OVERKILL reutgivelser
- Posted on 11-10-2009
Label:
Metal Mind
Overkill is one of the few groups that helped create the sheer definition of thrash metal. Starting from 1985, this living legend has so far released fifteen studio albums, which easily places them among the most consistent and die-hard thrash bands in the entire history of the genre. This exclusive re-releases of Overkill’s albums – “Wrecking Everything”, “Killbox 13” and “ReliXIV” – bring back the best that thrash metal has to offer…
“Wrecking Everything”
Overkill’s second live album was released on June 18th, 2002. Recorded during the band’s performance at The Paramount in Asbury Park, New Jersey on March 22nd, 2002, this offering delivers over 70 minutes of pure thrash metal annihilation by the living legend of the genre. The 13 tracks included on the CD feature one of the most amazing productions in the history of live albums. The sound quality is easily comparable to studio albums, but the immerse amount of energy makes this release even better, reflecting the true nature of Overkill’s music. The track list has been prepared very carefully – none of the songs is repeated from the band’s first live effort, “Wrecking Your Neck” from 1995. Overkill made sure that the choice of material satisfies both new and old fans. The newer albums (“Bloodletting”, “Necroshine”, “From The Underground and Below”, “The Killing Kind”) are represented by such tracks as “Thunderhead”, “Necroshine”, “It Lives” and “Battle”, while the pre-1990’s Overkill classics include “E.vil N.ever D.ies”, “The Years of Decay”, “Shred”, “Deny The Cross” and the all-time fan favorite – “Overkill” from the band’s debut album. Complete with top notch production and a perfectly balanced content, “Wrecking Everything” can easily be put right next to Judas Priest, Slayer and Motörhead in the list of amazing live albums. A true feast for any fan of thrash metal!
“Killbox 13”
Overkill’s thirteenth studio effort, was released on March 25th, 2003. The album was considered by many fans the most thrash oriented offering since “Horrorscope”. Consisting of 10 merciless tracks, “Killbox 13” starts off with a typical Overkill opener – the fast and furious “Devil By The Tail”. The thrash metal cascade is continued with “Struck Down” and “I Rise”, both of which sounding like taken from “The Years of Decay” album. The band introduces some groove-thrash patterns in such songs as “The One” and “No Lights”, while “Crystal Clear” stands out as a musical mixture between Machine Head and Crowbar. “Until I Die” starts off like a ballad, only to crush the listener near the third minute with a powerful thrash metal riff. Bobby “Blitz” as always delivers great vocals throughout the entire album, showing his best at “Damned” with some impressive screaming patterns. The lyrics on “Killbox 13” form a semi-concept, revolving around the Seven Deadly Sins. But it’s up to the listener to determine which song covers which sin… With “Killbox 13” Overkill managed to find a perfect compromise between their “new” style of playing and the classic material from the 1980’s. It is truly one of their finest efforts and one of the most enjoyable thrash albums on the modern metal scene.
Overkill’s thirteenth studio effort, was released on March 25th, 2003. The album was considered by many fans the most thrash oriented offering since “Horrorscope”. Consisting of 10 merciless tracks, “Killbox 13” starts off with a typical Overkill opener – the fast and furious “Devil By The Tail”. The thrash metal cascade is continued with “Struck Down” and “I Rise”, both of which sounding like taken from “The Years of Decay” album. The band introduces some groove-thrash patterns in such songs as “The One” and “No Lights”, while “Crystal Clear” stands out as a musical mixture between Machine Head and Crowbar. “Until I Die” starts off like a ballad, only to crush the listener near the third minute with a powerful thrash metal riff. Bobby “Blitz” as always delivers great vocals throughout the entire album, showing his best at “Damned” with some impressive screaming patterns. The lyrics on “Killbox 13” form a semi-concept, revolving around the Seven Deadly Sins. But it’s up to the listener to determine which song covers which sin… With “Killbox 13” Overkill managed to find a perfect compromise between their “new” style of playing and the classic material from the 1980’s. It is truly one of their finest efforts and one of the most enjoyable thrash albums on the modern metal scene.
