Artist: Overkill
Venue: Best Buy Theater (New York, NY)
Opener: Accept, Sabaton, Cypher Seer
Date: 4/16/2011
Label: E1 Entertainment
I know that just by saying this that a lot of Metal fans will think me having a screw loose or not really knowing about the genre but here goes nothing. I am really tired about hearing about the “Big Four” concert that is happening way out in a California desert in a week or so. Yeah its cool that Metallica has chosen to do a show where Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax will all open up for them, but in truth we hear from and about these bands so much that I prefer to focus my attention on the other bands that are working their collective tails off to entertain you and not getting as much internet ink so to speak. With that being said, how cool is it that the mighty Overkill was once again in NYC and hosting an event with Accept as their direct support? In a quick answer, it was super frigging cool. The gig would be at the Best Buy Theater and find both Sabaton and Cypher Seer serving as the first bands on the line. Sadly I would not be able to arrive in time for the Nightmare Records artist Cypher Seer but I can safely say that they are a good band and one that is worth your looking into. They recently released their debut on Nightmare so help them out by ordering yourself a copy.
Continue reading Overkill & Accept @ Best Buy Theater (4/16/2011) →
Artist: Overkill
Title: “Immortalis” Deluxe Edition
Label: E1 Entertainment
Release Date: 10/25/2010
Genre: Thrash Metal
Rating: 4.5/5
Almost as fast as it appeared as a brand name for music, Bodog Music was gone and that left our boys in Overkill needing a label in order to properly deliver their message of Thrash Metal mayhem. Fortunately the band would lock in a deal with Nuclear Blast Records in Europe and E1 Entertainment here in the good old USA and all was well in the world. The band had released what was cited as their finest work to date with “Iron Bound” and even better for their fans, would re-release the album “Immortalis” and the live DVD “Live At Wacken 2007” in one sleek package. Having reviewed each item when they were initially released I am re-presenting those words for your ease of keeping track. Then I will close out with a few additional thoughts. Here we go.
Now some twenty seven years into their career the guys in Overkill have little to prove about their mastery of the Thrash Metal movement that is now mainly considered a vital segment of the hallowed Old School sound that many of us grew up on. Despite this, the legendary Thrashers return with “Immortalis”, their 14th studio effort, and it is here that we find the band returning more to their classic sound with just enough of the Metal fury of today. It also found the band reunited with Johnny and Marsha Zazula who helped initially launch the Overkill name into the Metal stratosphere. As an album it’s solid and definitely shows the world that they are not relics from the past who don’t know the scene that is around in Metal’s present day. One of the songs that prove this quite clearly is “Skull And Bones” which offers up a duet between Blitz and Randy Blythe from that band they call Lamb Of God (perhaps some of you have heard of them :). The two bands shared the stage at the second Gigantour and it was a great way for the Old School to meet the New. When compared to their last studio release “ReliXIV”, I have to admit that I liked this one a little bit more because on top of the thrashing there was a little more musical experimentation than I expected to find Overkill doing. Continue reading “Immortalis” (Deluxe Edition) by Overkill →
Artist: Overkill
Title: “Live At Wacken Open Air 2007”
Label: Bodog Music
Release Date: 2/5/2008
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 4/5
Wacken Open Air has long been considered the Metal Festival of note for many, many years and over the course of its three days plays host to tens of thousands of head bangers who get to indulge in the performances of dozens upon dozens of the worlds most popular Heavy Metal bands. Legendary Thrash Metal icons Overkill are no strangers to a stage like this one but it’s the first time that their fans are treated to the full set performed by the group on a DVD. It’s the perfect thing for those of us who have too many commitments to allow for a quick jaunt over to Germany to indulge in a hefty dose of Metal mayhem. “Live At Wacken Open Air 2007” presents to the home viewer just what it sets out to without the addition of any unnecessary bells and whistles. Instead it’s a full fifty minutes of head banging delight at the hands of the genres respected veterans. The group had just signed their deal with Bodog Music and delivered “Immortalis”, an album that not only found the band returning to a little more of their roots in terms of musical direction but also a move that paired them up again with Johnny and Marcia Zazula of Megaforce Records days gone by. This DVD is actually the second one from Overkill as the first was “Wrecking Everything”, a double DVD devastation from Asbury Park, NJ where you not only got the concert but a cool batch of additional features as well such as a band documentary. Such things can often be dreadful, but a band that was as do it yourself from the streets of the cities of New York and New Jersey like Overkill was sure makes for some interesting viewing.
Continue reading “Live At Wacken Open Air 2007” by Overkill →
Artist: Overkill
Title: “Immortalis”
Label: Bodog Music”
Release Date: 10/9/2007
Genre: Thrash Metal
Rating: 3.5/5
Now some twenty seven years into their career the guys in Overkill have little to prove about their mastery of the Thrash Metal movement that is now mainly considered a vital segment of the hallowed Old School sound that many of us grew up on. Despite this, the legendary Thrashers return with “Immortalis”, their 14th studio effort, and it is here that we find the band returning more to their classic sound with just enough of the Metal fury of today. It also found the band reunited with Johnny and Marsha Zazula who helped initially launch the Overkill name into the Metal stratosphere. As an album it’s solid and definitely shows the world that they are not relics from the past who don’t know the scene that is around in Metal’s present day. One of the songs that prove this quite clearly is “Skull And Bones” which offers up a duet between Blitz and Randy Blythe from that band they call Lamb Of God (perhaps some of you have heard of them :). The two bands shared the stage at the second Gigantour and it was a great way for the Old School to meet the New. When compared to their last studio release “ReliXIV”, I have to admit that I liked this one a little bit more because on top of the thrashing there was a little more musical experimentation than I expected to find Overkill doing. Of course the band could always play, but this time they showed different skills in my opinion and the signs of their being elder statesman of the genre were a little more visible.
Continue reading “Immortalis” by Overkill →
Where Heavy Music & Pop Culture Collide
