Published on Nov 17, 2000
You really have to admire a band like Overkill while feeling
sorry for them at the same time. For 15 years, through all the
phases and rising fates of heavy metal, these guys have slugged it
out, releasing album after album of bone-crushing music that
occasionally dared to make the listener think. And while they have
moved away from the pure thrash base that made up discs like
Feel The Fire and
Taking Over, they have lost little of their power.
Yet Overkill is a band who have not been allowed the luxury of
fixing a lineup in cement. Vocalist Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth and
bassist D.D. Verni are the last original members of the lineup that
recorded
Feel The Fire. In recent years, Overkill has gone through
guitarists at a rapid pace, most recently losing Joe Comeau to
Annihilator (where he’ll be serving as lead vocalist).
Now, once again as a foursome, Overkill returns to blow out your
speakers with
Bloodletting, an album which suggests the band is still
having difficulties finding its footing again in a market where
there are no longer any solid ground rules.
It might seem like I’m ready to slam this album, which I’m not.
Bloodletting has many enjoyable moments to it, as did their
last studio effort
Necroshine. (
Coverkill, the band’s last album, was merely a collection of
cover tunes, though it was a great disc.) Tracks like
“Thunderhead,” “I, Hurricane” and “Blown Away” all suggest that
Overkill is one of the best-kept secrets in the world of heavy
metal, and has been for some time. Ellsworth remains one of the
most powerful vocalists out there, going from an ear-piercing
screech to a low growl effortlessly.
Yet there is both an air of uncertainty on
Bloodletting as well as a feeling like the band chose to
remain in a musical “holding pattern” until they could get their
recent lineup change solidified. Guitarist Dave Linsk (who makes
his second appearance on CD with Overkill) does an admirable job,
but throughout the album it feels like he’s not quite sure which
direction he should take his solos. Possibly not having a musical
foil like Comeau to feed off of is a limiting factor, and I’m
certain it’s something that can be overcome as Linsk gets
comfortable with his role in the band. (Keep in mind, as well, that
this is the first disc of Overkill originals where his work is
featured.) There are no faults to be found with his rhythm work,
however.
Musically, Overkill again seems to settle into a role they have
followed now for three studio efforts.
From The Underground And Below was a great album;
Necroshine was a shade weaker, but still enjoyable
musically.
Bloodletting builds on what the band accomplished with
Necroshine, breaking no new ground (unfortunately) but
following a proven, stable route. Tracks like “Death Comes Out To
Play,” “My Name Is Pain” and “Can’t Kill A Dead Man” are somewhat
enjoyable, but all in all, I found it difficult to really get
absorbed in this disc.
And it’s not that Overkill can’t accomplish this; when the band
gets a solid groove going, their power is close to unstoppable. But
Bloodletting just seems to miss capturing that on several
fronts – and while the effort is not poor, it’s not quite what the
long-time fans would expect. Don’t be surprised if you find
yourself around “What I’m Missin’,” the third track on the album,
and you wonder where the last ten minutes have gone. Normally, this
isn’t bad – unless, of course, you don’t have much of a
recollection of the music that just played. Maybe that’s the
problem with
Bloodletting; it too often falls into the trap of allowing
itself to be absorbed into the listener’s background.
Bloodletting should still please many fans of Overkill, and
is not by any meaning of the word a bad album. But anyone who has
followed Overkill for some length of time will seem to sense that
the band is capable of much greater things – and hopefully, these
will soon come, as well as stability with the band’s line-up.