Overcome
2008 | Metal
"Talking heads tell the masses the story. -- They shape the lie in the schools and the TV. -- Our fathers work and intent is unwritten, by the lazy who don't know they're free."
Trivia
- Hit #16 on both the Billboard 200 & Digital Albums Charts. Hit #5 on both the Top Hard Rock Albums & Top Rock Albums.Also hit #8 on the Top Tastemaker Albums Chart.
- Overcome is the first album by ATR that was not produced by Adam Dutkiewicz the guitarist & backing vocalist for Killswitch Engage.
- The album was criticized for it's writing focusing on singable melodies more than technical riffs.
THE HOT TAKES
Luke Tatum
"Do not obey" is about as clear as it gets. The perverse dictates of tyrants can only exist with the quiet consent of the public. This song stands against that; a rallying point for anyone willing to listen and internalize the message. The first verse takes the Declaration of Independence in a refreshing way: rather than treating it as some kind of mystic document crafted by gods, the narrator is instead willing to follow the "true declaration," which I take to mean the one written on the hearts of free men and women. Paper does not protect us, but our unwillingness to be ruled can overthrow any tyrant.
Sherry Voluntary
This song come right out of the gate and slaps you in the face. I like that. Part of the message of the song is the idea that when free men stand together, there is not tyranny that can stop them. That may be, I don’t know. What I do know though, and say with a heavy heart, is not enough people know they are not free and that there is a tyranny in their own backyard that they should stand against. What we need is a metamorphosis from fear to freedom. The mind is the arena of the revolution, the heart, it’s engine. These are the spaces where the fires of freedom are lit. The places where seekers of truth and freedom must ask, how willing are they to stand on principle? Do they really love freedom more than security? What are the sacrifices they are willing to make for all to be free? This not only takes speaking the message, but developing communities that that are launching pads, and sanctuaries. I love the sentiment “Do Not Obey,” but until there are more willing to stop obeying and effect real change, the status quo will sadly progress to deeper and deeper levels of suffering.
Nicky P
I'll be the first to admit, I'm damaged. I couldn't pinpoint a moment that made me question anything an authority figure tells me but here we are. For me experience and logic dictate my choices and the minute those come at odds with the mandates of anyone I find my skin crawling and a voice in my head telling me to fight back. For the most part I enjoy this particular part of my personality. Other than occasionally being at odds with employers It's kept me free in a lot of ways. The rub is that It's a value I feel necessary to instill in my child and as a parent...it's difficult telling your child to question authority when you need to be the authority to a degree. I hope I walk this line and manage to suffer through the lesson in self defense for her sake. Obeisance is nothing I think she needs. Reason and experience are the tools of the world because the SJWs have one thing right: we all walk our own roads and can only live for ourselves. We can find agreement on what reality is in some general way but for meaningful consent, it has to come from within and through our understanding of our reality.