Overcast (band)

Last updated

Overcast
2014-08-30 Turock Shadows Fall 06.jpg
Vocalist Brian Fair in 2014
Background information
Origin Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. [1]
Genres Metalcore [2]
Years active
  • 1990–1998
  • 2006–2008
  • 2014–2015
  • 2022
Labels
Past members

Overcast was an American metalcore band that formed in Boston and was initially active from 1990 to 1998. The band is often regarded as pioneers of metalcore. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

History

Overcast formed in 1990 in Boston. [6]

The band broke up in 1998 following an unsuccessful tour. [7] Following the disbandment of Overcast, several members would go on to join other bands. Vocalist Brian Fair joined Shadows Fall in 1999, bassist Mike D'Antonio co-founded Killswitch Engage in 1999, and guitarist Pete Cortese was briefly in Killswitch Engage from 2000 to 2001.

In 2006, they reunited to play the 2006 installment of the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, and announced that they would release a new album entitled Reborn to Kill Again with 11 re-recorded classic tracks and two unreleased tracks. [8] [9] In 2011, ex-Overcast bandmates Mike D'Antonio, Pete Cortese and Brian Fair announced the formation of their new side-project, Death Ray Vision. [10]

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Compilation albums

Members

Final line-up
Past members

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killswitch Engage</span> American metalcore band

Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D'Antonio, and drummer Justin Foley. Howard Jones was the band's lead vocalist from 2002 to 2012.

<i>Alive or Just Breathing</i> 2002 studio album by Killswitch Engage

Alive or Just Breathing is the second studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. It was released on May 21, 2002, through Roadrunner Records. Alive or Just Breathing was Killswitch Engage's first album on Roadrunner and was recorded from October 2001 to February 2002. Produced by drummer and guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, this was the band's first album on a major label, which prompted them to write and record the album to the best of their abilities. Alive or Just Breathing has been viewed as a landmark album in the metalcore genre and was well praised upon its release by fans and critics. The lyrics, which were all written by vocalist Jesse Leach, were intended to bring a positive message through the music.

Melodic death metal is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal. The genre features the heaviness of death metal but with highly melodic or harmonized guitar riffs and solos, and often features high-pitched shrieked vocals alongside the low-pitched growls commonly featured in traditional death metal. Pioneered by the English heavy metal band Carcass with their 1993 album Heartwork, melodic death metal developed further in Sweden in the mid-1990s. The Swedish death metal scene did much to popularise the style, soon centering in the "Gothenburg metal" scene. At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul, Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery, and In Flames' The Jester Race, all released in the mid-1990s, were highly influential albums in melodic death metal, with At the Gates and In Flames being the two most common influences on North American 2000s heavy metal bands. Many American heavy metal bands emulated At the Gates' sound, resulting in the usage of the phrase "At the Gates worship".

Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, that originated in the late 1980s. Metalcore is noted for its use of breakdowns, which are slow, intense passages conducive to moshing, while other defining instrumentation includes heavy and percussive pedal point guitar riffs and double bass drumming. Vocalists in the genre typically perform screaming; more popular bands often combine this with the use of standard singing, usually during the bridge or chorus of a song. However, the death growl is also a popular technique within the genre.

<i>The End of Heartache</i> 2004 studio album by Killswitch Engage

The End of Heartache is the third studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. It was released on May 11, 2004, through Roadrunner Records. It is the first album to feature lead vocalist Howard Jones and drummer Justin Foley. It received positive acclaim from critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Dutkiewicz</span> American musician and record producer

Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the metalcore bands Killswitch Engage, Aftershock and Times of Grace, as well as the guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the melodic death metal supergroup Serpentine Dominion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Between the Buried and Me</span> American progressive metalcore band

Between the Buried and Me, often abbreviated as BTBAM, is an American progressive metalcore band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed in 2000, the band consists of Tommy Giles Rogers Jr., Paul Waggoner, Dan Briggs, Dustie Waring (guitar) and Blake Richardson (drums).

<i>Killswitch Engage</i> (2000 album) 2000 studio album by Killswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage is the debut studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage, released July 4, 2000 through Ferret Music. The album is the only release ever by Killswitch Engage to be released through Ferret, the band would later be signed to Roadrunner Records, where their follow-up LP, Alive or Just Breathing was released. The band's debut is considered to be one of the first ever successful albums in the metalcore genre, garnering a re-release five years after its original pressing. No songs in the album were released as singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Leach</span> American singer

Jesse David Leach is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the metalcore band Killswitch Engage. He is also a vocalist for Times of Grace and The Weapon. Leach co-founded Killswitch Engage in 1999, but left the band in 2002; in February 2012, he rejoined the group following the departure of vocalist Howard Jones. He currently resides in the Catskill Mountains in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike D'Antonio</span> American bassist

Michael D'Antonio is an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist and founder of the metalcore band Killswitch Engage. He is also the founder and bassist of the bands Overcast and Death Ray Vision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Fair</span> American vocalist

Brian James Fair is an American musician from Massachusetts, best known as lead vocalist of the metalcore band Shadows Fall. He graduated from Milford High School in 1993, and went on to study literature at Boston University.

