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Band Info
Genre
Heavy Metal
Country
( )
Active June 1980 - June 1985, 1992-1994, 2003-2011, 2012 - present
Media
Photos / Videos
Links Official Website
Members
Per "PerilOz" Karlsson/Lengstedt - Vocals (Portrait, Unchained, Headless Cross, Mountain of Power)
Janne Stark - Guitar (Paradize, Overheat, TNT, Faith, Kallare Än Glass, M.O.B., Flash, Marbles, Locomotive Breath, Alyson Avenue, Sir Lord Baltimore, Thalamus, Chris Catena, Audiovision, Vii Gates, Narnia, Grand Design, Blinded Colony, Spearfish, Audiovision, Tower Of Stone, Teenage Rampage, From Behind, Planet Alliance, Balls, Constancia, Mountain Of Power, Zello, Nicky Moore Blues Corporation)
Kjell "Kjelle" Jacobsson - Guitar (Ocean, Brandlarm, Heartline, Pride, Spännfläsket, Locomotive Breath, Reaction, One 58, Juke Boys, Kjelles Källarband, Vekerum Blues Band)
Per-Anders "Pelle" Thuresson - Bass, ex-Guitar, ex-Vocals (Paradize, Overheat, TNT, Kallare Än Glass, Iron Pitts, Flash, Marbles, Crosseyed Mary, AC/DC Jam)
Kenth "Kenta" Svensson - Drums (Ocean, Brandlarm, Etype, Heartline, Pride, Spännfläsket, Crosseyed Mary)
Former / Past Members
Jörgen Aspring/Miller - Vocals, Guitar ( Etype, Pride, Bactrac, Blue Town, Black Roses, Kallare Än Glass, 44 Mission, Fröna, Crosseyed Mary, Under Cover) Kenth Ericsson - Bass ( Paradize, Parasite, Interaction, Area) Zoltan Djember - Bass ( Ocean, Renegade, Pride, Wizards Of Ugly Things)
Biography in Swedish from "Musikforum 20 år - En Kul Tur I Kulturen"Overdrive bildades i juni 1980. Bandet var från början ett renodlat Rockslagsband men övergick, efter Rockslagets nedläggning, till Musikforums verksamhet. De ursprungliga medlemmarna var Janne Stark - gitarr, Pelle Thuresson - sång och Kenth Ericsson - bas som alla tidigare spelade i Paradize, med vilka de spelade in singeln 'Caress of Steel'. Kenta Svensson - trummor och Kjell Jacobsson - gitarr hade tidigare medverkat i Ocean, som åstadkommit två singlar, 'Bad Things' och 'Dialog På Kungsgatan'. Overdrive började spelade covers tex "Rock City" (Riot), "Ladies Man" (April Wine) och "One Of These Days" (Trespass), men i slutet av 1980 gjorde bandet sitt första försök studiobesök och en tvålåtarsdemo såg dagens ljus. Låtarna hette "Overdrive" och "20th Century". Denna demo tog de med sig till England och presenterade för ett par bolag, varav Virgin Records visade intresse. Den 14 maj 1981 spelades en sexlåtars demo in på Radio Blekinge, varav låten "Sign on the Line" hamnade på Radio Blekinges samlingskassett. I oktober/november samma år gjorde bandet slag i saken och spelade in den självfinansierade 12" EPn 'Reflexions'. Den mixades i Sound Trade studion i Stockholm av Lasse Wellander och Ronny Lahti. Plattan pressades upp i 500 exemplar, som enligt uppgift nu säljs för cirka 300:-/st (1994) tex USA. Två låtar spelades samtidigt in för Rockslagets samlingsplatta. En spelning med danska Brats, som senare blev Mercyful Fate, gjordes på Stadsteatern i Karlshamn. 1982 deltog bandet på Rockslagsfestivalen tillsammans med namn som Hanoi Rocks, Tygers of Pan Tang och Elvis Costello. 'Reflexions' hade nu börjat spridas och recesioner från tex holländska Aardschock var översvallande goda. Den 12 mars 1983 spelade Overdrive på Saltlagret i Köpenhamn tillsammans med Mercyful Fate och Silver Mountain. EPn ledde sedemera till ett kontrakt med Planet Records och debutplattan 'Metal Attack' kom i slutet av 1983. Mitt i den svenska heavy metalvågen fick bandet ett gott gensvar och brev och recensioner från i princip hela världen började strömma in. Plattan låg bla på tredje plats på en amerikansk radiolista och poäng som gavs i recesioner låg nästan uteslutande mellan 7 och 9 av 10 möjliga. Plattan beräknas idag ha sålt väl över 10.000 exemplar. 