The underrated Overkill albums

Ok so we all know and probably like all of 80s Overkill's albums up to and including Horrorscope but what about the albums that followed?

What are your favorites of the underrated Overkill albums since Horrorscope?


Personally I love Necroshine and From The Underground and Below A LOT. Don't scold me but I would choose either of those albums over any of Overkill's 80s albums (except for Feel the Fire and Years of Decay they're great at any time). I love the groove-based riffing just a hair better than the all out thrashy sound Overkill played in the 80s. That is not to say that I do not like those albums too - like with any other band that I am a fan of, I like all the albums to varying degrees - some more than others.

I've also started liking The Killing Kind quite a bit lately too. I wasn't very familiar with this album until recently but OMG it kicks some serious butt. Admittedly while Overkill's groove-based style is not quite as well refined here as on From The Underground, the Killing Kind is the album where Overkill began to feel comfortable with their new found style. Listening to this album almost feels like the years of exploration between Horrorscope and WFO are finally coming to fruition. The album in a sense bridges the gap between albums like I Hear Black and Underground.

Although I started listening to Killing Kind years after I became familiar with Underground and Necroshine, when I listen to this album I have a sense of clarity about Overkill's future direction. In a sense I see this album as a point of reference for Overkill's 90s releases, in a similar way as albums like Feel the Fire and Taking Over were a reference for Overkill's late 80s albums.

I know I am perhaps giving The Killing Kind more credit than some other fans do, and while I sound partial to my new Overkill favorite even when I first listened with an objective ear to the album I still felt the same about it.

FROM THE UNDERGROUND AND BELOW is my fave Overkill since the glory days. I'm also partial to NECROSHINE and RELIXIV.

But then, I'm a fanboy. I kinda like'em all.

Fat Freddy wrote:

FROM THE UNDERGROUND AND BELOW is my fave Overkill since the glory days. I'm also partial to NECROSHINE and RELIXIV.

But then, I'm a fanboy. I kinda like'em all.

It's hard to dislike an Overkill album. Even though my least favorite is WFO, and only due to the very strange production, I still love hearing those songs especially in a live setting. Unfortunately they didn't play any songs off it this past Saturday. I was hoping to least hearing Gasoline Dream. My only gripe about WFO is that DD's bass is so high in the mix - it's pushed all the way at the front, and made to take the role of a guitar. The bass lines are very good don't get me wrong, but I think they're better suited as guitar riffs (some Dimebag-style riffing would have given WFO's material a tangier flavour - maybe like a bbq flavour humm.. bbq hahahaha)

Feel the same about Underground; I think Killbox is just brilliant all the way through & it's a favorite. Currently submerging myself in WFO.

W.F.O. is definitely underrated. And I absolutely love Ironbound.

FTUAB is an amazing album. When I first bought that album and heard "It Lives" I was blown away.

The song Long Time Dyin might be my fav Overkill track out there...

IRONBOUND is their best albums since HORROSCOPE in my opinion. I HEAR BLACK was very comercial sounding, a little like THE RITUAL by TESTAMENT, both influenced by the BLACK ALBUM. Still, they had some good songs. NECROSHINE is not bad, and WFO again have some okay songs, but i still prefere their old albums and first demo.

krokus wrote:

I HEAR BLACK was very comercial sounding, a little like THE RITUAL by TESTAMENT, both influenced by the BLACK ALBUM.

Commercial? Influenced by The Black Album?

I don't hear it at all.

I agree that Testament's The Ritual was a lot less aggressive and devoid of any thrash by comparison to Testament's earlier albums. However, I Hear Black is not that far removed from the style on Horrorscope - just that it sounds doomier at times. Maybe you're hearing something I am not but even so I have a hard time finding anything on there that would appeal to the MTV / Metallica's Black Album audience of 1993 when I Hear Black was released.

I think we should show some love for Immortalis as well!

Why is that album seldom talked about? I remember kicking major amounts of ass when I first heard it. I put it on earlier today and there's some really solid material on there, including yes Skull & Bones with Randy Blythe. I really like LoG and the pairing imo was epic. But I can see how some old timers may be put off by that collaboration - personally it didn't bother me as I like both bands and both vocalists.

The only remote issue I have with Immortalis is that it's not a very easy to find album. It was released on some obscure label "Bodog" - I never heard of them before and they certainly did not do a very good job promoting the album. I wouldn't be surprised if some casual Overkill fans do not even know of its existence as the album did not seem to be on anyone's radar at the time was released.

Not surprisingly, Bodog did such a bad job promoting the album that they have not even bothered printing enough copies of it. It was hard enough to find when it was first released but now it is in fact out of print! Shame because it is a solid album, it's better than Relix and I'd venture saying that it is as solid as Killbox 13 and Ironbound.

It definitely need to be picked up by Nuclear Blast and re-released.

I have to say I don't really think there's a weak Overkill album except maybe I Hear Black.My fave post Horroscope release is by far Bloodletting. Just an amazing album without a weak song.

There aren't any underrated OverKill albums in my eyes. All of their albums are great.
Fav band ever!

Immortalis was a great album. I don't see what it get so much stick. Same with ReliXIV. Another awesome Overkill album... although the production is a bit meh!

