Overkill - The Wings of War (2019)

It would easy for me to just end this review right here and state that "The Wings of War" is an Overkill record. Bada bing, bada boom, and we would be home by noon. It would be a disservice though to not acknowledge these white Jersey boys and their relentless thrash metal attack that is now onto its 19th full length album. To do this for so long and keep a consistent level of quality is just astounding, and you guessed it, they did not falter this time either.

The band fires off the cannons instantly, as they always do, with the hard hitting "Last Man Standing", which is just classic "Ironbound"-era Overkill material. The speed is fast, the riffs are great, the chorus is catchy, and all the heads are banging. It is a familiar start that just gets you going, and the tempo is not exactly slowing down with "Believe In The Fight", who has this groovy rhythm that almost makes you giddy. Great metal should always make you smile.

While the intensity is not as overwhelming for the rest of the album, there is still a lot of fun songs in here that makes the album go by pretty fast. For instance, we have a song that is named "Batshitcrazy", and it is certainly insane with its gibberish of a chorus, but there is something primitive about this track that just makes it addicting. Also, it is about time the band had a song with this title. "A Mother's Prayer" is also really fun, but more because of the speedy tempo than straight up weirdness.

Then we have "Welcome To The Garden State", which could be seen as a tribute by the band aimed towards two of their favourite things. Punk rock, and the city of New Jersey. Now, I am not much for punk, but this still has enough thrash in it so I can enjoy it relatively easy, and it is a great homage to Jersey, having small Easter eggs here and there, and also outing the fantastic line "I've been everywhere, but it's never like home". Listening to that song also makes you understand how much these guys enjoy themselves during this whole process in making an album, they are just out there having a ton of fun.

One thing I think "The Wings of War" certainly improved upon against its predecessor "The Grinding Wheel" is to tighten things up. Sure, the band still has some longer songs that some people might think is too much, but I do not mind it as much, especially since there is very little fat in here to work out. It might be a little soft in some songs like "Distortion" and "Where Few Dare To Walk", but they do not take away all too much.

So comparing "The Wings of War" to the rest of the recent Overkill outings, I would put this album neatly in the middle. It does not have the slamming power that both "Ironbound" and "The Electric Age" have, but at least it has enough juice to get past "White Devil Armory" and "The Grinding Wheel". At the end of the day though, I go back to what I said in the beginning of this review, this is an Overkill record, and you are gonna enjoy this one if you have the slightest of interest in the thrash metal genre.

Songs worthy of recognition: Last Man Standing, Batshitcrazy, A Mother's Prayer, Welcome To The Garden State

Rating: 8/10 Holes In My Soul

wreckingcrew.com/Ironbound/
twitter.com/overkillband

More reviews of Overkill:
White Devil Armory
The Grinding Wheel

Overkill - The Grinding Wheel (2017)

You wanna know what grinds my gears? When bands try to over complicate things when they do not need to. Well, that is unfortunately what Overkill is doing here on "The Grinding Wheel", thinking that they are a progressive band all of a sudden. Okay, I might be over exaggerating, but the fact of the matter is that Overkill is taking their sweet time in this record, not knowing when they should stop.

Sound wise it is not much that has changed, it is still catchy thrash metal with tons of attitude and punch, with band members that play like they are still in their 20's. These Jersey boys thrusts through every obstacle with incredible determination, never losing focus. I especially love the singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth whom have one of the greatest voices in thrash metal, and it still sounds great close to 40 years after his debut. I have tried to sing like that, and all I am left with is a soar throat, how does he do it?

As stated before though, it is the length I have a problem with here. It is not like the band has suddenly made longer songs, but they have rarely felt like they went on for too long. In "The Grinding Wheel" Though, I can point out several songs that could have easily edit out some parts or end earlier, ultimately improving the song. Songs like the title track, "Our Finest Hour", "Shine On", and "Mean, Green, Killing Machine" are simply too long for their own good, showing that less truly can be more sometimes. Hell, the shortest song is just under 4 minutes, and the average length is just under 6. This long strategy has worked in small doses before for Overkill, but this is simply... well... overkill.

With that said though, there is still a lot to like about "The Grinding Wheel", because it continues on the fantastic success wave the band has rode on since "Ironbound". A lot of songs might remind you of some other songs from recent Overkill records, one example being that "Our Finest Hour" is a lot like "Electric Rattlesnake" (only not as corny), but they can still stand strong alone. Close to all songs on the record are really enjoyable thrash metal, even if they might not stick with you outside of the album.

The sparkle in the eye is also still there of course, poking fun at both this and that. Like in "Red White And Blue", where the band proclaims that while there might be a new man at the Oval Office, it is still just a new clown replacing an old one. Or how about "The Wheel", where all of a sudden, a Mr. Wonderful and Mr. "Kiss My Ass" struts around. And how can I forget "Goddamn Trouble", a groovy ass song that has one of the truest lyric lines in the entire album. "Goddamn trouble, never gonna stop".

All of this makes "The Grinding Wheel" a really nice album that all of Overkill's fans will eat up without any problem, it is good, fun thrash from loud mouthed white boys from Jersey. While it does have its flaws (the god damn length man!), it is still a really enjoyable thrash sandwich that does not loose its taste all too quickly. So even if this is not the band's finest hour, it is still a well oiled machinery that works as intended, and does its job without any rust in sight.

Songs worthy of recognition: Our Finest Hour, "Mean, Green, Killing Machine", Red White Blue

Rating: 7,5/10 Long Roads

wreckingcrew.com/Ironbound/
twitter.com/overkillband

More reviews of Overkill:
White Devil Armory
The Wings of War

Overkill - White Devil Armory (2014)

Even though New Jersey thrashers Overkill have had a strong and even career, it is only recently they have gotten the recognition they deserve. The 2010 release "Ironbound" was more or less a shocker and helped the band acquire a bigger fan base (including yours truly). After another really strong effort in "The Electric Age", it is now time for the band's 17th full length album, entitled "White Devil Armory", to enter the stage.

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