Review Summary: Immortalis isn't a disappointment, but just a routine power-thrash album.
Overkill is one of the best bands of thrash metal, which in spite of being slightly less popular with fans of bands like Testament, Exodus & Kreator among others, they're very consistent in their gene. Overkill has been stuck for a while and in the past few years haven't done anything new or different.
Immortalis is your typical modern Overkill album, It sounds like many Overkill albums before it but there are some good changes here and there, most of the groove sound that they had in their recent albums is gone and theres some Doom influence here. Although not very innovative, it's full of energy and with just a few dull moments.
Band Line up:
# Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth - Lead vocals
# D.D. Verni - Bass
# Dave Linsk - Lead guitar
# Derek Tailer - Rhythm guitar
# Ron Lipnicki - Drums
# Randy Blythe - Guest vocals on
"Skull and Bones"
There's nothing much memorable on this album but its got some good moments, a pretty good album to listen to every now and then. As Ive said before, there are some changes here, unlike some of their recent albums like
ReliXIV and
Kill Box 13, they've lost some of their groove sound and now have a more Doom metal sound to their songs which can be heard on "Hell Is" and a few other tracks.
There's no difficulty in recognizing stock-shots of old songs retouched here and there on this album, "Devils in the Mist" is a pretty fast song, the intro reminds me of
"Necroshine". "Skull and Bones" is my worst song by far on this album, Lamb Of God vocalist
Randy Blythe is the guest vocalist and just
ruins it for me, its mid-tempo rhythm reminds me of
"The Wait" and is probably derived from it. The crooner voice chorus from "Hellish Pride" is alright but can can get really boring after a listen or two. "Shadow of a Doubt" incorporates voice alternating solos-already used on
"What I'm Missin". As for the start of "Head On", its a little close to
"Spiritual Void" plus they go a bit "oldschool" with the last track and release another Overkill song, so nothing much new on this record but by that I don't mean its not enjoyable.
However, I really hope Overkill get some of their old guitarists back, the solos are sometimes bland and
Verni, the bassist often seems clueless. The inclusion of
Ron Lipnicki on drums isn't a very good choice either, I would much rather hear a deep pounding drum sound than the thin bright sound he tends to make.
Recommended Tracks:
Overkill V (Thrasher!)
Shadow of a Doubt
What It Takes
Head On (Doom)
Hell Is (Doom)
So basically,
Immortalis contains no definitive song that could become like an unavoidable song on future tours. Its not a disappointment but just a routine power-thrash album with slight Doom influence, pretty interesting but not very memorable. However it's really good that almost 30 years after they hit the scene, they can still release a pretty heavy album. A lot of bands look up to these guys and respect them a lot and I don't really think its possible to ever get a bad release from them. Check out this album if you're a fan.
Rating:
3.5/5
