Overkill – Scorched

There’s a common misconception that I take pleasure in trashing classic thrash metal bands. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m well aware that the fiasco which ensued on Tuesday doesn’t help my case, but hear me out: Not ALL classic thrash metal bands have lost it. Most have, but not all. Overkill is one of these exceptions. For 40 years, this band has stuck to their guns, staying true to thrash even when it wasn’t fashionable to be. “But Joe, the groove metal era!” Oh, you mean that 15 year window between ’93 and ’07 when their riffs got tougher and harder? That’s right punk.

I am of the disposition that Overkill has never made a bad album. Not only that, but I don’t even think they’ve made a “good” album. Their catalog essentially ranges from great to perfection, with the last decade’s output veering towards the latter. “But Joe, they all sound the same!” Not really, but even so, ever hear the expression, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?” That’s why you never saw Overkill cut their hair, tour with Kid Rock, or attempt a 90 minute avant-garde metal abomination with voiceovers from a dying heroin junkie. This is a band who knows what they excel at and stick with it, laying the nonbelievers to waste with their 20th (!!!) studio album, Scorched.

If you’ve been following Overkill since their 80s heyday, then you have a good idea of what you’re getting on this release. If not, allow me to elaborate. This is an unadulterated thrash metal album, and a varied one at that. You’ve got your midtempo thrash, your moshy thrash, your groovy thrash, your high speed thrash; Overkill checks off all the boxes and then some. All of this is emphasized by punishing riffs, pulverizing double-bass drumming, face ripping guitar solos, and as always, the unmistakable high pitched shrieks of Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth. At 63 years old, this dude is still kickin’ ass, takin’ names, and sounding as pissed off as ever. If that isn’t the epitome of thrash, I don’t know what is.

Cuts like the title track, “Goin’ Home”, and “Know Her Name” are straightforward, no frills thrashers on the midtempo side of things, laying down the law with one muscular riff after the next, complete with a one way ticket to mosh city. “Twist of the Wick” and “Harder They Fall” push the speed dial into overdrive, testing the limits of one’s headbanging capability in true old school fashion. “Wicked Place” and “Fever” wouldn’t sound out of place on a 90s Overkill outing with their brooding groove metal-isms and doomy Sabbathian swagger. And then there’s outliers like “The Surgeon”, a wicked rager that takes us back to the days when metal was dangerous, or “Bag o’ Bones”, whose rowdy rockin’ aura recalls Aerosmith gone thrash.

Like I said, this album has it all. Even the most hard-up, “trve” extreme metaller is gonna want to lace up their high tops and dust off their old kutte after hearing Scorched. The fact is, any other thrash release this year will have to settle for second. The “Mean Green Killing Machine” have struck gold again. My only disappointment is that I have to wait to thrash to these songs live, where they’ll take on new life as future thrash anthems. Perhaps later this year? Don’t keep us hangin’ boys!

9 out of 10

Label: Nuclear Blast

Genre: Thrash Metal

For fans of: Exodus, Anthrax, Metal Church