“ReliXIV”
Overkill’s fourteenth studio effort released on March 22nd, 2005. With “ReliXIV” the band went further in the direction taken on their previous offering, in the same time looking back at some of the ideas found on their sixth LP – “I Hear Black”. The result was quite controversial, but worked out pretty good for the band. The ten tracks included on the album showcased an impressive songwriting diversity. We have modern thrash anthems such as “A Pound of Flesh”, “Within Your Eyes” and the extremely catchy “Bats in the Belfry”, groove-thrash juggernauts like “Wheelz” and “Play The Ace”, and a bunch of surprises, including “Loaded Rack” – sounding almost like a Metallica tune from “The Black Album”, “Keeper” – with Candlemass-style intro and “Old School” – the perfect tribute to 1980’s thrash metal (which also includes a short sample featuring the famous host of hard rock and heavy metal themed radio and TV shows – Eddie Trunk). The flawless production instantly makes this album one of the best-sounding releases on the modern thrash metal scene. “ReliXIV” is a worthy successor to “Killbox 13”, bringing yet another dose of Overkill’s prime musical taste. This is a must-have for any fan of diverse, but equally enjoyable thrash metal.
Overkill’s fourteenth studio effort released on March 22nd, 2005. With “ReliXIV” the band went further in the direction taken on their previous offering, in the same time looking back at some of the ideas found on their sixth LP – “I Hear Black”. The result was quite controversial, but worked out pretty good for the band. The ten tracks included on the album showcased an impressive songwriting diversity. We have modern thrash anthems such as “A Pound of Flesh”, “Within Your Eyes” and the extremely catchy “Bats in the Belfry”, groove-thrash juggernauts like “Wheelz” and “Play The Ace”, and a bunch of surprises, including “Loaded Rack” – sounding almost like a Metallica tune from “The Black Album”, “Keeper” – with Candlemass-style intro and “Old School” – the perfect tribute to 1980’s thrash metal (which also includes a short sample featuring the famous host of hard rock and heavy metal themed radio and TV shows – Eddie Trunk). The flawless production instantly makes this album one of the best-sounding releases on the modern thrash metal scene. “ReliXIV” is a worthy successor to “Killbox 13”, bringing yet another dose of Overkill’s prime musical taste. This is a must-have for any fan of diverse, but equally enjoyable thrash metal.
All three albums will be re-released in a new digipak edition each limited to 1000 copies. Digitally remastered using 24-Bit process, released on a golden disc. The release date is scheduled for 2nd November.
Overkill“Wrecking Everything – Live” (remastered)
Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1351 DG
Barcode: 5907785035799
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 1000 numerated copies)
Genre: thrash metal
Release date: 02.11.2009
Tracklist:
1. Necroshine
2. Thunderhead
3. Evil Never Dies
4. Deny The Cross
5. I Hate
6. Shred
7. Bleed Me
8. Long Time Dyin’
9. It Lives
10. Battle
11. The Years Of Decay
12. In Union We Stand
13. Overkill
2. Thunderhead
3. Evil Never Dies
4. Deny The Cross
5. I Hate
6. Shred
7. Bleed Me
8. Long Time Dyin’
9. It Lives
10. Battle
11. The Years Of Decay
12. In Union We Stand
13. Overkill
Overkill“Killbox 13” (remastered)
Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1350 DG
Barcode: 5907785035782
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 1000 numerated copies)
Genre: thrash metal
Release date: 02.11.2009
Tracklist:
1. Devil By The Tail
2. Damned
3. No Lights
4. The One
5. Crystal Clear
6. The Sound Of Dying
7. Until I Die
8. Struck Down
9. Unholy
10. I Rise
2. Damned
3. No Lights
4. The One
5. Crystal Clear
6. The Sound Of Dying
7. Until I Die
8. Struck Down
9. Unholy
10. I Rise
Overkill“RelixIV” (remastered)
Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1349 DG
Barcode: 5907785035775
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 1000 numerated copies)
Genre: thrash metal
Release date: 02.11.2009
Tracklist:
1. Within Your Eyes
2. Love
3. Loaded Rock
4. Bats In The Belfry
5. A Pound Of Flesh
6. Keeper
7. Wheelz
8. The Mark
9. Play The Ace
10. Old School
2. Love
3. Loaded Rock
4. Bats In The Belfry
5. A Pound Of Flesh
6. Keeper
7. Wheelz
8. The Mark
9. Play The Ace
10. Old School
Bio
