Dr. Steel’s Thrash Feast: Overkill
Rockhospital.com’s preeminent musical buffet is back! If you thought you had enough of Dr. Steel’s ramblings last year, welcome to a new nightmare. You see, when he began this Thrash Feast in ’09 a slew of impressive releases had just poured in from all over the world begging to be scrutinized. We’re already two months into 2010 and surprise, surprise: solid efforts from everyone’s favorite genre continue to flood Dr. Steel’s playlist. Whupping unholy ass for this installment is Overkill’s impressive 16th studio outing, “Ironbound.”
Matters start creepily (is this even a word?) for “The Green And Black,” the brooding opener where longtime bassist D.D. Verni enjoys a solid minute of intimacy with his bass. Then the guitars and drums kick in, bruising our ears with the controlled (w)recklessness that has become Overkill’s signature in 30 years of wrecking necks. Since their thrash has always belonged to the grittier side of the spectrum “The Green And Black” is no exception. It’s a sprawling tune that inspires utter chaos and a good sized moshpit. Next up is the more focused “Ironbound” and it’s a wonder to behold, sporting catchy lyrics, great hooks, and a rollicking pace, climaxed by a whopping guitar duel whose harmonic wails scream “Death to FALSE metal!”
Unadulterated old school thrash gets to shine on “Bring Me The Night” before the epic “The Goal Is Your Soul” arrives following a lengthy intro. Blessed with crisp production with the help of Hypocrisy’s Peter Tagtgren and a genuine desire to prove their vitality in a genre that has grown crowded lately; judging by the energy of its songs, “Ironbound” is bound (pun definitely intended!) to be counted among the band’s best work (i.e. “The Years of Decay,” “Horrorscope”). Barely catching a collective breath, the thrash continues to burn for the three-hit combo “Give A Little,” “Endless War,” and the hook laden “The Head And Heart.” Much to the listener’s delight, the band’s momentum doesn’t wane till the bitter end, which is punctuated by the nerve-wracking pace of “the SRC.” Performance-wise, these geezers are in fine form. Singer Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth’s voice remains shrill as ever while his longtime collaborator D.D. Verni wields the second loudest bass in heavy metal (first place goes to Manowar’s Joey Demaio) for the sole purpose of slaying posers.
Judging by the degree of musical violence inflicted by “Ironbound,” the rest of Overkill are hardly showing their age either. Axemen Dave Linsk and Derek Tailer execute their riffs and exquisite leads to a T and Ron Lipnicki’s percussion packs enough thunder to shatter bones. This is a solid, well-balanced effort meant to teach the younglings a lesson on how thrash is done. Much to the dismay of mediocre wannabes everywhere, Overkill have set the bar high this year.
Sell them your soul:
www.myspace.com/overkill