Published on Dec 31, 1998
Every band needs to get a start towards greatness, and heavy
metallers Overkill are no exception. Although their commercial
attraction has been on the wane for no good reason, their music has
remained challenging and progressive, raising metal to new levels
over the last ten years or so.
And then, there’s
Taking Over, their 1987 major label debut (and second
release for MegaForce). Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth and crew have some
solid moments on this album, but the overall sound hurts the album
– making it, sadly, almost indistinguishable from some of the other
cutting-edge metal from that time like Slayer and Anthrax.
At times, it’s almost like the bass work of D.D. Verni is
completely buried in the mix, and the “snap” of Rat Skates’s drum
work has been washed out. This is a major disappointment to me –
possibly because I know now what this band was capable of, both in
their sound and their songwriting.
Ah, the songwriting. There is more than glancing evidence that
Overkill was a better than average metal act. Cuts like “Wrecking
Crew,” “Fatal If Swallowed” and “Powersurge” all sound just as good
today as they did 11 years ago. But it’s on other songs like “Deny
The Cross” that the songwriting shows that it needs to grow a bit.
(And, no, I’m not picking on “Deny The Cross” for its subject
matter; this could have been a decent song with a little more work
– and, obviously, better production.)
Ellsworth is in fine voice throughout Taking Over, and guitarist
Bobby Gustafson sounds like he’s doing the work of three guitarists
throughout this album. Check out “Overkill II (The Nightmare
Continues)” as proof of his six-string capabilities.
Sure, some of the tracks have a little bit of rust on them
today, such as “Electro-Violence”. But despite the production
qualms I have,
Taking Over is still kind of fun to listen to at times. I
just wouldn’t want to make this one a regular part of my diet –
especially when I know that Overkill has tastier selections in
their catalog.
Now, I do have to keep in mind that this was only Overkill’s
second album, and I’m a bit biased because I’ve heard a lot of
their later work. But I’m not saying that
Taking Over is a bad album; it’s just one that shows the
growing pains a metal band can go through. It’s still worth a
listen or two, if approached with a mixture of respect and
caution.