OVERKILL: The Wings Of War (THRASH): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Old people have hard skin. Just look at Overkill to measure the longevity of a large number of bands that easily display several decades on the meter. It seems that metal, especially extreme metal, is a source of youth. The New Yorkers are still there, around the indissoluble duo of screamer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and bassist D.D. Verni.

While the recruitment of Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, Flotsam And Jetsam) as a new hitter, replacing Ron Lipnicki, will not upset the thrashers' signature, it can nevertheless be said that he is no stranger to the renewed power of the well known "The Wings of War", which continues a work that is nevertheless placed under the sign of an eternal steep and bitumenous energy.

Certainly, this twentieth opus will not surprise the aficionados, accustomed to the high perched vocals of Father Bobby on whom time seems to have no hold, but it will not disappoint them either, filling a chunky and tense menu that has no dead time or lower regime. According to his dreadful habit, Overkill immediately strike with "Last Man Standing" which arrives at a hundred miles an hour, combining snarling catchphrases and nourished melodies within the pure heavy metal.

If they never leave their pre-square, the Americans have too much work to be satisfied with a resurgence of their previous records, however unstoppable they may be. In fact, "The Wings Of War" does not just run to the floor by pounding on a good old family thrash - which would nevertheless be enough for our happiness - but does not hesitate to carve out a winding path in the midst of a bloody bellicosity. Often reptilian, the band excels at unwinding threatening atmospheres, including the four-stringed, unremitting D.D. Verni is the funeral scalpel ('Where Few Dare To Walk'), or sinking into heavy and dark swamps ('Head Of A Pin','Hole In My Soul' and their unhealthy foreplay).

Alongside the classic projections, although with a rigorous efficiency that looks like compressor rollers ('Bat Shit Crazy','Out On the Road-Kill'), there is a curious 'Welcome To The Garden-State' with punky hints, while 'Distorsion' opens with surprisingly bright guitar lines before it becomes one of the blackest tracks of the album.

"The Wings Of War" is not just another album in the imposing New Yorkers' racks, thanks to which they continue not only to build their legend but also to show it to the younger generation. Old people are definitely hard-skinned. - Official website

OVERKILL

THE WINGS OF WAR

NUCLEAR BLAST

THRASH