Artist: Overkill
Album: Scorched
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Release Date: April 14th, 2023
Overkill is like AC/DC to me in the fact that you always kind of know what you’re going to get soundwise from a new album by them. That’s not meant to be an insult, because Overkill knows their lane and they know their audience, and album after album they deliver the full metal goods.
Scorched is no exception to this pattern and considering that this is the band’s twentieth full studio album to be released, it’s a remarkable feat.
Starting out with the album’s title track, it’s clear that Overkill hasn’t lost a step over the years. In fact, they sound as fresh and relevant in 2023 as they did way back in 1985.
Make no mistake, Overkill is undoubtedly one of the best Thrash Metal bands to ever walk the earth. And they are still bringing the fire throughout this entire new album with brutal tracks like “The Surgeon”, the galloping rhythm of “Wicked Place”, “The Harder They Fall” and “Know Her Name” which has one of the most wicked metal bass lines by D.D. Verni, the likes of which hasn’t been heard since Cliff Burton was alive.
Overkill probably didn’t set out to prove they still have the fire after all these years, but that’s exactly what they’ve done with “Scorched”. This is how it’s done. A full-on, old-school metal assault with an extra punch in the teeth for good measure. Look for this album to be the highlight on many “Best Of” music critics’ lists for 2023.
