Overkill – Scorched Review

If the job description of a journalist is to be impartial – if indeed a critic is a journalist at all – then stand back while I fail at that fundamental task… and fail soundly.

At this point, thirty-plus years since The Years Of Decay and Under The Influence first wrecked my neck in the wayback days, it’s damned near impossible for me to be impartial when it comes to a new Overkill record. Thus, any “criticism” that may accidentally happen in what follows should be tagged with the giant green-and-black caveat of “Overkill fanboy likes Overkill… a lot.” Impartiality has its place, and that place is not in my Overkill review; impartiality is simply not meant for long-time favorite bands still riding high on the wave of a third-act career resurgence, not for an album this energetic and this enjoyable, not when raw emotion and a gleefully devilish spirit are fundamental facets of the game.

I’ve been looking forward to what would become Scorched since The Wings Of War strafed the ground around us in 2019; I’ve waited through multiple pandemic-related release-date bumps, from 2021 through a series of 2022 postponements, and up ‘til now. And from the cyclical guitar lead that opens the title track onward, it’s clear that those four years weren’t wasted ones. As Wings turned around Grinding Wheel’s slight downward dip, Scorched continues the upswing, which makes it the best Overkill since White Devil Armory, almost a decade ago. Each of these ten tracks is bursting with the band’s near-signature intensity, embodied in the twin towers of Blitz’ hyperactive persona and gravelly grit alongside DD’s stoic calm and rock-solid riffery. If you’ve ever bothered with Overkill at all, you already know what you’re getting here – this is classic-styled thrash, modern-sounding and fresh enough to fit in, but born of the heart and soul of the glory days by a band who helped make those days glorious.

What those extra years of preparation time allowed was a sharper focus, the ability to refine and reflect and re-write these tracks until each is sharp and shining. Recorded by the band members individually and mixed by Colin Richardson – his fourth Overkill effort, and first since they moved out of their groove-metal era – Scorched is stout, punchy, but also lithe and limber. It crushes when it needs to, bounces when it needs to – not a wall-of-sound oppression, but certainly one that hits hard in all the right moments. Blitz’s voice is ageless, as wailing and distinctive as it’s ever been; it’s the most readily apparent factor of Overkill’s sound, and it hasn’t lost a step. His melodies soar, filled with hooks and catchy twists of phrase. The guitar tandem of Linsk and Tailer operate in perfect lockstep, the former spilling out killer leads while the latter holds the rhythm in place with a firm right hand. Now on his second Overkill outing, Shadow’s Fall drummer Jason Bittner provides the engine, the spark that powers the entire affair, easily matching pace with Blitz’s nearly inhuman energy.

After the title track scorches the ground in appropriate fashion, the raging “Goin’ Home” and first advance track “The Surgeon,” provide all the quality killing that Overkill fans expect: Those melodic hooks, riffs for days, the groove-leaning breakdown in the latter track… “Twist Of The Wick” is a balls-out thrasher, a mid-album highlight, especially when paired with the slower and more deliberate pace of “Wicked Place.” Admittedly, the grungy pace of “Fever” is the album’s lowest point, a chunky and dark track that harks back to those groove-metal days, although it’s truly neither a misfire nor a mistake – merely a sidestep that is overshadowed by the full-on thrashfest that surrounds it. By the time Scorched rollicks to a close with the palm-muted jaunt of “Bag O Bones,” it’s been fifty-one minutes of no-frills, no-bullshit, Grade-A New Jersey thrash metal. If you were expecting anything less… then… what? And why?!

Now six albums past their rebirth with Ironbound, Overkill circa 2023 is a well-oiled machine. The only real surprise to Scorched is one that most fans wouldn’t find that surprising: that the green-and-black continues to be this damned good, all these years later, and now with their two primaries in their 60s. They’re showing no signs of slowing down, though, and this fanboy says bless ‘em for it…

I waited four years for new Overkill, and I got exactly the record I wanted. Kick-ass Overkill thrash, all around. Hands down a winner.