<i>(Set This) World Ablaze</i> 2005 video by Killswitch Engage

(Set This) World Ablaze is the first live album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. The DVD is of a live show that was taped at The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, on July 25, 2005. It includes live tracks from Killswitch Engage, Alive or Just Breathing and The End of Heartache. Set This World Ablaze is the only Killswitch Engage media to have a Parental Advisory logo.

<i>The Stings of Conscience</i> 2001 studio album by Unearth

The Stings of Conscience is the debut studio album by American metalcore band Unearth, released in 2001. The album was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Rand</span> American musician (born 1974)

Josh Rand is an American musician best known as the rhythm guitarist of the band Stone Sour.

Seemless was an American stoner metal band formed by ex-Shadows Fall/Unearth drummer Derek Kerswill, Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach, and ex-Overcast/Killswitch Engage guitarist Pete Cortese.

Melodic metalcore is a fusion genre, incorporating elements of melodic death metal and metalcore; it has a heavy emphasis on melodic instrumentation, distorted guitar tones, palm muting, double bass drumming, blast beats, metalcore-stylized breakdowns, and vocals that range from aggressive screaming and death growls to clean singing. The genre has seen commercial success for employing a more accessible sound at times compared to other forms of extreme music. Many notable melodic metalcore bands have been influenced by At the Gates and In Flames.

<i>Reborn to Kill Again</i> 2008 studio album by Overcast

Reborn to Kill Again is an album by the American metalcore band Overcast, which was released on August 19, 2008. It contains eleven classic tracks and two unreleased songs.

<i>Killswitch Engage</i> (2009 album) 2009 studio album by Killswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage is the fifth studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. It was released on June 30, 2009 through Roadrunner Records. It is the band's second album to be self-titled, the first being their debut album. It was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz and Brendan O'Brien. The album's reception from critics and fans has been mixed, with praise for Howard Jones's vocals and criticism of Dutkiewicz's and O'Brien's production and the album's reliance on formula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death Ray Vision</span> American hardcore punk band

Death Ray Vision is an American hardcore punk band from Massachusetts. The band includes members and former members of the bands Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, Cannae, Seemless, and Overcast.

<i>Atonement</i> (Killswitch Engage album) 2019 studio album by Killswitch Engage

Atonement is the eighth studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage, released through Metal Blade Records on August 16, 2019. Lead single "Unleashed" was released on June 25, and followed by "I Am Broken Too" in July which would later follow up with a music video in August, as well as "The Signal Fire" shortly before the album's release. The band began a co-headlining tour of North America with Clutch in promotion of the album in July.

References

  1. Sharpe-Young, Garry (November 2005). New Wave of American Heavy Metal. Zonda Books Limited. p. 230. ISBN   0-9582684-0-1.
  2. Harris, Chris; Wiederhorn, Jon (April 28, 2006). "Overcast, Black Dahlia Murder, Nevermore, D.R.I. & More News That Rules". mtv.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
  3. "Overcast reviews, music, news - sputnikmusic". Sputnik Music. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  4. "DEATH RAY VISION: NOT QUITE AN OVERCAST REUNION, BUT PRETTY CLOSE". MetalSucks. February 17, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  5. Harris, Chris (August 22, 2008). "Overcast Are Reborn On Reunion Album; Plus Killswitch Engage, Metallica & More News That Rules". mtv.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
  6. Rosenberg, Axl. "Every Metalcore Musician in the World Save for Alex Varkatzas Agrees: Atreyu Didn't "Invent Metalcore"". MetalSucks . Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  7. "Overcast - Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  8. Lyford, Josh (January 23, 2014). "Overcast hits the stage hard at Ralph's - Worcester Mag". Worcester Mag. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  9. "Overcast – Reborn to Kill Again". Teeth of the Divine. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  10. Sharpe-Young, Garry (2005). New Wave of American Heavy Metal. Zonda Books Limited. ISBN   9780958268400.
  11. "Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage Members Form New Supergroup". Metal Insider. February 15, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2018.