OVERDRIVE are one of the most revered names among Sweden's original wave of heavy metal at the dawn of the '80s. The band indeed formed in 1980 from two local bands, Paradize (recorded one 7") and Ocean (recorded two 7"'s and an album). In 1981, the self-financed MLP Reflexions was released, which is now quite a collector's item. The band also recorded the non-LP tracks "Tonight" and "Damnation Angel" for the local compilation Rockslaget (SOS 1982). OVERDRIVE was soon contacted by Planet Records, and in 1983, they signed a deal. In 1983, OVERDRIVE's debut album, Metal Attack, was released and made a great impact on the Swedish and wider European metal scenes. A year later, the follow-up Swords And Axes was released, which was even more well-received than the debut. Gigs and festivals were performed together with bands like Mercyful Fate, Pretty Maids, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Hanoi Rocks, and EF Band among many others. After some lineup shuffles in 1985, the original incarnation of OVERDRIVE came to a close. While the band would re-form briefly in 1993 and then again during the 2000s (where they're active today), OVERDRIVE's legendry was sealed with the release of not only the blitzed-out Metal Attack debut but also its more finessed follow-up, Swords and Axes. Once again perfectly titled and adorned with another amazingly no-holds-barred cover art, Swords and Axes was the sound of HEAVY METAL - that is, pure heavy metal, before subgenre splintering became rampant and too many divisions were drawn - showing all that it could do, all on one record. Hot-rockin' strutters, speedy cruises into the night, bang-all-heads pounders, even dark-hued ballads, sizzling riffs and dazzling solos and thunder-clap drums and clear 'n' impassioned vocals all given equal weight, the glory of metal celebrated and imbibed deeply...simpler times, but a sublime record befitting those times! Now seeing a deluxe digipack reissue including six bonus tracks, OVERDRIVE's Swords and Axes is ready for a new generation of metallers as well as those who still believe!
