Since the last two album made by the band was fantastic, my expectations was high for this album, and sure enough, I got what I expected. Pure heavy thrash with screaming vocals and well crafted riffs to back it up. Overkill is more or less the Motörhead of thrash. You know what you are gonna get with every new release and you would not have it any other way. It is all here. The slamming beats, the heavy riffs, and the amazing and unique vocals of Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth.
The overall song quality is good in "White Devil Armory", even though you have heard most of the songs in some other way earlier in the band's discography. But no matter what, it is still kicking ass and it is hard to not get into the music. The first half of the album is were most of the highlights hang out, like the high octane opener "Armorist" and the skull pounding "PIG", but to say that the other half only consisted of fillers would be a complete lie. "White Devil Armory" has a solid amount of songs and none of them seems boring nor out of place. However, coming after two records that had several amazing songs, it is not hard to understand that "White Devil Armory" does not have the same number of knockout punches in its artillery, but it is still enough to get one pumped up.
What really surprised me with this release was that it was growing on me, an attribute that is not very common when it comes to thrash records. Songs like "Down To The Bone" and "Where There's Smoke" went past me pretty quickly on the first couple of listens, but has now developed into some of my favourites of the album. This was definitely a plus since I grew tired of several songs on "The Electric Age" quickly, but here, the average life span was improved thanks to a more even set list.
It definitely seems like Overkill keeps on riding that success wave perfectly safe. "White Devil Armory" may not completely live up to the standards that "Ironbound" and "The Electric Age" set up, but it is no doubt that it is a great thrash record that gets the job done very well. So no matter how long you have been into the band, I will guarantee you that you will not be disappointed by this record. It is thrash down to the bone.
Songs worthy of recognition: Where There's Smoke, Armorist, PIG
Rating: 8/10 Bitter Pills
wreckingcrew.com/Ironbound/
twitter.com/overkillband
More reviews of Overkill:
The Grinding Wheel
The Wings of War
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