I didn’t know much about Overlord when I picked up this copy of Broken Toys at Tacoma’s Hi-Voltage Records the other day, other than that they were from Seattle. Fortunately, however, I have a copy of the essential guide to music in the Pacific Northwest, the 900+ page tome Rusted Metal: A Guide to Heavy Metal and Hard Rock Music in the Pacific Northwest (1970-1995)1, which not only devotes four full pages to the band, but also includes a 14-page interview with former members Glen Logan and James Tolin. All the Overlord you could every possibly want, all in one place.
Formed in 1980, by 1982 Overlord had put together a seven-track demo and composed enough original material to produce a five-song EP. James Tolin put up the $1,200 needed to privately press 500 vinyl copies of what became the Broken Toys EP, which sold out in just a few weeks. Demand remained high enough that a second run was made, this time of 1,000 copies. That was the final pressing of the band’s first and only album until 2017, when N.W. Metalworx Music, the same guys behind Rusted Metal, put out two expanded 10-song vinyl versions of Broken Toys (combined total pressing of 500 – 300 on black vinyl, 200 on white) and a 12-song CD, utilizing the original masters and including previously unreleased tracks.
Rusted Metal describes Overlord as “one of the first bands to overtly cross over from punk to metal music, while maintaining hard rock elements, via what would a few years later be described as the early sounds of grunge.” (p. 342) That’s some bold praise. Listening today to an original 1982 second pressing, the low end powers the songs. The guitars and vocals are certainly here, but the rhythm section is the driving force. “Outsider” is reminiscent of the less-schlocky stuff from Alice Cooper, hard rock with metallic elements and vocals edged with pre-Hollywood-metal sleaze. The guitar intro to “Had Enough” pulls Overlord firmly into the metal camp, the shredding six-string staying above the deep low end to give the song a richer sound than the other two on side A. “Blame It on the Kids” takes a darker turn, the lyrics lamenting the plight and challenges faced by the youth (Over fourteen and under twenty-four / Bare backs up against / Slammed doors) as they struggle to find their way, the hard rock giving way to a child-like music box chime outro.
Early 80s metal albums seem to hold up, at least to my ears, which I’m sure more a reflection on my musical past and tastes than anything objective. Broken Toys is no different – tracks like “Outsider” and “Had Enough” could go head-to-head with many of 1982s metal acts. So if that’s you’re wheelhouse, this one is worth a listen.
- I highly recommend this book if you have any interest in the rock music of the PNW. It was put out by the guys behind the N.W. Metalworx Music label and is a treasure trove of information about even the most obscure bands. ↩︎