France’s SUNBEAM OVERDRIVE bring so much to the Metal genre by mixing genre’s so seamlessly they have invented something new altogether.
To simplify their sound you could call them “Progressive Metal” or perhaps “Alternative Metal” but that’s way too easy. SUNBEAM OVERDRIVE have someone brought beautiful melodies and great hooks with an unbridled aggression. For fans of the more Extreme side might wish to have more, but I think think they use the different styles perfectly and complimentary to each other.
The musical talent in the band is phenomenal, they’re extremely tight with surgical steel precision. Guitarst Tom Abrigan is beyond belief. The sounds he can come up with and the harmonics and styles he weaves in and out of. One minutes you hear U2’s Edge, the next he’s going into a dark and heavy wall of sound. He has a groove that reminds me a little like Zakk Wylde, but he really has his own distinct sound.
Karim Arnaout and Tom Abrigan are both listed as “Vocals” and it sounds like there were more than one “voice” in the mix. Whatever they did worked extremely well, great harmonies mixed with some of the “Death” vocals. I hope fans on both sides of the “vocal fence” can appreciate what they’re doing.
And of course, with any band doing who has a “Prog” tendency, you can’t understate the importance of the rhythm section. Drummer Laurent Duclouet and bassist Bruno Morgana are the foundation and give the songs their solid structure.
As I’m writing this, I still havn’t felt like I have properly described their sound, and in reality you just have to hear them. I can’t put a definite “era” on their sound. It’s modern of course, but they take the best of their influence and make it into a very enjoyable and heavy sound. If the world “Progressive” scares you, don’t let it, even if the songs might not follow the traditional verse/chorus/verse/chorus structure, there are so many cool things going on you’ll be anything but bored, your ears are in for an aural experience they probably havn’t had in a long time.
As far as the songs go, I love the whole album, but ‘Diama’ was amazing. ‘Slave To The Void’, ‘Crimson Stains’, ‘Deaf And Blind’, and ‘Out Of Plato’s Cave’ were all great. There’s a cover of ‘Hard Sun’ from Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Peterson as well. They’re doing a version closer to the Pearl Jam version, but either way they do a great job with it.
Overall, I have to give this one a 9 out of 10 “Flaming Fists” due to it’s creativity, musicianship, production and overall song-writing. It’s one of the most diverse and heavy albums I’ve heard lately, it deserves a much bigger audience.
Tom Abrigan – Guitars & Vocals
Karim Arnaout – Vocals
Laurent Duclouet – Drums
Bruno Morgana – Bass
“Diama” will be released on May 12, 2023 by Tentacles Industries with distribution from Season of Mist.
“Diama” was engineered and mixed by Tom Abrigan and mastered by Brett Caldas-Lima (Devin Townsend Project, Megadeth, Cynic, Pain of Salvation) at Tower Studio, France.
Album pre-order is available at the following links:
Limited Digipak / Bundles – https://tentaclesindustries.bigcartel.com/artist/sunbeam-overdrive
Digital pre-save – https://bfan.link/diama
BAND BIO:
Founded by professional musicians in 2019 and hailing from Marseille, France, Sunbeam Overdrive is mixing progressive metal and 90s alternative rock. They are eagerly anticipating the release of their debut album “Diama” in the Spring of this year and leading up to it, have dropped a single “Out Of Plato’s Cave” complete with a music video. The band shares the idea behind the track:
“It’s a very energetic piece with djent and progressive accents to compliment Plato’s allegory of the Cave, describing how difficult it is to look away from the illusions that easily feed our minds, to stand your ground when everyone around you thinks you’re a fool, to look for the light, for elevation, for the truth, and have the strength to keep your eyes and soul open when it hits you.”
The single is an excellent introduction to the album, as it showcases how the band expertly blends several different styles together. They believe this could surprise a lot of people, and please fans of multiple genres ranging from 90s grunge to modern djent.
This upcoming record is about elevation, travel, adventure, and energy. It’s meant to lift you up yet make you endure the storm both inside and outside of yourself. Although not designed as a concept album, “Diama” nevertheless turns out to be crossed implicitly by a coherent line, which appeared to them once the album was finished. This line is that of the crests of the summits, more precisely a notion of ascent, elevation, exterior as interior. It translates into the quasi-cinematic succession of pieces forming an initiatory journey throughout the 10 songs. It is recommended for fans of Alice In Chains, Meshuggah, and Tool.
