Overkill: Looking back...Looking Forward

I remember way back when, way back in 1987. I was a very impressionable 14 year old kid that spent most of my time hammering out the best riffs of the day in my room. Every Saturday at around 12:00am Headbangers ball would come on MTV. This was, of course, back when it was still a music channel. It was the only few hours during the week that MTV aired the kind of music fitting to my taste and worthy of my ears. Minus the periodic glam metal flamboyance that sickened me this show was fantastic. I would record the show on my family’s VCR - meticulously editing out the commercials. Thrash metal was just getting off the ground and it seemed for me to be a logical answer to the presentations that we true metallians had to suffer watching.

I remember the first time I watched the video for the song “In Union We Stand” a track from Overkill’s album Taking Over. The soaring vocals and double bass assault coming off of every instrument was an amazing sight to behold and hear. I wasted no time that following Monday, walking about three and a half miles to Streetside Records to purchase the tape as soon as school let out. When I finally got home and dropped it into my boombox I was stunned and amazed at the monstrous sound that was coming through the speakers. I thought to myself “These guys totally fucking get it.”

Now let’s push the clock ahead 30 years and 18 studio albums later. The Gauntlets, Managing Partner Kenny Larson sends me a press release announcing their upcoming album “The Grinding Wheel” which is scheduled to be released via Nuclear Blast Records. I called Kenny up to see if I could get an advance of this record to review. Interesting enough he was scheduled to Interview ol’ Bobby “Blitz” later in the afternoon (lucky bastard).

I think it’s fantastic that this band in spite of numerous lineup changes over the years have always maintained the integrity of who they are as a unit. They have always had a special sound that is all their own. The clearly audible and pounding bass guitar and drums with machine like precision. The unflinching fury coming off both lead and rhythm guitars. Bobby’s amazing vocal range blasting out anthems to lead us all into battle to win the day at every listening. This newest release is all of the unrelenting thrash fury that we can expect and much more with this current lineup.

Mean Green Killing Machine
Goddamn Trouble
Our Finest Hour
Shine On
The Long Road
Let’s All Go To Hades
Come Heavy
Red White and Blue
The Wheel
The Grinding Wheel




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Tags:  Overkill, The Grinding Wheel, Bobby Blitz  

Red Baron    February 03, 2017