By Rob Kachluba
Having been a fan since the Feel The Fire days and even having purchased tickets for their Taking Over tour with Motorhead and Slayer back in 1988 – which sadly I missed as I was in a Buffalo, NY jail cell for 18 hours, something which I won’t get into here – I really do feel that the mid to late 80s was a fertile time for Overkill. However, having said that, for some reason after The Years of Decay they released a ton of hit and miss records which were mostly misses. Add to the mix a pile of different lineups and label changes over the years and all that flux didn’t help them either. Now in 2010, armed with the mighty Nuclear Blast behind them in Europe and E1 in North America, Overkill has released the thrash album of this early year. And yes, I did say thrash as this album pummels you with slamming riffs, fantastic drumming and of course those trademark Blitzy vocals.
Lead off track “The Green and Black” opens with a slow bass line that reminds me of a early Metallica type of intro before going full on thrash.This eight minute epic features a wicked middle section that will surely have the pits a flying. Next up, “Ironbound” does not let up with the thrash. It features a a great midpaced verse that later turns into another fist pumping middle section. “Bring Me The Night” follows again with an all out thrasher, which features some great lead work by Dave Linsk, who has finally come into his own on this album. Trust me folks, Overkill are back big time. There is not a dud track on this album and the production, courtesy this time of Peter Tangtgren, is just massive. Every instrument can be heard and this sucker has punch. Along with Sacrifice’s The Ones I Condemn this is the benchmark by which all thrash metal albums in 2010 should be judged.
(E1 Metal – North America; Nuclear Blast – Rest of World)
Rating: 9.5