The band was originally formed in New Jersey in 1980, after the dissolution of a punk act called The Lubricunts. Bassist D. D. Verni (real name Carlo Verni) and drummer Rat Skates (real name Lee Kundrat) placed an ad looking for a second guitarist and vocalist, and one of the people who answered was singer Bobby Ellsworth. This way Overkill’s first official line-up was complete. The young band went through a number of name suggestions (including the colorful moniker Virgin Killers), finally to settle on Overkill. With the addition of guitarists Rich Conte and Bobby Gustafson in 1981, the band started writing their own stuff, beginning with the songs “Grave Robbers” (later changed to “Raise The Dead”), “Overkill” and “Unleash The Beast (Within)”. The rest of the material consisted of songs by such bands as Motörhead, Riot and Judas Priest. In 1983 Conte left the group, leaving Gustafson the only remaining guitarist. Also around that time, after a series of successful gigs in various New York and New Jersey clubs, Bobby got the nickname “Blitz” due to his rabid and over-the-top lifestyle.
The group’s first release was the “Power In Black” demo, recorded in 1983. The tape became extremely popular on the underground metal scene, making as impact as demos by Bay-area future metal legends Exodus and Testament. Overkill secured a small recording deal with Azra/Metal Storm Records and in 1984 released a 4-track EP called simply “Overkill”. The amazing success of this release (the EP sold out almost immediately) caught the attention of Jon Zazula, owner of the legendary Megaforce Records. This way, in 1985 Overkill released their first LP – “Feel The Fire” – to this day considered by both fans and critics as an immortal thrash metal masterpiece. The band went on tour to promote their debut offering, spending most of 1985 and 1986 supporting the mighty Megadeth in the U.S. and then Anthrax and Agent Steel in Europe. They recorded their second album – “Taking Over” – in 1986, this time through Megaforce Records in cooperation with Atlantic Records.
The year 1987 saw the release of the cult “!!! Fuck You!!!” EP, but also the departure of Rat Skates, who was soon replaced by Bob “Sid” Falck. The re-shuffled line-up recorded their third LP in 1988. “Under The Influence” brought a more raw and thrashy sound, giving Overkill’s music truly epic features. But the real breakthrough came with 1989’s “The Years of Decay” – the band’s fourth and most successful album yet. Produced by Terry Date (Pantera, Soundgarden), the LP featured a lot more complex song structures and a handful of epic elements (especially in the title track, as well as the 10-minute track “Playing With Spiders/Skullkrusher”). A video was shot for the song “Elimination” and soon gained immense popularity on MTV’s Headbangers Ball. The success of “The Years of Decay” was celebrated by the extensive “Dawn Of The Decade” tour with Testament.
In 1990 Overkill suffered a major line-up change after Bobby Gustafson’s departure from the group. Bobby was soon replaced by not one, but two guitarists – Rob Cannavino (Gustafson’s guitar tech) and Merrit Gant (know from Faith Or Fear). In 1991 the new members contributed to the recording of one of Overkill’s heaviest albums in their entire discography – “Horrorscope”. Unfortunately, during the 1992 promotional tour for the album, Sid Falck decided to leave the band, wanting to pursue other musical styles. M.O.D.’s Tim Mallare was chosen as his replacement. The year 1993 brought Overkill’s sixth LP – “I Hear Black” (released directly through Atlantic Records). The album showcased a major change of style, incorporating influences taken from stoner rock and blues. It remains one of the band’s most controversial releases, often criticized due to its eclectic nature. Therefore Overkill’s next album – the self-produced “W.F.O.” (which stands for “Wide Fuckin’ Open”) from 1994 – took the group’s music back to the thrash metal roots. The release of the LP was followed by a tour alongside Jag Panzer and Massacra. Unfortunately, due mostly to changing mainstream tastes, “W.F.O.” failed to achieve proper success, leading Atlantic Records to eventually drop the band in 1995. However, Overkill was quite happy to finally be let go from the mainstream label which barely gave them any attention at all, and went on to sign a multi-label deal for the U.S. and Europe. 1995 also brought the group’s first 2-CD live album entitled “Wrecking Your Neck”.
