OVERLOADED „Hail the Kingdom”

'Overloaded's style of music is very reminiscent of the sleazy, self indulgent, metal excesses of the '80s. Hailing from Detroit (Rock City!), 'Overloaded' hearkens back to the wild side of hard rock! Forming the band in the summer of 2004, the guys have already opened for many great hard rock bands such as Slaughter, White Lion, and Skid Row. They've now introduced their high energy sound into thier debut album 'Hail The Kingdom', an album that get your head bangin' and leave you begging for more.

Overloaded starts the disc at full speed with “Beaver Fever”, a song title that would have Ted Nugent,
the Motor City Madman himself, turning his ear with interest, but don't be fooled the lyrics of the song don't drop
to the gutter as the title would imply! Lead Guitarist Erik Kluiber's style is similar to that of Mr Nugent, though
Erik is a little more conservative with his delivery. His style blazes hot, and yet creates a harmony to rhythm guitarist
John Sullens that is a wicked combination of crunch and licks.

The throat behind 'Overloaded' is Chris Gillen who has an awesome set of pipes. Sounding a lot like Jason McMaster of Dangerous Toys, especially on the more energetic tunes found here. Chris has significant range and plenty of grit to fit well with wherever the music goes. “Feeling Overloaded”, the bands first song, is High-energy from start to finish, the dual-guitar riffs have tons of groove for Chris to lay the lyrics over. The bass playing from Michael Massie is masterful and the pounding beats from drummer Lorenzo Gonzalez deepen the song's impact.

One of the albums highlights is “King of the Landfill”, a song which adds some variety to 'Hail The Kingdom' and showcases 'Overloaded's versatility. Furious riffs from Erik and John give a clear indication that the band has lit the afterburner and give the song a sound that has a style of new and old blended in a way the old school metal heads will enjoy and yet still has a modern metal feel without ruining the song. Erik claims that “he's not a flashy guitar player”, but the solo he unleashes on this track defies the quiet humility! Much to the enjoyment of anyone who appreciates good hard rock, Erik unleashes his amazing talent and lets his fingers blaze.

'Hail The Kingdom' has only seven songs total but throughout those they keep the pedal to the metal(pun intended!). There is never an interruption of power ballads or acoustic moments often used to mix up the pace of '80s metal albums, which in itself is refreshing. Professionally packaged, the album was mastered at Morrisound in Florida and the production is crystal clear.

If you love the hard rock and melodic metal from bands like early Def Leppard, Dangerous Toys and Mötley Crüe then adding 'Overloaded' to your list is imperative!

Update… The band has released a 4 song follow up EP entitled “Hellfire”. Check 'em out at: http://www.overloadedmusic.com/ !

note: 8/10

Tracklist

Beaver Fever
War of the Worlds
Feeling Overloaded
Where Are You Running To?
King of the Landfill
Cyclone
Sick

Line-up

Chris Gillen – Vocals
Erik Kluiber – Lead Guitar
John Sullens – RythmGuitar
Michael Massie – Bass
Lorenzo Gonzalez – Drums