It is strange to think that even though they did not record their debut album until 1985, Overkill actually predate the Big 4 of Thrash, and still have two of their founders in the band. One always knows what to expect with these guys as they found their style early, and have never moved too far away from that, being so influenced by Motörhead that they used to play many covers in the early days as well as taking their name from the band. Mind you, they have always been somewhat more melodic while Bobby Ellsworth has always had a great set of pipes and shows no sign at all of slowing down even though he is in his sixties now.

As with all bands, their plans were disrupted due to Covid as they originally intended to record the follow-up to ‘The Wings of War’ in 2020 and release it the following year, but that didn’t happen and due to many factors it took until April 2023 for this to finally see the light of the day, but long-time fans will be pleased to know there has been no change in style in the intervening years. Another joy is the production which is crunching and old-fashioned and I was not surprised to discover Colin Richardson had mixed this, as he has always had a great understanding of what to do with heavy music and is still one of the best around. As for the music? It’s Overkill, so if you have any of their albums then you know what this is like, thrash which is influenced heavily by NWOBHM, loads of melody and riffs all fronted by a powering singer. Is this earth shattering? No, not really. Is it as good as 2017’s ‘The Grinding Wheel’? Probably not but is still a heck of a lot of fun all the same and long may they continue.

Rating: 8/10

Links:
https://wreckingcrew.com/
https://www.nuclearblast.com/