Overkill - Ironbound
 |
With most metal genres it’s difficult to pinpoint which band started them, but this is easy: Overkill was the first thrash band in the world, and could very well be the last. Despite never receiving the accolades heaped upon the Big Four, they’ve outdone them in consistency and staying power. Nothing proves this more than their 16th album, Ironbound (Nuclear Blast/E1, 2010).
Perhaps taking a page from fellow thrash vets Exodus, Ironbound finds Overkill stretching out the jams. It gives the band a chance to show off their underrated songwriting skills, as well as room for guitarists Dave Linsk and Derek Tailer to extend the riffs. This is apparent right from opener “The Green and Black,” which begins with an ominous D.D. Verni bass riff and builds to a straight-out-of-’86 shred attack. “Killing for a Living” was made for circle pits and headbanging, with Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth barking lyrics over devil’s thirds until Linsk and Tailer’s crushing thrash breakdown.
. . .
. . .
Linsk stands out on Ironbound. He’s easily the best guitarist Overkill has had since Bobby Gustafson left twenty years ago. His solos are designed with a purpose and have real character, which makes them more than just wankery between riffs. On “The Head and the Heart,” the solo might not be face-melting, but it pushes the song forward and ties it together like The Dude’s rug.
Blitz’s lyrics, thankfully, have not changed one iota since the first EP. No matter what the words are, his inimitable sneering vocals make every line sound like, “Fuck you, too!” How else do you deliver a line like “Promised salvation, a casual crime / Feeding and fucking the whore!”? This is essential to their sound and to thrash metal in general. Overkill might be entering their thirtieth year, but the attitude and energy are still in the forefront. As long as they have those, they’ll have an audience with me in it.