1984 kom uppföljaren 'Swords and Axes', som även gavs ut på licens i Kanada. Uteblivna royalties gjorde att samarbetet med Planet började knaka i fogarna. Advokat anlitades och en del av pengarna kom bandet till godo, men samarbetet upphörde till slut. I denna veva hade även bandet bytt basist till Zoltan Djember. Bandet spelade bla i Studion i Stockholm samt på en Etiopien-gala i Karlskrona. Strulet med skivbolaget samt det faktum att Pelle bestämde sig för att hoppa av som sångare gjorde att bandet bestämde sig för att lägg av. Detta var i juni 1985. Janne och Pelle, som nu sadlat om till basist, bildade då bandet Overheat. Kjell och Kenta fortsatte i Heartline och Kenth gick med i Interaction. Man hade länge talat om en återförening på skoj, men så 1992 tog Kjell och Kenta tag i saken. Kjell, Janne, Kenta och Pelle (nu på bas) träffades i replokalen och kände på feelingen. Tyvärr hade Kjell fullt upp med Vekerum Blues Band så han hoppade av. Janne, Pelle och Kenta rekryterade Jörgen Aspring (Blue Town, 44 Mission mfl) på sång och gitarr. En fyralåtars demo spelades in december 1992 och bandet gjorde några spelningar tillsammans med danska Merzy och Blues Bag. Demon skickades runt lite och en japansk ditributör köpte in ett antal exemplar av demon, men inget av vikt hände. I november 1993 var dock den slutgiltiga splittringen ett faktum. Bland kuriosa kan nämnas att Overdrive efter en spelning i Hultsfred blev anklagade för att ha brandskadat en kill som satte handen på en av "rökbomberna". Rubriken i lokaltidningen löd "Overdrive kastar bomber på publiken". Efter en spelning i Bräkne-Hoby fick bandet punktering på släpen två mil hemifrån - klockan tre på natten. Efter att ha varit i Soundtradestudion och fått sin första EP mixad, glömdes masterbandet på en tunnelbanestation, men medlemmarna återfick den turligt nog!. På en spelning i Tingsryd var mixern sönder, högtalarna spräckta och dessutom stod det en stor pelare mitt i scenen.
Official Bio (from http://www.overdrive.se) Overdrive was formed in 1980 out of the 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, now quite a collectors-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 the debut "Metal Attack" was released and it made a great impact on the Swedish, and European, metal scene. In 1984 the follow-up "Swords And Axes" was released, even more well-received than the debut. Gigs and festivals were performed together with bands like EF Band, Mercyful Fate, Pretty Maids, EF Band, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Hanoi Rocks etc. In the Spring of 1985 Kenth was replaced by Zoltan Djember (ex. Ocean) and in June the same year the band split. Janne formed Overheat together with singer Pelle, now on bass. They recruited ex. Mercy/High Voltage-drummer Paul Gustavsson and ex. High Voltage-singer Gernot Iversen and recorded some demos. Kenta and Kjell continued with Pride, but also made only demos. Kenta later joined local band E-Type, who appears on a local compilation-CD. Kenth recorded some demos with Area and Interaction. In 1991 Janne, Pelle and drummer Peter Svensson (ex. Faith, Mercy, Globe and later in Locomotive Breath) recorded two instrumental tracks for the compilations "Guitarheroes Of Sweden" (the track "In The Raw") and "... Part 2" (the track "Short Circuit"). In 1992 Overdrive partly reformed with Janne, Pelle (on bass), Kenta and new singer/guitarist Jörgen Aspring/Miller (ex. Blue Town, E-Type). A demo with the songs "Die For Love", "Mighty Lord", "Back To Basics" and "Lock Of Gold" was recorded in 1993 but no records were made. In 1994 the band was permanently dissolved. Jörgen, Pelle and Kenta formed Crosseyed Mary, while Janne and Kjell formed Locomotive Breath. In 1995 both Overdrive-albums were re-issued on CD on Rock Treasure. In 1997 the original Overdrive line-up made a re-union gig 12 years after the split, at the Karlshamn Rock Festival. The gig was recorded both on video and tape. This was however a "one night stand". The recording was later released as "Mission Of