helterskelter.ca

OVER KILL
1987 - Taking Over.
1988 - Under The Influence.
1989 - The Years Of Decay.
1991 - Horrorscope.
1997 - From The Underground And Below.
way more Helter Skelter.

September 1, 1987 - 2022: 35 years of: Taking Over.

Feel this fire from New-Jersey.

Here is the formula for classic mid 80s East-Coast thrashmetal: Bay-Area thrash with Euro-powermetal melodies ...think: Cliff-era METALLICA with 70s-era JUDAS PRIEST.

Hits like a hammerhead, the whirlwind of "Deny The Cross" opens the metal-purgatory. Pure speedmetal takes the cake on "Powersurge" while the brutal "Electro-Violence" is a raunchy overload. The ending progressive-themed epic "Overkill II (The Nightmare Continues)" pushes all the tricks into a clever twisted birth of tension.

Metal-anthem bound, the fist-pumping and crowd-gathering "In Union We Stand" unofficially became the band's war-cry and on the other side of the spectrum the devastating "Wrecking Crew" still resonate as the band's ultimate signature.

The immortal East-Coast thrashmetal-template: Megaforce Records and Pyramid Sound Studios with Alex Perialas behind the desk ...it kills and often, overkills. By late 1987 the band already had released the infamous Fuck You EP, preparing the road for the monstrous end of the line 1988's Under The Influence LP.

*
In Union We Stand = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu2gsCHFkGI
Taking Over = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKD89qPjJUU&list=PLgtvGkabBTgjgF_5pd2klHmppqCBMFSb6
Intreview on Headbanger's Ball in 1987
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQkCjMzcxh0
Live in Germany in 1987
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdgN0UFm3tM

July 5, 1988 - 2023: 35 years of: Under The Influence.

Feel their influence !

1988's USA is cut in half: West-Coast thrash -versus- East-Coast thrash. Running behind the Bay-Area, the NY + NJ carnivores of NUCLEAR ASSAULT, ANTHRAX and OVER KILL, were not gonna leave a single riff behind. Still feeling the fire, OVER KILL's take-over would be a mosh-domination.

Fast and furious, they rip the scene to "Shred". Guitar-downstroke heaven, parallel to the mighty Hetfield, Gustafson and the wrecking-crew activates the pit. The riff-o-rama continues on "Never Say Never" and the concept-track for "Overkill III (Under The Influence)" distribute more epic Eurometal lines along American progressive thrash.

Modern speed of "Mad Gone World" and "Head First" blasts, while the pummeling laid-back "Drunken Wisdom" is a lesson into muddy violence. The MTV-single for "Hello From The Gutter" waves the flag high, as the Big Apple is: The Greatest City In The World.

Record number three, Mike Tyson power-punch number three: OVER KILL is in the zone. Don't look elsewhere for perfection, one of thrashmetal's pinnacle would arise in the form of 1989's The Years Of Decay LP.

"Welcome to the gutter ...we've been expecting youuuuu ha ha ha !!!" - Blitz

*
Hello From The Gutter = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwJbu_llZGY
Under The Influence = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy-1B2pY7vs&list=OLAK5uy_mDvC8qY8hnBHlnPF24R3HCmlD_rC8F3SY
Interview in 1988
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djyNXA3iPRw
Live in Peekskill in 1988
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfZcz6GMP4I

October 13, 1989 - 2019: 30 years of: The Years Of Decay.

Can you feel the fire ? are you still under the influence ? 'coz OVER KILL are taking over !

Hello from the gutter, as the New Jersey-boys finally hit the everlasting sough after Grand Slam. Album # 4 in the ethereal year 1989, a collection of some of the best thrashmetal releases known to man, and OVER KILL is at the pole-position. The Years Of Decay stands in front-line with the other premiere thrashmetal classics of: Alice In Hell, Beneath The Remains, Universe, And Justice For All, Nothingface and label-mates TESTAMENT with their Practice What You Preach LP.

The perfect thrashmetal album ?
We tend to think so !

Exhibit A:
The aggression reaches Mach IV on "Time To Kill" were hate takes a new metal-meaning. The opening thunder and riff sets-in has Blitz yells the apocalyptic "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh !!!" The mid breakdown-part is heaviness redefined and slowly snakes around to finally climax again with the main burst-o-energy riff. Genius !

Exhibit B:
The killer punchy hit in "Elimination". The riff, the sing-along chorus, the power-chord bridge, the melodic-lead, the speedmetal-lead, lyrics about dying and overall MOTÖRHEAD-attitude ...is there anything this song CAN'T do ?

Exhibit C:
"Skullkrusher" were BLACK SABBATH Volume 4-era goes thrashmetal. The mammoth downtuned riff is Godzilla on Valiums, while the totemistic drums keeps the clock in check. The thick quicksand swallows you into oblivion, slowly but surely as you grasp your last breath, then the mid upbeat-part makes way and leaves room for Gustafson's blistering lead-work. Iconic !

Exhibit D:
Heaven is found on the title-track, the grandiose "The Years Of Decay". Full classical-guitar verse and melodies throughout the 8min epic. The bombastic drums turns this song into a mosh-pit frenzy at the 2:55sec mark. Back to beauty in darkness at 5:02sec before the catatonic finale at the 6:26sec point of no return. Majestic-metal... thrashmetal's "Stairway To Heaven" !

