Any Given Day – Overpower (Review)

Any Given Day are a German modern metal band and this is their third album.

I confess that I’m usually quite hesitant to listen to bands like this, (modern metal/metalcore), as a lot of the time I’m simply confronted with heartless aggression and plastic emotion. Not so with Any Given Day. On Overpower, you can tell they mean it.

The band mix heavy aggression with catchy, epic choruses. It’s a tried-and-tested formula for bands of this ilk, but Any Given Day do what they do better than most of the newer crop of bands that play this sort of style. They also put their own spin on it, which is good to hear. The default reference for anything like this would be Killswitch Engage, but Any Given Day take this base template and build on it with personality, style, and meaty substance.

The singer’s harsh roar is very well-performed and satisfying. His clean singing is epic, emotive, and designed to bore into your brain quickly and easily. Although a little too pristine on occasion for my tastes, (I prefer a rougher edge), this is only a minor complaint, and overall his cleans are quite impressive.

As far as modern metal or metalcore bands go, this is far better than most. I won’t go as far as the promo blurb does by claiming that Overpower is a perfect album, but it is pretty damn good. When I want a catchy, memorable, instantly gratifying hit of modern metal, this is what I’ll reach for. I’ll be listening to this for some time to come, I imagine.