Overkill

Yes, this vanguard band from the New York metal scene is STILL AROUND, and STILL recording the SAME DAMN TYPE OF MUSIC they've done from day one! Well, that certainly proves staying power, if nothing else...

"Feel the Fire"

  1. "Raise the Dead" (4:18)
  2. "Rotten to the Core" (4:58)
  3. "There's No Tomorrow" (3:20)
  4. "Second Son" (3:59)
  5. "Hammerhead" (4:00)
  6. "Feel the Fire" (5:47)
  7. "Blood and Iron" (2:38)
  8. "Kill at Command" (4:47)
  9. "Overkill" (3:36)
  10. "Sonic Reducer" (2:50)

This wound up being one of the first heavy metal CD's I ever bought, and there's kind of a neat story behind it...you see, I was obsessively into recording "A to Z" tapes by a number of different bands, and one of the more insane projects was a compilation of about 10 different thrash bands that I owned all the albums from...EXCEPT the first Overkill album. So, in order to make the collection complete, I browsed about a dozen record stores looking for it, and finally ran across the CD version, which to my delight contained the bonus track "Sonic Reducer". Ok, so it's not that interesting a story...

Oh yeah, I used to own an extremely rare, crappy vinyl record called "New York Underground Metal" or something like that, which (in addition to a bunch of no-name bands) included a rough demo of "Feel the Fire", which IMO was superior to the later-released album version. Wish I could say I still owned it, but like an idiot, I sold it off a long time ago...gee, I do such STUPID things sometimes, don't I??? On the bright side, I *do* have their early song "Death Rider" on Metal Massacre V.

"Taking Over"

  1. "Deny the Cross" (4:42)
  2. "Wrecking Crew" (4:30)
  3. "Fear His Name" (5:23)
  4. "Use Your Head" (4:18)
  5. "Fatal if Swallowed" (6:44)
  6. "Powersurge" (4:34)
  7. "In Union We Stand" (4:23)
  8. "Electro-Violence" (3:43)
  9. "Overkill II (The Nightmare Continues)" (7:05)

The first Overkill song I heard...well, "saw"...was the video for "In Union We Stand", during the early "Headbanger's Ball" days. I thought the song SUCKED...but changed my mind when I heard the rest of this album! In particular I like the lyrics for "Use Your Head"--"You've got a lot to learn/Your head's up your ass!"--and the song "Deny the Cross" simply goes without saying...

"Under the Influence"

  1. "Shred" (4:05)
  2. "Never Say Never" (5:58)
  3. "Hello from the Gutter" (4:12)
  4. "Mad Gone World" (4:31)
  5. "Brainfade" (4:08)
  6. "Drunken Wisdom" (6:18)
  7. "End of the Line" (7:03)
  8. "Head First" (6:02)
  9. "Overkill III (Under the Influence)" (6:28)

This one's probably the best of all their albums. The first five tracks are tight rippers with staccato guitar leads (a bit monotonous at first, but it grows on you.) On "side two", the songs "Head First" and "End of the Line" are two of the bands best songs EVER!

"The Years of Decay"

  1. "Time to Kill" (6:16)
  2. "Elimination" (4:34)
  3. "I Hate" (3:48)
  4. "Nothing to Die For" (4:22)
  5. "Playing with Spiders/Skullkrusher" (10:09)
  6. "Birth of Tension" (5:02)
  7. "Who Tends the Fire" (8:09)
  8. "The Years of Decay" (8:01)
  9. "E.vil N.ever D.ies" (5:49)

The standout track here is "I Hate", my favorite song by the band. As for the rest...well, it pretty much sounds like outtakes from Under the Influence. Traks 7 & 8, in particular, are fairly unimpressive...."E.vil N.ever D.ies" is basically "Overkill IV", but they didn't call it that for some odd reason. (It ends the "Overkill" series, anyway...)

"Fuck You and Then Some"

  1. "Fuck You!" (2:20)
  2. "Rotten to the Core"--live (6:41)
  3. "Hammerhead"--live (3:57)
  4. "Use Your Head"--live (5:18)
  5. "Electro-Violence"--live (3:50)
  6. "Fuck You!"--live (2:28)
  7. "Hole in the Sky"--live (3:42)
  8. "E.vil N.ever D.ies"--live (6:11)
  9. "Rotten to the Core" (5:14)
  10. "Fatal if Swallowed" (6:20)
  11. "The Answer" (8:49)
  12. "Overkill" (3:41)

This EP was originally banned for a long time, and finally released on an independent label with a bag over the cover. :) Can't remember who did the song "Fuck You" originally, think it was D.O.A. or some other punk band...I do remember hearing KNAC play that song on the radio, completely uncensored!! (No wonder they got shut down...) The live tracks are pretty cool, and I especially like the part where Bobby shouts, "So where the fuck are we tonight? ...Where?? ...CLEVELAND??!?!?" Dunno why, just think that's funny...

