The path that Any Given Day have travelled down to arrive at this point is a well-worn one. Initially closer to deathcore, they’ve only moved further and further towards a brand of metalcore that mainland Europe seems to be producing plenty of at this point. That alone isn’t the best sign going forward, but considering that this could be another case of a band drifting ever further from what works for them, ’Overpower’ practically begs its listener to steel for the worst.

At the very least, it’s not that bad, but you’d be hard-pressed to call this something worth returning to in any degree. It’s competent, sure, but between bland metalcore tropes, pallid lyricism and a pivot towards bombast that rarely coalesces meaningfully, Any Given Day fall neatly in line with the infinite throng of other metalcore chancers. It’s not hard to see why either, as tracks like ‘Loveless’ and ’Devil Inside’ proceed to churn out clichés at an alarming rate with polished but entirely forgettable compositions.

The one saving grace is Dennis Diehl’s vocals, and while his screams are nothing particularly special, there’s enough emotive force in his cleans to get a track like ’Lonewolf closer to the melodramatic apex that Any Given Day clearly crave. It’s a small concession, but at least it stops ’Overpower’ from tipping into outright mediocrity and instead leaves it at marginally forgettable instead.

That’s hardly an improvement, but the truth is there’s just so little to say about an album like this. Any Given Day’s algorithmic approach to metalcore went extinct years ago, and to see them trying and failing to bring it back is more pitiable than contemptible. At the end of the day though, while harmless, ’Overpower’ seems to be just another one to thrown on the pile.

2/5

‘Overpower’ by Any Given Day is released on 15th March on Arising Empire.

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Words by Luke Nuttall (@nuttall_luke)