German quartet Breathe Atlantis have blessed the modern Metalcore scene with their fourth studio album Overdrive (Arising Empire). Teaming up with producer Andy Posdziech (Any Given Day), the band presents their most vulnerable sides through a sea of hooks that get stuck in your head after one listen. With vocalist Nico Schiesewitz’s perfect balance of emotive cleans and devastating screams front and center, not a moment is wasted.

‘Break The Silence’ opens the record with a crescendo-ing riff trading bars with beefy guitar chugs. Schiesewitz bellows, “Prepare for war!” and the madness begins. Described by the band as the most personal song they’ve ever written, ‘Overdrive’ is well-deserving of its title track placement. Lyrics about a parasite living inside you and controlling your emotions howl in anguish until the breakdown comes in to evoke the struggle of fighting off those demons. Each time Schiesewitz suddenly switches into an “overdrive” of desperate screams in the middle of the line “Break the walls inside my mind and kill the devil inside”, it is spine-chilling.

The rollicking ‘Savior’ features Imminence’s Eddie Berg on not only vocals, but also violin. The abrupt change from ravaging screams to wearied strings captures the song’s tenderhearted sentiment beautifully. ‘Changes’ features Electric Callboy’s Nico Sallach for an extraordinarily executed blend of vocal tones. The silvery guitar solo from Jan Euler just adds icing to the cake that was already stunning to begin with. He then continues to thrive with his melodious riffs for ‘Gates Of Hell’ from its very first second.

‘Heavy Hearts’ stays true to its name as one of the heaviest songs with an atmospheric dissonance that captivates you. The layers of contrasting guitar tones in ‘Out There’ provide a sweet-sounding backdrop to the moving vocal melodies, preparing for the tranquil intro of closing track ‘Going Down’. A stirring ending for the album, you can feel the determination in every instrument throughout the entire song.

There isn’t a moment on Overdrive that doesn’t feel genuine and forthright – every lyric is sincere, and every melody was made to count. Breathe Atlantis have proudly exposed their truest, deepest selves through what may be their most aggressive-sounding release yet. With how memorable each song is, this isn’t a record you can just listen to once.

Buy the album here: https://breatheatlantis.lnk.to/Overdrive

9 / 10

COLLEEN KANOWSKY