Destruction - Live" on Crook'd Records. In 2000 the first demo Overive recorded in 1980 ("Overdrive"/20th Century") was now released as a picture disc 7". In August 2003 Overdrive again reformed with the original line-up, for a show at the Rockslaget festival. The band did another gig in December and will play the Headbanger's Open Air in Itzehoe, Germany, in July 2004. The band did another gig in December and played the Headbanger's Open Air in Itzehoe, Germany, in July 2004. Unfortunately Pelle now decided he wanted to quit. With not many weeks to go, the band luckily found singer Per Karlsson. Per was at the time frontman of the band Unchained. His voice was perfect for the band! In January 2004 all three Overdrive-releases ("Reflexions", "Metal Attack" and "Swords And Axes" were re-issued on High Vaultage Records). All three releases had extensive booklets with family tree and the complete history of the band. In June 2006 the band was to play Sweden Rock Festival and figured the wanted to have a new release to present. They re-recorded four old songs, with Per's new vocals as icing on the cake, added one previously unreleased song and released the new 5-track MCD "Resurrected" (ltd. ed 500). The MCD and Sweden Rock show lead to a deal with Finnish label Lion Music and in January 2008 (Japan March) the band's first album in 24 years, was released: "Let The Metal Do The Talking". The album features both new tracks and tracks written between 1983-1986. The reviews however reveal it's not easy spotting the oldie. The album was mixed by Johan Blomström at Studio Sound Palace (Blinded Colony, Calm, Kaptain Sun etc), and he managed to captures the band's 80's feel and repackage it in a new box. In July 2008 the band headlined the Baltic Sea Festival's Thursday show and more shows followed! In 2009 the band kept working on new material, played some shows with Tokyo Blade, Carnival Sun etc. Janne was featured with a 4-page spread in Japan's No 1 metal mag Burrn!. 2010 marks the 30 year anniversary for Overdrive. In April the recordings of the new album commenced. The band played festivals like Muskelrock, Hasslöfestivalen, Metal Warning etc. In November a deal for the new album, "Angelmaker", was set for release in January 2011. The album was mixed by Pelle Saether and the cover made by Monowasp. 2011 - Release of "Angelmaker" on January 21. Release party at Compagniet in Karlshamn on February 25 together with Carnival Sun. The album received outstanding reviews. On March 25 the limited edition vinyl LP "The Angelmaker's Daughter" was released (300 copies in red, blue or yellow vinyl). The band played Club Stairway To Heaven in Malmö to celebrate the release. In June the exclusive track "New Beginning (Arata Na Staato)" was featured on the Japan benefit CD "Embrace The Sun" (Lion Music) and also available on iTunes, where all the preceedings go to the Japnese Red Cross. In December 2011 the band briefly broke up due to internal communication problems between members. 2012 - Since this band was too good to waste, Per, Kenta, Janne and Kjelle decided to reform the band with a new bass player. Unfortantely the problems with the former bass player had run too deep and far, beyond redemption and it's sad such a decision had to be made, but it was inevitable for the band's survival. A replacement, the only option, was however found in original Overdrive singer Pelle Thuresson who joined the band in January. Since this the band has been rejuvinated, working as a tighter unit than ever and sounding better than ever with Pelle giving the band the steady and heavy bass lines the band needed. The first song to feature Pelle is "High Roller", which will be released on vinyl. 2013 - This year will see the vinyl release of "Let The Metal Do The Talking" and possibly (hopefully) also "Metal Resurrection", featuring the new track "High Roller", plus another cool vinyl!