Exhibit E:
Speed, hate and Armageddon AKA "E.vil N.ever D.ies". They never did and they never will. After the sonic-echoed intro, every elements of the band goes into overdrive. Fast-paced riffing and matching drums, this is OVER KILL's fastest and raunchiest song ever written. Verni's commanding distorted-bass takes full control at 2:51sec and explodes into the off-tempo part. The deadly guitar-tone crawls back at 3:50sec, pumping more adrenaline into this perfect-system. 4:25sec point: speed, speed and more speed as it leads us into another eardrum bleeding lead-guitar frenzy. Un-fuckin-paralleled musicianship !

Exhibit F:
Every other God-damn tracks of this hot opus. Extra mojo for the bass-guitar licks on "Nothing To Die For" ...hail D.D. Verni !

Bargaining with gasoline, The Years Of Decay LP is a Royal Flush of thrashmetal drums, thrashmetal guitars, thrashmetal bass and thrashmetal vocals, wrapped in thrashmetal production and vibe. In-your-face East-Coast suburban thrash with Euro-powermetal influenced vocals, all delivered with DIY-stamina ...there is none higher, none. The perfect thrashmetal album, a pinnacle in the genre, the gift that keeps on giving for a life-time of headbanging enjoyment.

Unfortunately this would be the last union with creative guitarist Gustafson as he would be let go later after the tour ...the door was now open for the creation of OVER KILL 2.0 with 1991's Horrorscope CD.

Still rotten to the core, 30 years have passed and The Years Of Decay is still worshipped by OVER KILL fans and blue-collar fans of the genre. Rumor says that this album was the catalyst for PANTERA's Dimebag Darrell guitar-tone for the upcoming Cowboys From Hell sessions ...would you agree ?

*
Elimination = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svi6JiMe9c0
The Years Of Decay = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QoaV0P6ILQ&list=PLA592BE2F70B0D927
Live in 1990 at the Trocadero
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfDlX1CZy-c
some guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww6xmIu_VRw

September 3, 1991 - 2021: 30 years of: Horrorscope.

Today's horoscope: one of the last classic-thrash record of the era.

In the history-books, American thrashmetal has always been a West-Coast thang. Still under the influence, after the 4 decaying-LP explosion of the initial Bobby Gustafson era, changes happened and we welcome to the arena: guitarist Merritt Gant and second guitarist Rob Cannavino ...the upgraded and fatter OVER KILL 2.0

Intro and death. Fall into a "Coma", deep yet fully alive, this is another lesson in violence. This metal-sickness is "Infectious", a punchy and massive attack. Tuned to D, this gang used to say "Fuck You" as they now politely shouts "Thanx For Nothin" !

The center-piece of the album: your personalized "Horrorscope". Verni's 8-string bass-intro sets the doom-switch to the On-Position and the Terry Date produced guitar-tone hammers you with mid-paced SABBATH-worshipping ton-like down-picking. OVER KILL are in the zone, one of thrashmetal's shiniest moments.

New-school and old-vibe is taking over, this "New Machine" is the best unit in true blue-collar thrashmetal ...the Big Four who ? And the Edgar Winter's genre-defining "Frankenstein" reprise displays an updated classic in a metal-format.

During the torment of METALLICA's million-selling genre-redefining Black Album CD, the OVER KILL-ers were now, some of the last men standing. East-Coast and extreme, the Jersey-boys would later come back from the underground and below through the 90s, with some wide fucking open undiluted killing kind thrashmetal.

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Horroscope = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3TIHEHObjI
Thanx For Nothin' = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPNnA9sXRfM
Horrorscope = full CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbTVVXNm9IM&list=PLoIJlr-assecjWlKghgJfQvTYKcI7kReo
Interview MTV in 1992
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RZrkgbu8u4
Live in Pennsylvania in 1991
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwUygCENlbM

September 30, 1997 - 2022: 25 years of: From The Underground And Below.

Thrashmetal's rebirth.

Deep into the mid 90s, thrashmetal was near-absent from the hardnheavy landscape, but in 1997, things started to brew again, namely the über heaviness of TESTAMENT and the raw return of RAZOR. And after 1996's dirty metal offering in The Killing Kind CD, New-Jersey's hardest working thrash band was back again with some more lethal material since 1992's Horrorscope CD.

OVER KILL lives !
"It Lives" ! ...a slap in the face, modern thrashmetal with, as always DIY esthetics. Crude and unstoppable, the massacre continues with "F.U.C.T." and the album's closer, the maniacal lifeless spree of a "Little Bit O' Murder".

The "Genocya" freight-train doesn't stop for nobody, while the redneck-rock feel of "I'm Alright" and "The Rip N' Tear" takes care of any still standing braves out there. The only faux-pas present is the powerballad of "Promises", we fans still asks ourselves why ?

Round Two for the OVER KILL 3.0 incarnation, now featuring new axemen Joe Comeau and Sebastian Marino. Comeau would provide added back-vocals throughout his tenure with the band. Getting their hands dirty and still wrecking our necks, the Blitz and Verni creative dynamic mosh duo would devastates again with 1999's Necroshine CD.

East-Coast thrashmetal: abrasive art truely from the underground and below.

*
From The Underground And Below = full CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQnc5bZ0e34&list=PLgtvGkabBTgjuKevo5kJVWrMaSnnq4xxV
Interview in 1998
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOT20zXah_c
Live in Montreal in 1998
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5fIGA2ScO8