Band: Overkill
Album: Horrorscope
Year: 1991
Label: Atlantic
Lineup:
Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth - Vocals
D.D. Verni - Bass
Merritt Gant - Guitars
Rob Cannavino - Guitars
Sid Falck – Drums
Ah, Horrorscope. One of my favorite albums, and probably one of the best thrash albums next to The Years of Decay, Darkness Descends, and Bonded By Blood. This was released in 1991, in a time where thrash (and metal in general) was starting to go down the drain, and grunge and alternative were starting to become popular. In other words, gay music was infecting the world. Many good bands broke up or changed their sound. Metalheads cut their hair and had kids, and the tr00ness was leaving.
But some bands kept “tr00” and still kept making solid albums. Overkill was one of those bands, and this album was one of those aforementioned solid ones. Check that, it kicked some
fucking
ass.
This album kicks off with the fast headbanger “Coma”, and doesn’t slow down until the intro to “Bare Bones”, and then it kicks off again into a thrashing frenzy. Then the title track comes, and although it’s slower, it still manages to shove a Mack truck up your
cunt. You have no
cunt you say? Well, this album will give one to you, and rip it out with its giant claw of thrash. The album rumbles on through New Machine and an instrumental entitled Frankenstein (which is pretty damn catchy) until it gets to Live Young, Die Free, where the fast thrashing commences again. The album closes with a great ballad entitled “Soulitude”, where Blitz really shows some emotion.
Noticeable on this album is the crunchier guitar tone, and a little groove is found on some riffs. The drums are also mixed differently (notice the snare drum and bass drum sound), and Blitz’s voice also is a bit lower and a TAD bit raspier. People who didn’t like his voice before should probably be able to tolerate it this time.
Standout tracks:
All except for New Machine and Nice Day…For A Funeral. Those two just weren’t as good as the others on the album.
This album gets a 4.5/5 only because it lacks the great variety found on The Years of Decay. Other than that, a GREAT album.