Biography in Swedish from "Musikforum 20 år - En Kul Tur I Kulturen"Overdrive bildades i juni 1980. Bandet var från början ett renodlat Rockslagsband men övergick, efter Rockslagets nedläggning, till Musikforums verksamhet. De ursprungliga medlemmarna var Janne Stark - gitarr, Pelle Thuresson - sång och Kenth Ericsson - bas som alla tidigare spelade i Paradize, med vilka de spelade in singeln 'Caress of Steel'. Kenta Svensson - trummor och Kjell Jacobsson - gitarr hade tidigare medverkat i Ocean, som åstadkommit två singlar, 'Bad Things' och 'Dialog På Kungsgatan'. Overdrive började spelade covers tex "Rock City" (Riot), "Ladies Man" (April Wine) och "One Of These Days" (Trespass), men i slutet av 1980 gjorde bandet sitt första försök studiobesök och en tvålåtarsdemo såg dagens ljus. Låtarna hette "Overdrive" och "20th Century". Denna demo tog de med sig till England och presenterade för ett par bolag, varav Virgin Records visade intresse. Den 14 maj 1981 spelades en sexlåtars demo in på Radio Blekinge, varav låten "Sign on the Line" hamnade på Radio Blekinges samlingskassett. I oktober/november samma år gjorde bandet slag i saken och spelade in den självfinansierade 12" EPn 'Reflexions'. Den mixades i Sound Trade studion i Stockholm av Lasse Wellander och Ronny Lahti. Plattan pressades upp i 500 exemplar, som enligt uppgift nu säljs för cirka 300:-/st (1994) tex USA. Två låtar spelades samtidigt in för Rockslagets samlingsplatta. En spelning med danska Brats, som senare blev Mercyful Fate, gjordes på Stadsteatern i Karlshamn. 1982 deltog bandet på Rockslagsfestivalen tillsammans med namn som Hanoi Rocks, Tygers of Pan Tang och Elvis Costello. 'Reflexions' hade nu börjat spridas och recesioner från tex holländska Aardschock var översvallande goda. Den 12 mars 1983 spelade Overdrive på Saltlagret i Köpenhamn tillsammans med Mercyful Fate och Silver Mountain. EPn ledde sedemera till ett kontrakt med Planet Records och debutplattan 'Metal Attack' kom i slutet av 1983. Mitt i den svenska heavy metalvågen fick bandet ett gott gensvar och brev och recensioner från i princip hela världen började strömma in. Plattan låg bla på tredje plats på en amerikansk radiolista och poäng som gavs i recesioner låg nästan uteslutande mellan 7 och 9 av 10 möjliga. Plattan beräknas idag ha sålt väl över 10.000 exemplar. 1984 kom uppföljaren 'Swords and Axes', som även gavs ut på licens i Kanada. Uteblivna royalties gjorde att samarbetet med Planet började knaka i fogarna. Advokat anlitades och en del av pengarna kom bandet till godo, men samarbetet upphörde till slut. I denna veva hade även bandet bytt basist till Zoltan Djember. Bandet spelade bla i Studion i Stockholm samt på en Etiopien-gala i Karlskrona. Strulet med skivbolaget samt det faktum att Pelle bestämde sig för att hoppa av som sångare gjorde att bandet bestämde sig för att lägg av. Detta var i juni 1985. Janne och Pelle, som nu sadlat om till basist, bildade då bandet Overheat. Kjell och Kenta fortsatte i Heartline och Kenth gick med i Interaction. Man hade länge talat om en återförening på skoj, men så 1992 tog Kjell och Kenta tag i saken. Kjell, Janne, Kenta och Pelle (nu på bas) träffades i replokalen och kände på feelingen. Tyvärr hade Kjell fullt upp med Vekerum Blues Band så han hoppade av. Janne, Pelle och Kenta rekryterade Jörgen Aspring (Blue Town, 44 Mission mfl) på sång och gitarr. En fyralåtars demo spelades in december 1992 och bandet gjorde några spelningar tillsammans med danska Merzy och Blues Bag. Demon skickades runt lite och en japansk ditributör köpte in ett antal exemplar av demon, men inget av vikt hände. I november 1993 var dock den slutgiltiga splittringen ett faktum. Bland kuriosa kan nämnas att Overdrive efter en spelning i Hultsfred blev anklagade för att ha brandskadat en kill som satte handen på en av "rökbomberna". Rubriken i lokaltidningen löd "Overdrive kastar bomber på publiken". Efter en spelning i Bräkne-Hoby fick bandet punktering på släpen två mil hemifrån - klockan tre på natten. Efter att ha varit i Soundtradestudion och fått sin första EP mixad, glömdes masterbandet på en tunnelbanestation, men medlemmarna återfick den turligt nog!. På en spelning i Tingsryd var mixern sönder, högtalarna spräckta och dessutom stod det en stor pelare mitt i scenen.
