HEADLINES

The re-energized Overlord SR keeping that heavy metal flame burning.

October 31, 2019
As a heavy metal band hailing from Fayetteville, NC in the mid 80's, it was pretty much a given that you weren't going to make a mark within the burgeoning metal scene. But, for the band known then as Overlorde, that's exactly what happened. Formed in 1980 by guitarist George "Wildman" Koerber and bassist Darrell Collins the quintet unleashed their first demo, entitled 'Medieval Metal' in 1985, which immediately caught the attention of the underground metal tape trading faithful. 

“ Koerber reflects, “To sell over 10,000 copies of that cassette with local store sales, sales at live shows, and tapes trade by mail opened doors for labels to listen to our material.” "Keeper of the Flame" from that very demo found its way onto the highly influential Metal Massacre series of compilation albums two years later when it appeared on Metal Massacre VIII, alongside Sacred Reich and Viking, amongst others. “Being on Metal Massacre gave us status and we were now opening for every Hard Rock/Metal band that came through North Carolina. Suddenly our name was known across the world. ” 1987 also saw the band release their second demo and take to the road, hitting Raleigh, Charlotte, Myrtle Beach and Richmond, VA, and other regional markets with the likes of Kix, Savatage, NC legends Nantucket, Leatherwolf, Ace Frehley and more, often at the request of those bands. 1989 saw the band go on hiatus when Koerber moved to Los Angeles, although the band would get together every now and again for shows until the grunge scene eventually took over the music industry on a broader scale. 
George had two signed bands in LA called Daddy’s Girl and West which kept him busy for a few years, as well. 2012 saw the release of 'Medieval Metal Days: The Demo Years.' A twelve song collection released on vinyl via the German label Heavy Forces Records. Koerber says, “Heavy Forces approached me and wanted to release material from our 24 track demos and practice tapes recording out on LP – and then we released it on CD with a bonus track, an updated version of “Keeper of the Flame.” 

In fact, the two versions of “Keeper of the Flame” that are posted on YouTube from that original demo are closing in on an impressive combined total of 100,000 views In 2015 the newly branded OVERLORD SR gave the world 'Still Standing,' which they released on their own. Still inspired by the NWOBHM, the band was firing on all cylinders, even including an updated version of "Full Speed Ahead (2014)," which was originally released on that first demo. 2016 saw the release of Still Alive and Standing which Exitus Stratagem Records is reissuing while the band writes a new album. “The label is locally based and a couple of the guys happened to show up at a gig one night after we had given them a copy of ‘Still Standing’ and they loved how we sounded live and told us they wanted to do a brand new record with us, which will see the light of day in 2019.” 
Recorded completely live with no overdubs at The Rock Shop Music Hall in their hometown of Fayetteville in December of 2015, the twelve songs on offer show the band at its most raw. George explains how the record came together, “August 1, 2015 was the night of the show and we mixed down a few weeks later at Sound Images of NC. We think it shows off our best material as well as shows you what we really sound like live. There are no overdubs on this album.” A new lease on life and a new, brighter outlook thirty years after their formation sees the re-energized Overlord SR keeping that flame burning.
Though the band was featured in recently released Lifoti's October/November 2019 issue 10, you can check it from below link's for your country:

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