"Bloodletting"
Metal-Is Records
By Vinnie Apicella After all this time-ten albums and countless years of "wrecking your neck" what more needs be said about this band. what more can be said that hasn't already? Since day one, amidst numerous lineup changes, musical diversions and an outlet that's never been a welcoming committee in the first place, none can boast more consistency than Blitz and crew. "Bloodletting" is their latest slab of metallic fury and from the opening moments of "Thunderhead" being thrust upon you, "breaking you into fragments," true to their intent, another crushing example of why Overkill still exists. Always a notch louder than the rest, Overkill's never been about standing still and watching the world go by. no matter what, where or when you can be rest assured they'll be there waiting to inflict their unique brand of punishment-"Bleed Me," second cut, featuring trademark guts and groove they've long established upon embarking on the more aggressive notions of nineties' metal, still as ferocious as ever! Mallare's drumming is again machine-like in the background, first brought about a number of albums of ago-heard any "black" lately? And with fists of fury the added dimension that they've developed has really kept 'em going at the breakneck pace many of todays up and comers would do well to learn from! And then here's this new guitar guy named Linsk; thought enough of to stand-alone and consequently make Overkill into the fearsome foursome they once were and the sound suffers not one bit! In fact, while I'll stop short of saying this record beats this one or that one, it's very comparable to their "Necroshine" disc from a couple years back-only more driven! Probably the only difference between the first four cuts can only be culled from the brief space that separates them from each other-it's that fast, that furious. "Death Comes Out to Play" will be one for the history books once the smoke clears-trademark chorus, brutally heavy. One problem I had personally with "Necroshine" was that they seemed to try to map out what they were going to do beforehand and some of the songs came out rather directionless and weak. it became old really quickly. In spite of the similarities between the two here, the songs take an elemental turn often enough where predictability's pushed off to the side. "Let it Burn's" got that "Bold Faced Pagan Stomp" feel from "The Killing Kind" record during the chorus but this one's definitely got more electricity running through it-and so whatever blood may have been let in the recording process has most certainly been replaced by the time it reaches your ears! "Left Hand Man" brings about the first real momentary break at its onset, similar to a "Soulitude" or dare I say, "Promises," before launching into a massive double-bass tirade that catapults it up among the album's most severe, yet definable. and building upon that thought, we arrive at the equally transient origins of "Blown Away" which in much the same way builds steadily into one of the record's more monumental moments. And just when you've spent your last few seconds of relaxation collecting those serene thoughts from the heady opus from before, they slam you with the heaviest track on the album, "My Name is Pain," a vintage slice of prime 'Kill that embodies those thrash-fits that once and again epitomizes what this band is still all about! Still razor sharp, still dangerous and still. Overkill in the year 2000, willing to tear it open and let the blood flow! |
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