Interviews: Overtoun

This is a new interview with the Metal band Overtoun from the USA. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, plan it or come out just like that? 

Agustin Lobo: Hey friends from Breathing the Core! Well, we were looking for gloomy, dark names. You know, something that was consistent with the genre that we were playing. In that sense, it could be said that it was planned, however, when we began to investigate the possible names, we never thought that we would run into "Overtoun", which was the one that sounded the strongest, hardest, and that also brought with it a super dark story behind. Are dogs jumping off a bridge? That's very death metal, haha!

Matias Bahamondes: It was an afternoon of rehearsal back in high school when we used to have fun playing Metal on the weekends. At the time the band was just Agustin, me, and Gonzalo Viveros who was the first official bass player. We were just hanging out and then the name appeared in someplace on the Internet. We loved it right away.

2. Why did you want to play this genre? 

Agustin: The Thrash and Death Metal genres have always been the ones that best represent us. With Matias since we were teenagers, we dreamed of being like our idols, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Death, Slayer, etc. It has always been very entertaining, de-stressing, and interesting to play Metal.

Matias: Exactly like he says, Metal was the music that moved us, and still does. It’s like an unstoppable force, it calls you and you have to attend to the desire of creating songs and performing this style of music.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed? 

Agustin: I had known Matias for about a year before we started the band. It was a year getting to know the human behind those 6 strings. Once I understood that he had quickly become one of my best friends, everything became easier when putting together the band. There was confidence and a lot of good vibes.

Matias: It all came out very naturally, we are big fans of Metallica, and because of that we started playing their songs and trying to perform their entire setlists haha. Then when we finished High School I was awarded a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. At the time we had some demos of what would become our debut album ‘Centuries of Lies’. In an ensemble class, there was a bass player who had similar taste in music as myself, and that one was Yoav (Ruiz-Feingold, vocals). He was extremely kind to me and we got along, so I had the confidence to ask him “hey man do you know any extreme metal singers who can record this album I’m doing with my Chilean band? He replied almost immediately that he didn’t know anyone, but he could make it. It’s been five years since that happened and it’s a blessing to work and be friends with such a talented person!

4. Each band member's favorite band? 

Agustin: Metallica

Yoav: Cheap Trick

Matias: Beatles/Metallica

Felipe: Rush

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs? 

Agustin: In general, Yoav's lyrics (so far) have been inspired by social problems, such as racism, for example, something that he has had to see very closely. Also the issue of ‘fake appearances’ in people, mental health, or as can be seen on the first album, abuses, and lies from the Church or institutions of that magnitude. 

Matias: I think that the music just comes out from what we are living at the time of writing the songs. As Agustin said, Centuries of Lies was like a protest, because we were feeling that the bad things that were happening in our country and in the world needed to stop. This Darkness Feels Alive, however, is a much more introspective kind of story. It deals with depression, frustration, solitude, and loneliness. All of that we experimented with at the moment of writing it. It was very dark, and everything turned in another direction. For the next album, I’m anticipating that more aggression will be involved in the sound.

6. Where was your last gig? 

Agustin: Our last show was in the city of Concepción, in the south of Chile. We always love to play there. People are very affectionate with us!

Matias: Concepción is such a special place for me because I was born in that town. Plus, we played with the incredible band Cianuro. Those guys are insane. I’d say they are my favorite Chilean Metal band right now. They’ve always been extremely kind to us and we’ve developed a great brotherhood and friendship. 

7. Where would you like to act? 

Agustin: Well I think we all agree that we would love to play in Europe or the US. Obviously, we would love to play in any other country as well.

Matias: In my opinion, it would be sick to play Latin America. Visit all the countries of the region, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador. We have a Brazilian tour postponed by the pandemic, it was rescheduled for 2023. I’m really looking forward to that. I even took Portuguese lessons! It motivated me a lot.

8. Whom would you like to feature with? 

Matias: On the new album This Darkness Feels Alive we had the awesome opportunity to collaborate with ‘Shredlord’ Joe Stump from Alcatrazz, he was my professor at Berklee and he did a face-melting solo for the song ‘Underneath’. Maybe if I have high expectations I’d say it would be cool to feature Andy LaRoque or Bobby Koeble from Death. Also Joe Duplantier from Gojira, that would be insane.

9. Whom not? 

Matias: I don’t know! I’m down to collaborate with anyone as soon as they are easygoing and great players!

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?  

Agustin: The truth is that we have always had so much fun on stage. I think none of us have suffered from stage fright. When I was little, maybe I got very nervous when it came to performing live by myself, but I guess that was normal. 

11. What bands have inspired you the most? 

Agustin: I am sure that among the bands that have most inspired and influenced Overtoun are Metallica, Death, Pantera, Power Trip, Gojira, and of course, Chilean artists such as Quilapayún, Víctor Jara, and Inti Illimani.

Matias: We are extremely influenced by Latin American music. We try to include that among our ‘regular’ Metal influences. I personally love Violeta Parra, Los Tres, and the artists Agustin mentioned. There are always chords to learn from, rhythms, mood, attitude, etc. Latin America is so rich in culture that we need to blend it into the traditional Metal style to make our band stand out.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for? 

Matias: Nothing crazy really! Just the usual things, they want a setlist or a drumstick or a guitar pick, that is always amazing to give! It makes it special for them!

13. What do you think of your fans?

Agustin: I think that our fans are super honest, super real. Sometimes someone comes up and tells us about details of a lyric, or musical subtleties of our songs, and that interest on their part feels very good. It may not be a massive number of fans yet, but we are more than happy and grateful for the response coming from that group of people. Not to mention how happy it makes us see them from the stage, vibrating with what we play!

14. What do you think of our site?

Matias: It is amazing that you guys try to share good Metal music with everyone. I think media like you are carrying the flame of Metal, we all contribute to the scene! You have interesting interviews and reviews up there, keep doing it!!

15. Something to add?

Agustin: Thank you so much for giving us the space to share our history and our music!!! We truly appreciate it!!! Have a good one!

Matias: Thanks a lot guys! Don’t forget to visit our site overtoun.com and our social media @overtounofficial. Take care!