 16 minutes is a solidly awesome listen of proggy, mathy stoner rock, and blew my mind in multiple places. We even got some gang vocals on the opening track, a big highlight and made the track somehow even better. There isn’t a bad one on here, though. It certainly won’t be for everyone, but if you are at all curious I cannot recommend checking it out enough! The riffing throughout is top notch, and everyone is working their asses off from start to finish. A very easy 8/10!

House of Hosts: Reckoning

The debut EP from the hard rock/alt metallers is a home run right out of the gate! This is a fantastic release from start to finish, packed full of a big riffs, arena-filling melodies and some great screams here and there. I love this new generation of bands that are inspired by the likes of Godsmack, Nonpoint and Breaking Benjamin, and I would argue this release is up there with a lot of what those bands have put out! There’s even a slight hint of Tool at times, which I love! All four tracks are amazing and highlights in their own right, picking just one or two is impossible. If you are at all into hard rock or metal, stop reading this right now and check this release out immediately, it really is that good! I’m going to be spinning this a lot in the coming weeks and months, and I can’t give it any less than 9/10. If it was a full release, it may have even gotten top marks!

Eirra: Instructions Unclear

The indie-pop songwriter put out her debut EP this weekend, and it makes for a fun, chilled-out release! It’s not typically the sort of thing I listen to, but I honestly had a blast listening to this! From the quirky electro-pop of ‘Mona Lisa’ to the more acoustic indie-folk of ‘Soho’ and ‘Somehow, Someday’, there’s a hell of a lot to love. It’s easy to see why she’s a rising star pegged for big things in the future, and as a first non-single release, this is a fantastic start! If you are into the lighter stuff, check this out, you won’t be disappointed! Throw it on and just sit back and relax and get lost in it, I know I did! A surprisingly (for me) solid 8/10 from us!

Another quite-ish yet stacked week of new albums for us to sink our teeth into. Join us as we do so!

Trouble County: Blacken the Sky

I really wasn’t heading into this expecting such a Layne/Jerry comparison, but damn, I’m certainly not mad about it! This is like the lovechild of Alice in Chains, Black Label Society and Southern rock, and I love it! The debut album of the NWOCR stalwarts is an awesome release from front to back, and a real testament to the talent and writing skill of the band. Tracks like the opener, the bluesy ‘Gotta Try’ and ’12 Gauge Blues’ and ‘Drive’ are amazing. I also love the Western-yet-GNR-like epic ballad ‘John Baker’, another huge personal highlight.

And don’t get me wrong, the rest of the songs are also good, but I do think an hour is ever so slightly too long. I completely understand that they’ve been going a while though so would want to put their all into their first full-length. Either way, it’s a lot of fun, and I’d certainly recommend listening to it if you’re a fan of any of the styles or bands I’ve mentioned above! The band are all hugely talented and are only going to be on the fast rise to the top of the NWOCR scene with this release, I’m sure! It’s an easy 9/10 from me!

Ben Chapman: Downbeat

The third album from the country newcomer is a fun, chilled-out 36-minutes of rock-infused greatness. There’s plenty to love on it too; from the upbeat opener to the more neotraditional ‘Don’t You Dare’ to the bluesy ‘If I Was You’. However, the whole album is pretty good, there not being a bad track on it and it being well worth a full-listen. Considering I’d never heard of him before, I’ve come away being a big new fan of his, and I’m honestly shocked he isn’t bigger. Hopefully this is the release to push him more into the mainstream consciousness! He’s an incredibly interesting songwriter who can blend multiple old-school sounds together with a modern twang flawlessly. If you’re into the slower country stuff, I’d definitely recommend. This gets a solid 8/10!

Hope is a Lie: Self-Titled

The debut album from the Finnish post-metal/doom band is a damn interesting listen. As an introduction to the band in their first year releasing music, it’s honestly fantastic. I love the progginess of the opening track in of itself, and was fully in by the time the radio-spoken-word stuff came in, creating a truly epic soundscape. Honestly the same can be said throughout. I seem to prefer the second hald of the track to the first each time, the drop-downs and build up being incredible. Having said that, my favourite track is probably the more straight-forward, extreme metal, Zeal & Ardor-like ‘Suits’; fuck it’s amazing! However, that shouldn’t take away from the rest of the album, as ever track is honestly great, and it all flows together perfectly. I can’t recommend this enough to anyone who likes the more proggy, quirky style of metal, and especially anyone who likes albums that need listening to in full! It reminds me a bit of a less heavy Alcest, so I’d definitely recommend for fans of them! It’s an amazing debut album, and gets a very solid 8.5/10 from us!

Todestrieb: Corona Tenebra

Yes, Spotify my claim that this black metal duo’s debut release is an EP, but I was sent the press release from them touting it as their debut album, so I shall treat it as such! The album itself, however, is some damn good black metal. As I have said plenty of times in this series, the genre is not typically my sort of thing. However, the band create such an amazing atmosphere, especially from the minds and skills of only two people, that I can’t not enjoy it! It was even giving off slight Rotting Christ vibes at times, which I loved! Don’t get me wrong, it’s still not something I’d go out of my way to listen to, but I can fully appreciate the talent and creativity on display, and would imagine fans of black metal would love it. The band have a big future ahead of them in the scene for sure, and this gets a solid 7/10 from us!

Chase Bryant: Clio

The highly anticipated sophomore album from the second-generation country singer-songwriter was finally released this last Friday. Honestly, it’s fine. It took me some getting into, that’s for sure. ‘Anchor Down Town’ was the first track from it I listened to and thoroughly enjoyed, the almost Bryan Adams rock edge to the country being awesome. Tracks like the ballads ‘How Do You Do It’ and ‘More than Just 17’ and ‘COUNTRY’ were all personal highlights, too. I love when Chase brings a bit more of the rock edge to his music, and he does it so well! Sadly, a lot of the rest of the album is a bit more pop-leaning, or more of the same ballad-like stuff. Chase could put out an absolute banger of a country/southern rock album, but I felt a little let down a lot of this pretty long release was low energy stuff. Still, it gets a solid 7.5/10 from us!

Snoop Dogg: Missionary

So yes, this is certainly not the usual stuff we cover here. However, I know a lot of rock and metal fans that like Snoop, or at very least respect the hell out of him. Plus, we did Eminem the other month, so it’s only fair!

It’s a fun album, and exactly what you’d expect from Snoop these days! It’s got a pretty old-school Dogg feel to it, while Dre is a huge highlight throughout the entire release. Tracks like ‘Hard Knocks’, ‘Thank You, the Em and 50-featuring ‘Gunz N Smoke’ and the surprising collab with Tom Petty and Jelly Roll,’Last Dance with Mary Jane, are all huge highlights. However, if you’re into late 90s/early 2000s hip hop and R&B, like me, you’ll enjoy a lot of this! It’s a well put-together album too, with 46-minutes going by in a flash. Snoop and Dre have always been a match made in heaven, and this album proves that. They play around with some amazing classic tracks, and really put their great own mark on them. It’s certainly not gonna be every reader’s cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it, and it gets a solid 7.5/10!

Overtone

Tag Archives: rap

President, Wells Ferrari and More: EPs Galore!