OVERKILL "The Wings of War"

OVERKILL

"The Wings of War"

If there's any such thing as an atomic clock in heavy metal, Overkill is it. Every other year, a new platter from the Jersey boys surfaces and never does it disappoint. They are usually 10 trackers, too, just like "The Wings of War".

What can we say about the 19th album from this most dependable of wrecking crews? Well, new drummer Jason Bittner, late of Shadows Fall and Flotsam & Jetsam, have given it a swift kick in the ass. His drumming is explosive and machine gun-like in its velocity. Much like Scott Travis did for Priest on "Painkiller", Bittner has added some spice to Overkill. That's heard nowhere better than first track "Last Man Standing", which comes tearing out of the gate like a nitro-fueled funny car.  WOW, this is one of the fastest Overkill tracks ever and certainly one of their best opening cuts. It's incredibly fierce for a band of this vintage!

There is a harder and heavier edge overall to "The Wings of War" as compared to the last album "The Grinding Wheel", which was the first one in a while to actually drop in intensity. I would compare this new one more to "The Electric Age". It is true...most of the songs here fit a very predictable Overkill pattern and that might be a slight drawback, but come on, you're not gonna get post-punk or symphonic metal from these guys at this stage of their career.

"Head of a Pin" is definitely more of the "groovy" Overkill but it builds to a fierce climax and one of Blitz's most hair-raising screams.  "Welcome to the Garden State" is super catchy and almost like a thrash metal Ramones, although I could have done without the "millenial whoop" Whoa-oh-oh's. "Hole in My Soul" ends the album with another intense thrasher. Everything in-between is the Overkill we've come to know and love over the years.

Reviews are kind of hard for these guys, just like they were for Motorhead. The final analysis is the same...quality guaranteed! Just pick the damn thing up already!

NUCLEAR BLAST

OVERKILL