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The Alabama-based Christian thrashers are back with their second full-length, three years after their debut - how time flies.  A lot of what I said about Prepare for the Judgement of Mankind still applies with Overlord, so I won't go into as much details - a quick review would be to say that if you liked the debut, you are pretty much guaranteed to like this.  There are enough similarities between the two to pose the same kind of dilemma as when comparing Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets.  It's difficult to decide which one is best, and the answer can vary depending on the person's mood that day.

Once again the vocals are the weak point here, feeling too melodic for the music style, and sometimes they're just too low.  There is some improvement on this album, however, the vocal melodies are more catchy and memorable (2-3 songs here have been stuck in my head for days), and the singer just sounds more comfortable this time around - although there are times I wish he'd steer clear of the higher notes.  As for the Christian aspect, this is not overly preachy if that's what one might be worried about. Unsurprisingly, the playing is noticeably tighter and more accomplished, but without sacrificing speed and aggression and just enough rawness to give the music a good metallic edge.  I seem to detect a greater Bay Area influence this time around, especially a few passages reminiscent of mid-80s Metallica.  As on the band's debut, the music on Overlord is on the lighter side of Thrash, focusing a lot on melody and technique rather than sheer brutality and chaos, although you'll still find a few thrashier numbers that, while nothing near the destructive caliber of say, Desaster, still call for some serious air-guitaring, moshing, and headbanging.  All at the same time (good luck with that.)

A cool cover of Forbidden's "Forbidden Evil" is also included - and while this might not be nice to Temple of Blood, it is also one of the better tracks on the album.  Not that there really are any bad tracks here but, come on, this is "Forbidden Evil"!  Gotta love the riffage on that one. There are much less talented bands than Temple of Blood being signed in the genre, so one may wonder why they had to go it alone once again for this sophomore effort.