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OVERKILL
The Atlantic Years 1986-1994 Box Set
2021 Atlantic Records/BMG

OVERKILL’s early albums have been rereleased in this new box set from Atlantic Records, (sans the debut album, Feel The Fire, which was released on Megaforce Records). Atlantic Records released the band’s albums Taking Over (1987), Under The Influence (1988), The Years of Decay (1989) and Horrorscope (1991) in partnership with Megaforce, then released I Hear Black (1993) and W.F.O. (1994) alone. These are the six albums featured in this box set. This set of albums represents the most successful years of the band. After the Atlantic Years, the band showed up on labels like CMC, Steamhammer and Spitfire before landing on its current home, Nuclear Blast, where the band has been on a roll, releasing some of the best material of their career lately. The Atlantic Years 1986-1994 takes you back to the nascent years of the band, when they bristled with a young fury and functioned as a four-piece until Horrorscope in 1991.

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this new box set on vinyl. (It has also been released as a CD box set). The albums come in a handsome black leatherette box, with the OVERKILL logo and Chaly printed on the front in spot varnish. All of these albums have been half speed mastered on 180 gram black vinyl. Each album has faithfully restored artwork and inner sleeve with lyrics. Some of these albums are pushing the one hour mark, so you could argue a two-disc set would be in order for optimal sound. I installed a new needle on my turntable right before listening, and I was OK with the overall sound. I didn’t find too much wrong other than a slightly lower volume level on some of these albums. I’m glad the levels aren’t maxed out; the dynamics are still in tact. I could have gone for some bonus material, but the purpose here is the get these albums back out into the world and keep the music alive for future generations. That particular aspect has been achieved.

I remember buying each of these albums as they were originally released back in the day. Some I bought on cassette, all of them I eventually got on CD, a few of them on vinyl. Since these albums have been out of print for years, they are fairly hard to find. So it’s good that these have been repressed for posterity’s sake, if nothing else. Because OVERKILL were one of metal’s most important thrash bands to come out of the 1980s. Sure, they never were on the same level as The Big Four, but fans like me always liked them just as much. Atlantic Records did a lot for thrash and heavy metal in general, so kudos to them for this collection. The Atlantic Years 1986-1994 is available now.

4.5 Out Of 5.0