OVERKILL
Back for an unprecedented 18th time, the masters of heavy metal with gremlin lead vocals come to us with ‘The Grinding Wheel’. Lead vocalist “Blitz” Bobby Ellsworth returns with his aforementioned gremlin voices, as does D.D. Verni on bass. Verni and Ellsworth have been at the forefront of each and every one of Overkill’s eighteen official releases. With that, they’ve added Dave Linsk on lead guitar in ’99, Derek “The Skull” Tailer on rhythm guitar in 2002, and Ron Lipnicki as their newest addition from 2005. Which means this current iteration of Overkill have been blazing their trail of glory for over a decade.
Attempting to rank Overkill’s discography will leave one puzzled. There is no way to truly say one album is better than its predecessor as nearly all of their (now eighteen) efforts are solid works. You’ll be glad to know Ellsworth and company have stuck to what they do best and that is delivering an up-tempo kick in the nuts with their 2017 offering! The best way to compare each release is to look deep into the album and find the absolute best of the best on each one.
A few tracks that truly stick out this time around as “instant classics” would be songs like ‘Goddamn Trouble’, which truly shows passion and explosiveness, while not necessarily being too deep. Our opening track, ‘Mean Green Killing Machine’, is another that you would have no issues with blasting out your speakers while cruising on Grand Ave. ‘Shine On’ is an excellent track as well, with terrific build and strong powerful balance. I would say the strongest showing this time around would go to our title track, ‘The Grinding Wheel’, which, clocking in at eight minutes, shows a more serious side of Overkill, with an epic build that equals some of today’s finer acts in the power metal scene.
Overkill has virtually guaranteed us that we will never see an experimental ‘Cryptic Writings’ or utter trash like ‘St. Anger’ with ‘The Grinding Wheel’. Fans should feel reassured that they are in competent hands with each and every release in this amazing catalog of albums, and this offering is no different. If you’re new to Overkill and enjoy this release, it’s probably time for you to journey through the rest of their catalog as it is equally impressive! Recommended for fans of any genre of metal!
Attempting to rank Overkill’s discography will leave one puzzled. There is no way to truly say one album is better than its predecessor as nearly all of their (now eighteen) efforts are solid works. You’ll be glad to know Ellsworth and company have stuck to what they do best and that is delivering an up-tempo kick in the nuts with their 2017 offering! The best way to compare each release is to look deep into the album and find the absolute best of the best on each one.
A few tracks that truly stick out this time around as “instant classics” would be songs like ‘Goddamn Trouble’, which truly shows passion and explosiveness, while not necessarily being too deep. Our opening track, ‘Mean Green Killing Machine’, is another that you would have no issues with blasting out your speakers while cruising on Grand Ave. ‘Shine On’ is an excellent track as well, with terrific build and strong powerful balance. I would say the strongest showing this time around would go to our title track, ‘The Grinding Wheel’, which, clocking in at eight minutes, shows a more serious side of Overkill, with an epic build that equals some of today’s finer acts in the power metal scene.
Overkill has virtually guaranteed us that we will never see an experimental ‘Cryptic Writings’ or utter trash like ‘St. Anger’ with ‘The Grinding Wheel’. Fans should feel reassured that they are in competent hands with each and every release in this amazing catalog of albums, and this offering is no different. If you’re new to Overkill and enjoy this release, it’s probably time for you to journey through the rest of their catalog as it is equally impressive! Recommended for fans of any genre of metal!
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Nuclear Blast
Album
THE GRINDING WHEEL
Review by Joshua Jaeger
RUNNING TIME:
60:12
RELEASE DATE:
10th February 2017
TRACK LISTING
1) Mean Green Killing Machine
2) Goddam Trouble
3) Our Finest Hour
4) Shine On
5) The Long Road
6) Let's All Go To Hades
7) Come Heavy
8) Red White and Blue
9) The Wheel
10) The Grinding Wheel
2) Goddam Trouble
3) Our Finest Hour
4) Shine On
5) The Long Road
6) Let's All Go To Hades
7) Come Heavy
8) Red White and Blue
9) The Wheel
10) The Grinding Wheel
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
USA
"Fans should feel reassured that they are in competent hands with each and every release in this amazing catalog of albums, and this offering is no different."