In late 1995 both of the band’s guitarists – Cannavino and Gant – decided to call it quits. The new recruits were Joe Comeau (former singer of Liege Lord, now on guitar) and former Anvil axeman, Sebastian Marino. The new line-up recorded the album “The Killing Kind”, which was released in 1996. Mixed by Chris Tsangarides (Judas Priest), the LP introduced a blend of classic thrash metal with elements of more contemporary musical styles such as hardcore. It also delivered much more elaborate vocal patterns, thanks to Comeau’s backing vocals. The album received much praise from the press, but mixed opinions from the fan base. In 1997 Overkill released “!!! Fuck You!!! And Then Some”, a compilation of their 1987 EP with the classic “Overkill” EP and two live tracks from a 1990 promo single. The same year saw the release of the band’s ninth studio effort – “From The Underground and Below”. The album was a compromise between the modern influences brought by “The Killing Kind” and the group’s earlier works. A promotional tour across Europe followed, with such bands as Nevermore, Nocturnal Rites and Angel Dust.
In 1998 Bobby “Blitz” was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of nose cancer, but thanks to immediate surgery the cancer was caught before it had a chance to spread. After Bobby’s recovery, the group began working on their next album, entitled “Necroshine”. Released in February 1999, making Overkill the first thrash metal band ever to release ten full-length studio albums (later the same goal was achieved by Kreator and Sodom). Soon after “Necroshine” hit the stores, guitarist Sebastian Marino left the band and was replaced by Dave Linsk. The group released one more album in 1999 – “Coverkill” (considered by the majority of fans as the eleventh studio opus), which consisted entirely of cover versions from other bands (including Kiss, Black Sabbath, The Ramones and Motörhead). Both 1999 releases were promoted by a co-headlined tour with Annihilator. During this tour, Annihilator’s singer Randy Rampage was fired due to his violent behavior, and a few months later Joe Comeau was asked to become his replacement. Comeau accepted the offer and Overkill became once again a four-piece. The band went on to record their twelfth album – “Bloodletting” – which was eventually released in the fall of 2000. This was followed by a world tour for Halford’s “Resurrection” LP, with Overkill as a special guest. After a couple of line-up changes, Derek “The Skull” Tailer became a permanent replacement for Comeau.
The band returned in 2002 with their second live album – “Wrecking Everything”, followed by a DVD release capturing the same concert, which took place in New Jersey. In June Overkill went on another European tour, this time with Blaze and Wicked Mystic as support acts. During one of the last shows on that tour, Bobby “Blitz” suffered a stroke on stage and collapsed. Fortunately, three days later the band announced that the stroke was just a minor threat and had no lasting consequences. By the end of the year the group was already recording a new album, this time co-produced by Colin Richardson. “Killbox 13” was eventually released in March 2003 and received positive feedback thanks to combining Overkill’s “new” style with the spirit of such albums as “Feel The Fire”. A full European tour followed, during which Overkill played for the first time since 1990 as a four-piece, due to Tailer’s unexplained absence (he was still however considered as a full member of the group).