The reissue of this CD adds two extra live tracks, including Black Sabbath's "Hole in the Sky", plus four songs from their VERY FIRST DEMO!! Unfortunately, the mastering isn't too great; there's a horrible crackling noise throughout the songs, and if I didn't know better I'd say it was surface noise from the original crappy vinyl...on the bright side, the original CD has become a surprisingly hot collector's item, so I was able to sell it for considerably more than what I bought this thing for. :)

"Horrorscope"

  1. "Coma" (5:21)
  2. "Infectious" (4:04)
  3. "Blood Money" (4:07)
  4. "Thanx for Nuthin'" (4:03)
  5. "Bare Bones" (4:51)
  6. "Horrorscope" (5:10)
  7. "New Machine" (5:20)
  8. "Frankenstein"--instrumental (3:27)
  9. "Live Young, Die Free" (4:09)
  10. "Nice Day...for a Funeral" (6:15)
  11. "Soulitude" (5:24)

Well, this was the point where the band fell into the routine of putting out music that's basically a carbon copy of what they did before. "Coma" stands out with some originality, as does the "Frankenstein" instrumental (a cover of the Edgar Winters song), but "Thanx for Nuthin'" pretty much copies "Elimination" and "Hello from the Gutter" (unsurprisingly, all were made into videos), and "Nice Day...for a Funeral" sounds exactly like "Skullkrusher".

"I Hear Black"

  1. "Dreaming in Columbian" (4:00)
  2. "I Hear Black" (5:37)
  3. "World of Hurt" (5:20)
  4. "Feed My Head" (5:36)
  5. "Shades of Grey" (5:19)
  6. "Spiritual Void" (5:14)
  7. "Ghost Dance" (1:46)
  8. "Weight of the World" (4:07)
  9. "Ignorance & Innocence" (5:00)
  10. "Undying" (5:25)
  11. "Just Like You" (4:14)

Another album that sounds a helluva lot like the one before it, although "Dreaming in Columbian" is a cute song title, and "Spiritual Void" has a much deeper blues riff than what's typical for the band.

"W.F.O." (Wide Fucking Open)

  1. "Where it Hurts" (5:34)
  2. "Fast Junkie" (4:21)
  3. "The Wait--New High in Lows" (5:46)
  4. "They Eat Their Young" (4:57)
  5. "What's Your Problem" (5:11)
  6. "Under One" (4:15)
  7. "Supersonic Hate" (4:17)
  8. "R.I.P. (Undone)" (1:43)
  9. "Up to Zero" (4:08)
  10. "Bastard Nation" (5:38)
  11. "Gasoline Dream" (6:50)
  12. "Heaven and Hell/The Ripper/Voodoo Chile"--unlisted, track #98, reverse indexed (3:55)

Another album that sounds a helluva lot like the one before it--about the only real difference is the style of the cover art. There's a "hidden" track placed BEFORE track #98 (so it appears that the timer is counting down when you play it) which is basically a sloppy, drunken mix of songs by Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Jimi Hendrix.

"The Killing Kind"

  1. "Battle" (4:31)
  2. "God-Like" (4:11)
  3. "Certifiable" (3:25)
  4. "Burn You Down/To Ashes" (6:47)
  5. "Let Me Shut That for You" (5:19)
  6. "Bold Face Pagan Stomp" (5:42)
  7. "Feeding Frenzy" (4:13)
  8. "The Cleansing" (5:50)
  9. "The Mourning After/Private Bleeding" (4:36)
  10. "Cold, Hard Fact" (5:19)

Another album that sounds a helluva lot like the one before it...hmm, is this gettin repetitive yet? And yes, there's ANOTHER Overkill album out now, and I'll bet it sounds exactly like this one...and the last one...and the last one...

"Coverkill"

  1. "Overkill"--live (4:16)
  2. "No Feelings" (2:36)
  3. "Hymn 43" (2:59)
  4. "Changes" (4:57)
  5. "Space Truckin'" (3:59)
  6. "Deuce" (3:05)
  7. "Never Say Die" (3:24)
  8. "Death Tone" (4:24)
  9. "Cornucopia" (4:46)
  10. "Tyrant" (4:00)
  11. "Ain't Nothin' to Do" (2:13)
  12. "I'm Against It" (2:43)

In the tradition of such artists as Metallica, Primus, Skid Row, etc., Overkill has released their own CD of "favorite" cover songs. The biggest draw, of course, are the THREE Black Sabbath tunes, including "Never Say Die", which I don't think has ever been covered before! Another choice (yet odd) inclusion is "Hymn 43" by Jethro Tull; plus we've got Deep Purple's "Space Truckin'", from the Japanese version of From the Underground and Below, thus negating my need to buy that expensive CD. ("Cornucopia" was also available on a very limited edition of The Killing Kind, which saves me ANOTHER $35!) The other songs include Motorhead's "Overkill" (naturally!), "No Feelings" by The Sex Pistols, "Deuce" by Kiss, "I'm Against It" by The Ramones (which ends with a snippet of that surf-rock instrumental "Tequilla" -- quite a trip), and Judas Priest's "Tyrant", which is the same version as on the second Judas Priest tribute album (and kinda sucks, actually.)

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