INVADERS wrote:

There aren't any underrated OverKill albums in my eyes. All of their albums are great.
Fav band ever!

The reason I called them underrated is because people generally know and rave about their 80s albums more so than their current releases. However, personally I feel they only got better with time. Sure their 80s stuff is great but their newer stuff can be at times even better.

I'm most familiar with the post 80s material so I think most of them are underrated. My favorite ones are I Hear Black (my first one) and W.F.O.

Fat Freddy wrote:

FROM THE UNDERGROUND AND BELOW is my fave Overkill since the glory days. I'm also partial to NECROSHINE and RELIXIV.

But then, I'm a fanboy. I kinda like'em all.

What he said!

From the Underground rules, as does Necroshine and RELIXIV.

I like their whole catalog.some of my favorites are their later albums.From the Underground and Below,RelixIV,Killbox,all good stuff to me.

I don't listen to WFO very often. I think it's a production issue more than anything. The rest of their 90's output and beyond is pretty consistant to my ears. If I had to pick one, I have a preference towards Necroshine.

I still need to get Ironbound. It's the only one I'm missing.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I don't listen to WFO very often. I think it's a production issue ...

Yes, it's the overly loud clanky bass guitar while the guitars are buried in the mix. Still, great songs on that album. Listen to Wrecking Your Neck!

Immortalis is my favorite Overkill album. Love the grove.

Alex Dee Rokket wrote:

Not surprisingly, Bodog did such a bad job promoting the album that they have not even bothered printing enough copies of it. It was hard enough to find when it was first released but now it is in fact out of print! Shame because it is a solid album, it's better than Relix and I'd venture saying that it is as solid as Killbox 13 and Ironbound.

It definitely need to be picked up by Nuclear Blast and re-released.

They sold cool picture discs of it at the show.

Got one of those (& a RelixIV one online) & now we get a wee pic disc (just a couple tracks) w/ a hole thru the band member's head for the new record!?
http://cgi.ebay.com/PIC-7-OVERKILL-Bring-Me-Night-2010-/380233602201?pt=B%C3%BCcher_Unterhaltung_Music_CDs&hash=item5887b05499

Still bought one though.
Got to "get into" Relix next. That one sort of went right by me.

The overly loud clanky bass is one of the reasons I love W.F.O. Funny but true.

I also think Taking Over never gets enough love.

The production on WFO is amazing. It's like a sledgehammer. Didn't Terry Date produce that one too? I can't remember.

The riffs and songs don't do much for me though, not many great hooks on there to me.

jstate wrote:

I also think Taking Over never gets enough love.

YES

Temple of Blood wrote:

The production on WFO is amazing. It's like a sledgehammer. Didn't Terry Date produce that one too? I can't remember.

The riffs and songs don't do much for me though, not many great hooks on there to me.

Terry Date didn't produce it. Only Overkill are credited as the producers.

There's not a bad song on W.F.O., in my opinion. Great album.

007 wrote:

I have to say I don't really think there's a weak Overkill album except maybe I Hear Black.My fave post Horroscope release is by far Bloodletting. Just an amazing album without a weak song.

Yes! Bloodletting is amazing! To me it's the perfect mix of their earlier sound mixed with a more modern sound. Also my favorite post Horrorscope album.

I also enjoy WFO quite a bit. The bass makes me laugh but the songs are strong. Sounds pretty close to the same realm as Horrorscope I think.

Immortalis is weird for me. I love half, the rest kind of bores me. My favorites are Devils in the Mist, Skull and Bones, Chalie Get Your Gun, and Overkill V.

And I saw mention of Taking Over, that one was my first Overkill album and it remains my favorite still. They had something really special with that one.

On a semi-unrelated note but related to the fact that Taking Over was mentioned:

Don't you guys find it a little funny that now, nearly 30 years later we hear from ex-Overkill members like Rat Skates and Bobby Gustafson who want their name out there again, and are kinda basing their current 15 minutes of fame on how much they contributed to Overkill?

Sure Rat Skates was an original member but I think his statements about how he is the reason Overkill got to where they are seem a bit bold to me. Without a doubt he contributed to their success but ultimately it is endurance and longevity that matters here. Just look at the nature of this thread: we are talking about albums that were released many years after both Rat Skates and Bobby Gustafson left the band, and most of us seem to at least like the newer albums as much as their 80s albums.

Yet we hear both Skates and Gustafson almost slamming Overkill for what they have become and are I feel they are somewhat disingenuous. They are both attempting to claim more credit for their contributions than they're really worth.

Don't get me wrong, I really like Gustafson's guitar work but I honestly do not think he was as integral as he and his personal fans believe. He was no more or less integral than the guitarists who followed after him in the band. While he was a good guitarist, I don't see him in the same light as Dave Mustaine who's songwriting and guitar work had a certain uniqueness when compared to say Kirk Hammett (who again is also very a different guitar player).

As for Skates - well he hasn't been as negative about Overkill as Gustafson (at least not that i can tell) but I feel he too is trying to claim a lot more credit than he really deserves.

I could be wrong I may be just looking at these two guys as bitter and jaded, however, I think they should move on to better and more constructive things.