Official Bio (from http://www.overdrive.se) Overdrive was formed in 1980 out of the 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, now quite a collectors-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 the debut "Metal Attack" was released and it made a great impact on the Swedish, and European, metal scene. In 1984 the follow-up "Swords And Axes" was released, even more well-received than the debut. Gigs and festivals were performed together with bands like EF Band, Mercyful Fate, Pretty Maids, EF Band, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Hanoi Rocks etc. In the Spring of 1985 Kenth was replaced by Zoltan Djember (ex. Ocean) and in June the same year the band split. Janne formed Overheat together with singer Pelle, now on bass. They recruited ex. Mercy/High Voltage-drummer Paul Gustavsson and ex. High Voltage-singer Gernot Iversen and recorded some demos. Kenta and Kjell continued with Pride, but also made only demos. Kenta later joined local band E-Type, who appears on a local compilation-CD. Kenth recorded some demos with Area and Interaction. In 1991 Janne, Pelle and drummer Peter Svensson (ex. Faith, Mercy, Globe and later in Locomotive Breath) recorded two instrumental tracks for the compilations "Guitarheroes Of Sweden" (the track "In The Raw") and "... Part 2" (the track "Short Circuit"). In 1992 Overdrive partly reformed with Janne, Pelle (on bass), Kenta and new singer/guitarist Jörgen Aspring/Miller (ex. Blue Town, E-Type). A demo with the songs "Die For Love", "Mighty Lord", "Back To Basics" and "Lock Of Gold" was recorded in 1993 but no records were made. In 1994 the band was permanently dissolved. Jörgen, Pelle and Kenta formed Crosseyed Mary, while Janne and Kjell formed Locomotive Breath. In 1995 both Overdrive-albums were re-issued on CD on Rock Treasure. In 1997 the original Overdrive line-up made a re-union gig 12 years after the split, at the Karlshamn Rock Festival. The gig was recorded both on video and tape. This was however a "one night stand". The recording was later released as "Mission Of Destruction - Live" on Crook'd Records. In 2000 the first demo Overive recorded in 1980 ("Overdrive"/20th Century") was now released as a picture disc 7". In August 2003 Overdrive again reformed with the original line-up, for a show at the Rockslaget festival. The band did another gig in December and will play the Headbanger's Open Air in Itzehoe, Germany, in July 2004. The band did another gig in December and played the Headbanger's Open Air in Itzehoe, Germany, in July 2004. Unfortunately Pelle now decided he wanted to quit. With not many weeks to go, the band luckily found singer Per Karlsson. Per was at the time frontman of the band Unchained. His voice was perfect for the band! In January 2004 all three Overdrive-releases ("Reflexions", "Metal Attack" and "Swords And Axes" were re-issued on High Vaultage Records). All three releases had extensive booklets with family tree and the complete history of the band. In June 2006 the band was to play Sweden Rock Festival and figured the wanted to have a new release to present. They re-recorded four old songs, with Per's new vocals as icing on the cake, added one previously unreleased song and released the new 5-track MCD "Resurrected" (ltd. ed 500). The MCD and Sweden Rock show lead to a deal with Finnish label Lion Music and in January 2008 (Japan March) the band's first album in 24 years, was released: "Let The Metal Do The Talking". The album features both new tracks and tracks written between 1983-1986. The reviews however reveal it's not easy spotting the oldie. The album was mixed by Johan Blomström at Studio Sound Palace (Blinded Colony, Calm, Kaptain Sun etc), and he managed to captures the band's 80's feel and repackage it in a new box. In July 2008 the band headlined the Baltic Sea Festival's Thursday show and more shows followed! In 2009 the band kept working on new material, played some shows with Tokyo Blade, Carnival Sun etc. Janne was featured with a 4-page spread in Japan's No 1 metal mag Burrn!. 2010 marks the 30 year anniversary for Overdrive. In April the recordings of the new album commenced. The band played festivals like Muskelrock, Hasslöfestivalen, Metal Warning etc. In November a deal for the new album, "Angelmaker", was set for release in January 2011. The album was mixed by Pelle Saether and the cover made by Monowasp. 2011 - Release of "Angelmaker" on January 21. Release party at Compagniet in Karlshamn on February 25 together with Carnival Sun. The album received outstanding reviews. On March 25 the limited edition vinyl LP "The Angelmaker's Daughter" was released (300 copies in red, blue or yellow vinyl). The band played Club Stairway To Heaven in Malmö to celebrate the release. In June the exclusive track "New Beginning (Arata Na Staato)" was featured on the Japan benefit CD "Embrace The Sun" (Lion Music) and also available on iTunes, where all the preceedings go to the Japnese Red Cross. In December 2011 the band briefly broke up due to internal communication problems between members. 2012 - Since this band was too good to waste, Per, Kenta, Janne and Kjelle decided to reform the band with a new bass player. Unfortantely the problems with the former bass player had run too deep and far, beyond redemption and it's sad such a decision had to be made, but it was inevitable for the band's survival. A replacement, the only option, was however found in original Overdrive singer Pelle Thuresson who joined the band in January. Since this the band has been rejuvinated, working as a tighter unit than ever and sounding better than ever with Pelle giving the band the steady and heavy bass lines the band needed. The first song to feature Pelle is "High Roller", which will be released on vinyl. 2013 - This year will see the vinyl release of "Let The Metal Do The Talking" and possibly (hopefully) also "Metal Resurrection", featuring the new track "High Roller", plus another cool vinyl!
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