Over-reactor

Artist Information

Biography

In 2009, Melbourne musicians Ezekiel Ox and Cory Blight's respective musical endeavours came to an abrupt end. A mutual friend suggested they start collaborating.

In December of that year, Ezekiel and Cory met at the Village Belle in St Kilda. Cory handed Zeke a fourteen track instrumental demo.

The pair began collaborating on January 11, 2010. By the end of February, they had worked the original demos into the basis for an album.

The same mutual friend suggested they try playing the new material as a two piece. The duo hired a rehearsal studio in South Melbourne, and tested it out. It worked. They enlisted a third "silent" non-playing member to take care of graphic design, website, and video production.

March saw the two settle on the name Over-reactor, and the release of their first track - a tongue in cheek, minute long hardcore number - "Fuck You Myspace," available exclusively on Myspace. The Over-reactor website was launched complete with a music player featuring The Evil Hamlet, a dark spoken word piece set to organ and horror movie samples.

In April the mutual friend found an empty two-storey office block in South Melbourne, and obtained permission to use the space for free for three weeks. Over-reactor moved in a drum kit, studio equipment and makeshift baffling, and emerged with drum tracks for the debut album.

Over-reactor first performed live on May 30 at The Espy Gershwin room, St Kilda to around 50 curious music fans. The next shows were supporting COG, June 11 at the Metro Theatre, Sydney, and June 12 at The Tivoli Theatre, Brisbane.

On August 9, the seventeen track album Lose Your Delusion I was released through the band's website. August 13 was the physical album launch at Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne. The 120 strong crowd were treated to baked beans and red wine after the show. It was the first gig featuring a television with visuals for each track.

The second album, Lose Your Delusion Too, was released through the Over-reactor website on December 16. The physical launch was this time in Sydney, December 18 at The St James Hotel.

Instrumentation

Ezekiel Ox - Vocals
Cory Blight - Bass, Drums, Guitar, Backing Vocals

Discography

Fuck You Myspace (Single) - March 2010
The Evil Hamlet (Single) - March 2010
Lose Your Delusion I (Album) - August 2010
Lose Your Delusion Too (Album) - December 2010

Official Website

http://www.over-reactor.com

Links

• Facebook
• Last.fm
• MySpace
• Twitter

Audio

• Something More
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• Mechanism
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• All Shields Down
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• Handfed
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• Control of This
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• All Shields Down
• Something More (Featuring Chris Cheney)

Video

Over-Reactor Electronic Press Kit

Photo Gallery

Press

• Over-Reactor's Lose Your Delusion is one of the most unique heavy records of the last ten years, and must be heard to be believed. [+ Show ]
  

  Over-Reactor's Lose Your Delusion is one of the most unique heavy records of the last ten years, and...Over-Reactor's Lose Your Delusion is one of the most unique heavy records of the last ten years, and possesses a heavy, bone-rattling sound that is entirely theirs. The guitars are loose, the vocals are fast, the drums are satisfying - while the concept itself does not seem particularly groundbreaking, the album must be heard to be understood. Unlike the common rock band, Over-Reactor, consisting of frontman Ezekiel Ox (Full Scale Revolution, Mammal) and drummer Cory Blight (Dukes of Windsor), stand stylistically alone in the musical spectrum of today, and independent from the downfalls of the greedy, corrupt major label industry. To be honest, it seems there is not a single "they remind me of that band" moment throughout the entire duration of the record, which makes its discovery all the more compelling.
  
  Consistency is the record's most powerful weapon in its vast arsenal. Throughout its duration, there are simply too many standout tracks to zero out one, two or even a top five. Stunnings songs like scorching opener All Shields Down, Doogie Howser and the effect-ridden Handfed, however, truly make the record. Every song is unique in its own right, and the record is far away from the one tonal colour composition of Full Scale that, while it was a thoroughly enjoyable rock record, it suffered from an undeniable sameness and simplicity. While Over-Reactor are relevant to other Ezekiel Ox-involved band, they cannot be compared in a stylistic sense. It can only be said that they Over-Reactor combine the best of both worlds (and then some) - they boast the consistency of Full Scale Revolution and the variety of Mammal, two elements that come together into the best record in which Ox has ever been involved.
  
