#14 The Wings of War (2019)
Overkill’s 19th studio album was 2019’s “The Wings of War” and the criteria doesn’t lie: most fans and publications gave the album favorable marks. I, myself, was thoroughly disappointed. Many of the riffs are re-purposed from previous albums, the song structures are often exact replicas of other Overkill songs, and the vocals, as much as I hate to say it, are tough to listen to at times…again, this coming from a guy who owns every Overkill record. Unfortunately, Bobby Blitz’s vocals have gradually become more grating in the 2010’s. As I mentioned on a previous album, an outsider could listen to this record and think “this is pretty good”.
All the core Overkill elements are there. It’s hard hitting, well produced, and true to the nature of thrash metal. But I know the band can do, and has done, much better. In good conscience, I can only truly endorse one song from this album (“Where Few Dare to Walk”), along with a few other adequate additions to the Overkill catalogue.
Highlights: “Batshitcrazy”, “Distortion”, “Where Few Dare to Walk”.
#13 The Killing Kind (1996)
1996’s “The Killing Kind” was Overkill’s first album after leaving Atlantic Records, and the first with guitarists Joe Comeau and Sebastian Marino. These new additions added a fresh perspective and sound to the band, both of which are very apparent on this album. The record has a different attitude then most other releases by the band. In fact, it is the epitome of Overkill’s motto “we don’t care what you think, fuck you.” A strong argument could be made that this album deserves to be higher in the rankings – the website, All Music, even endorses the album as one of their ‘top picks’. Songs like “Battle” and “God-Like”, “Bold Face Pagan Stomp”, and “Let Me Shut That for You” are classic Overkill with attitude.
The shortcomings on this album, however, are the tracks in which Overkill gets more experimental. Songs like “Burn You Down/To Ashes” and “The Mourning After/Private Bleeding” are big stretches for the band and don’t always resonate. In the end, this album has a lot to offer and could easily be inside Overkill’s top 10 records.
Highlights: “Battle”, “God-Like”, “The Cleansing”, “Cold, Hard Fact”.
#12 From the Underground and Below (1997)
Another personal take here, but I believe “From the Underground and Below” is a very underrated Overkill album. Similar to “The Killing Kind”, Overkill’s late-90s albums are rather underappreciated. As the band’s direction took them away from pure thrash and became more experimental, inventive, and infused a more punk-inspired approach, some fans were not on board. That doesn’t mean this album isn’t heavy, because it is! The first three tracks on the album are more mid-tempo than frenzied thrash but are no less hard hitting or aggressive.
The album is more inventive and experiments with sounds and audio effects more than any other album in their discography. The band’s willingness to try different things seems to pay off with a renewed sense of motivation and inspiration in the song-writing. Admittedly, I, like many Overkill fans, didn’t really ‘get’ it at first. A perfect example is the track “I’m Alright”. I paid no attention to it for years before I finally gave it a real chance. It is now one of my favorite all-time Overkill songs. Give it a listen! It is brutal, dynamic, and just plain interesting.
The unfortunate piece of the album is that, while the instrument performances are top notch, Bobby Ellsworth’s vocals are not quite up to the task here. Taking that into consideration and the inconsistency in the last half of the record, “From the Underground and Below” lands at #12 on the list.
Highlights: “It Lives”, “Long Time Dyin’”, “Half Past Dead”, “I’m Alright”.
#11 White Devil Armory (2014)
The group’s third album of the 2010’s was “White Devil Armory”. Overkill continued their run of solid releases with this album but it also feels like a carbon-copy of “The Electric Age” from 2 years prior. The band sounds very refined on this album and each performance is flawless. The album is all about moving fast and being loud. Yes, this is one of the things Overkill is best known for, but keep in mind some of their best all-time tracks are mid-tempo or include dynamically shifting gears. This is almost entirely missing from “White Devil Armory”. Sure, this lack of variety takes away from the fans looking for more nuance, but those of us who want to be pummeled with relentless heavy metal will not be disappointed by this album.
Highlights: “Bitter Pill”, “Freedom Rings”, “Another Day To Die”, “In The Name”.
Leave a Reply