After a Japanese tour with Flotsam and Jetsam and Death Angel in 2004, Overkill began working on their newest album, “ReliXIV”. Released in March 2005, the LP showcased a similar style that the band had taken up on their previous offering. A long-awaited North American tour followed, with drummer Ron Lipnicki replacing Mallare. Some time later Overkill signed a new deal with Bodog Music, a record label owned by Johnny and Marsha Zazula, previous owners of Megaforce Records. The band’s fifteenth (and so far last) studio album – “Immortalis” – saw the light of day in October 2007…
The band was originally formed in New Jersey in 1980, after the dissolution of a punk act called The Lubricunts. Bassist D. D. Verni (real name Carlo Verni) and drummer Rat Skates (real name Lee Kundrat) placed an ad looking for a second guitarist and vocalist, and one of the people who answered was singer Bobby Ellsworth. This way Overkill’s first official line-up was complete. The young band went through a number of name suggestions (including the colorful moniker Virgin Killers), finally to settle on Overkill. With the addition of guitarists Rich Conte and Bobby Gustafson in 1981, the band started writing their own stuff, beginning with the songs “Grave Robbers” (later changed to “Raise The Dead”), “Overkill” and “Unleash The Beast (Within)”. The rest of the material consisted of songs by such bands as Motörhead, Riot and Judas Priest. In 1983 Conte left the group, leaving Gustafson the only remaining guitarist. Also around that time, after a series of successful gigs in various New York and New Jersey clubs, Bobby got the nickname “Blitz” due to his rabid and over-the-top lifestyle.
The group’s first release was the “Power In Black” demo, recorded in 1983. The tape became extremely popular on the underground metal scene, making as impact as demos by Bay-area future metal legends Exodus and Testament. Overkill secured a small recording deal with Azra/Metal Storm Records and in 1984 released a 4-track EP called simply “Overkill”. The amazing success of this release (the EP sold out almost immediately) caught the attention of Jon Zazula, owner of the legendary Megaforce Records. This way, in 1985 Overkill released their first LP – “Feel The Fire” – to this day considered by both fans and critics as an immortal thrash metal masterpiece. The band went on tour to promote their debut offering, spending most of 1985 and 1986 supporting the mighty Megadeth in the U.S. and then Anthrax and Agent Steel in Europe. They recorded their second album – “Taking Over” – in 1986, this time through Megaforce Records in cooperation with Atlantic Records.
The year 1987 saw the release of the cult “!!! Fuck You!!!” EP, but also the departure of Rat Skates, who was soon replaced by Bob “Sid” Falck. The re-shuffled line-up recorded their third LP in 1988. “Under The Influence” brought a more raw and thrashy sound, giving Overkill’s music truly epic features. But the real breakthrough came with 1989’s “The Years of Decay” – the band’s fourth and most successful album yet. Produced by Terry Date (Pantera, Soundgarden), the LP featured a lot more complex song structures and a handful of epic elements (especially in the title track, as well as the 10-minute track “Playing With Spiders/Skullkrusher”). A video was shot for the song “Elimination” and soon gained immense popularity on MTV’s Headbangers Ball. The success of “The Years of Decay” was celebrated by the extensive “Dawn Of The Decade” tour with Testament.
In 1990 Overkill suffered a major line-up change after Bobby Gustafson’s departure from the group. Bobby was soon replaced by not one, but two guitarists – Rob Cannavino (Gustafson’s guitar tech) and Merrit Gant (know from Faith Or Fear). In 1991 the new members contributed to the recording of one of Overkill’s heaviest albums in their entire discography – “Horrorscope”. Unfortunately, during the 1992 promotional tour for the album, Sid Falck decided to leave the band, wanting to pursue other musical styles. M.O.D.’s Tim Mallare was chosen as his replacement. The year 1993 brought Overkill’s sixth LP – “I Hear Black” (released directly through Atlantic Records). The album showcased a major change of style, incorporating influences taken from stoner rock and blues. It remains one of the band’s most controversial releases, often criticized due to its eclectic nature. Therefore Overkill’s next album – the self-produced “W.F.O.” (which stands for “Wide Fuckin’ Open”) from 1994 – took the group’s music back to the thrash metal roots. The release of the LP was followed by a tour alongside Jag Panzer and Massacra. Unfortunately, due mostly to changing mainstream tastes, “W.F.O.” failed to achieve proper success, leading Atlantic Records to eventually drop the band in 1995. However, Overkill was quite happy to finally be let go from the mainstream label which barely gave them any attention at all, and went on to sign a multi-label deal for the U.S. and Europe. 1995 also brought the group’s first 2-CD live album entitled “Wrecking Your Neck”.