  Frontman Ezekiel Ox's vocals are the best now that they've ever been. Gone is the arguably irritating melodic singing that, while it fits certain songs like FSR's "Sixteen Today", it ruins others like Mammal's "Bending Rules". Now he screams like a banshee, accenting the lightning speed style that was supposedly perfect in Mammal's "The Majority", which fits the music like a glove. His lyrics remain ridden with political subjects critical of issues ever present in the world today, often on the grounds of racial intolerance and displeasing government policies that are infinitely relevant to our times.
  
  While Cory Blight is officially the drummer of the band (previously of Dukes of Windsor), he penned almost every instrumental aspect of the band, having recorded the instrumentals previously to meeting Ox. To be blunt, the drums are incredible - Blight's "furious, four-to-the-floor skin pounding and sledgehammer grooves" compliment the riffs in a way not seen since Nirvana's "In Utero". And while the tracks are short, they each pack so very many ideas into their durations. Absolute gems like Doogie Howser and This Weird Love change tempos multiple times, and every beat is as creatively satisfying as the next.
  The guitar tone is the band's own, and the riffs never cease to amaze in their unique coarseness. Take the rhythmic gymnastics of new single "Point to Push" for example, or the bluesy guest playing of Chris Cheney (of The Living End), on "Something More". This, combined with the Blight's sludgy metal groove is unlike anything that has come before it. Dissimilarly to the majority of rock bands out there, Blight does not adhere to the common drums/guitar/bass/vocals formula, but more than often adds electronic effects and touches most present in songs like "Handfed" and "Devised a Gun" that utterly complete the music. Live, the band is a strange entity, and consists of Ox on Vocals and Blight on Drums, whilst a perfectly visible Mac Laptop plays the Bass and Guitars. Whilst the band is small, their stage presence is large, and Ox makes it his role to go as berserk as possible.
  
  Perhaps the only two less than fantastic moments on the album are the tracks Disrespect and Naked Words, the latter of which was supposedly the band's first recorded, simply aren't as overwhelming as the large majority of the record. This will hardly numb the rare, excited feeling that will coarse through the listener's spine ofter the first listen. Not only is Lose Your Delusion a bone-crunching, fearlessly individual and independent record, but it also stands high above the previous electrifying bands that Ox has fronted. The record is a mission statement that showcases the the talents of both artists - Blight as a songwriter and drummer, and Ox as a vocalist, and shows that they are a band to be feared and respected, and have the capabilities to turn the Australian music industry upside down.

• Over-Reactor - Lose Your Delusion Vol. 1 [+ Show ]
  

  Scale modellers and furry animal lovers rejoice! Like a movie monster who keeps coming back, Ezekie...Scale modellers and furry animal lovers rejoice! Like a movie monster who keeps coming back, Ezekiel Ox, the angry, hyperactive frontman of bands Full Scale and Mammal, has returned! Well known for climbing over crowd barriers to spit wrathful lyrics into the faces of unwary punters, he’s as full of vitriol as ever. This time he’s teemed up with ex-Dukes of Windsor drummer/programmer Cory Blight to form a hardcore punk duo. For a two man team, they push out an amazing full-on sound with eye jabbing vocals, bone jarring riffs and spine tingling programming.
  
  Tracks abound with political messages and the thoughts of Chairman Zeke. Track 11 could easily have been written about himself with its message of “Always got a point to push”. There is no quiet ballad lurking at the tail end of this generous 17 title track listing, as the fast and furious rampage continues throughout. The only minor breaks are a bit of surprise scatting in Honey Girl and anguished vocals accompanied by just the echoing tattoo of sticks on steel drums in the weird Cry Yourself Hard. From the head banging anthem The Chemical Sound to the hip grinding rhythm of Alienation Song, this is brilliant. Anyone hoping for a change from Ezekiel’s previous incarnations will be disappointed, but fans of his previous bands will love this. I can imagine how dazzling this would be to see live. Please visit Canberra soon guys.
  

Setlist

HANDFED
MECHANISM
NAKED WORDS
SOMETHING MORE
NU METAL MOTHERFUCKERS
WORD
THIS WEIRD LOVE
ALL SHIELDS DOWN
THE GANGBANGERS
BEST OF WORST
ALIENATION SONG
POINT TO PUSH
FREE MUSIC
CHEMICAL SOUND

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