- advertisement -

OVERKILL
The Wings of War
2019, Nuclear Blast

Okay, who doesn’t love MOTORHEAD? I mean, OVERKILL. I meant OVERKILL. Plainly put, there is not another band as long in the tooth playing Thrash as OVERKILL. The band is now onto their 19th album, The Wings of War and the wheel surely does grind on. This album is high octane, no bullshit, no retro, battle jacket wearing, no irony, heart on sleeve Metal. There is definitely something to be said for the old guard showing the kids, consistently, how it is done. Oh, and Jason Bittner is now pounding the skins and by God, check out that shuffle in “Believe In The Fight” for all you need to know about his input into this old warhorse.

OVERKILL, in my mind, somehow always come in the same thought process as ANVIL. What I mean by that is they are strong musicians and are certainly well known in certain circle pits, but never quite got to wherever the mythical “there” is that lives in our minds. And there is nothing wrong with that.

So, after 19 albums, how does a band keep it fresh? Basically, going back to the MOTORHEAD thought, OVERKILL have literally never changed and there is respect in that. There is dependability, and repetition for sure but really, we like music we like because of repetition. The recording here is crisp and punchy and I love the tone all over this album, deep swells of toms and kicks that do not sound like a typewriter meanwhile the guitar tone is basically perfect for what OVERKILL represent and of course, Verni’s bass is slapping. Blitz is Blitz, so bow down.

From a purely production based standpoint, The Wings of War is a sparkling gem. But, I mean, the producer is named Zeuss for a reason (he’s a god, d’uh, just check his resume). Musically, OVERKILL take a few experiments (see “Batshit Crazy”) but overall the formula remains the same. And the formula is killer. The Wings of War is another hit in a string of albums that are just great, breathing a second wind into the band, and their fans.

Air out that denim, kids. OVERKILL aren’t going anywhere. And we are damn lucky for that.

4.0 Out Of 5.0