In late 1995 both of the band’s guitarists – Cannavino and Gant – decided to call it quits. The new recruits were Joe Comeau (former singer of Liege Lord, now on guitar) and former Anvil axeman, Sebastian Marino. The new line-up recorded the album “The Killing Kind”, which was released in 1996. Mixed by Chris Tsangarides (Judas Priest), the LP introduced a blend of classic thrash metal with elements of more contemporary musical styles such as hardcore. It also delivered much more elaborate vocal patterns, thanks to Comeau’s backing vocals. The album received much praise from the press, but mixed opinions from the fan base. In 1997 Overkill released “!!! Fuck You!!! And Then Some”, a compilation of their 1987 EP with the classic “Overkill” EP and two live tracks from a 1990 promo single. The same year saw the release of the band’s ninth studio effort – “From The Underground and Below”. The album was a compromise between the modern influences brought by “The Killing Kind” and the group’s earlier works. A promotional tour across Europe followed, with such bands as Nevermore, Nocturnal Rites and Angel Dust.
In 1998 Bobby “Blitz” was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of nose cancer, but thanks to immediate surgery the cancer was caught before it had a chance to spread. After Bobby’s recovery, the group began working on their next album, entitled “Necroshine”. Released in February 1999, making Overkill the first thrash metal band ever to release ten full-length studio albums (later the same goal was achieved by Kreator and Sodom). Soon after “Necroshine” hit the stores, guitarist Sebastian Marino left the band and was replaced by Dave Linsk. The group released one more album in 1999 – “Coverkill” (considered by the majority of fans as the eleventh studio opus), which consisted entirely of cover versions from other bands (including Kiss, Black Sabbath, The Ramones and Motörhead). Both 1999 releases were promoted by a co-headlined tour with Annihilator. During this tour, Annihilator’s singer Randy Rampage was fired due to his violent behavior, and a few months later Joe Comeau was asked to become his replacement. Comeau accepted the offer and Overkill became once again a four-piece. The band went on to record their twelfth album – “Bloodletting” – which was eventually released in the fall of 2000. This was followed by a world tour for Halford’s “Resurrection” LP, with Overkill as a special guest. After a couple of line-up changes, Derek “The Skull” Tailer became a permanent replacement for Comeau.
The band returned in 2002 with their second live album – “Wrecking Everything”, followed by a DVD release capturing the same concert, which took place in New Jersey. In June Overkill went on another European tour, this time with Blaze and Wicked Mystic as support acts. During one of the last shows on that tour, Bobby “Blitz” suffered a stroke on stage and collapsed. Fortunately, three days later the band announced that the stroke was just a minor threat and had no lasting consequences. By the end of the year the group was already recording a new album, this time co-produced by Colin Richardson. “Killbox 13” was eventually released in March 2003 and received positive feedback thanks to combining Overkill’s “new” style with the spirit of such albums as “Feel The Fire”. A full European tour followed, during which Overkill played for the first time since 1990 as a four-piece, due to Tailer’s unexplained absence (he was still however considered as a full member of the group).
After a Japanese tour with Flotsam and Jetsam and Death Angel in 2004, Overkill began working on their newest album, “ReliXIV”. Released in March 2005, the LP showcased a similar style that the band had taken up on their previous offering. A long-awaited North American tour followed, with drummer Ron Lipnicki replacing Mallare. Some time later Overkill signed a new deal with Bodog Music, a record label owned by Johnny and Marsha Zazula, previous owners of Megaforce Records. The band’s fifteenth (and so far last) studio album – “Immortalis” – saw the light of day in October 2007…