sibbabami.blogspot.com: Overkill

Overkill

Overkill is an American thrash metal and later groove metal band, formed in 1980 in New Jersey. The band has been active since 1984, releasing 14 studio albums, 2 EPs, 2 albums and a "covers" album. The band also has a notable mascot, a skeletal bat with a skull-like face, bony wings, and green eyes. It has appeared on most of their album covers.

Overkill was formed in 1980 from the ashes of the punk band "The Lubricunts", featuring Rat Skates and D.D. Verni (real names Lee Kundrat and Carlo Verni). D.D. and Rat placed an ad looking for a guitarist and singer which was answered by Bobby Ellsworth and the first remnants of Overkill were formed. After rejecting several names, including "Virgin Killer", the band finally settled on Overkill. Early covers, especially those done under the "Virgin Killers" name, were punk songs by The Ramones, The Dead Boys and others. By late 1980, the band had recruited dual guitarists, and the setlist was made up of songs by bands such as MotÃƒÂ¶rhead ("Overkill", half of the Ace Of Spades album), Judas Priest ('Tyrant' was their closer), and Riot. Along with the new influx of heavy metal covers, the band still played a smattering of punk covers, with extra distortion, intensity, and speed, marking Overkill as one of the first thrash bands.

In 1981, guitarists Rich Conte and Bobby Gustafson joined the band. At this point, the band started writing original songs, including "Grave Robbers" (later renamed "Raise The Dead"), "Overkill", and "Unleash The Beast (Within)". More songs would follow, including "Death Rider" (1981) and "Rotten To The Core" (1982). In 1983 Rich left and Bobby Gustafson remained as the sole guitarist. The band became a staple at New York and New Jersey clubs, such as L'Amours, and D.D. gave Bobby the nickname "Blitz" due to his over-the-top lifestyle, a lifestyle that once earned Bobby an ejection from the band for a few days in 1983. Around this time, the classic green logo was adopted, which Rat Skates specifically designed to stand out on a poster loaded with red and black logos of other bands on the bill.

Origin: United States of America (Brooklyn, New York / New Jersey)
Formed in 1980
Genre(s): Thrash Metal
Lyrical theme(s): Death/Violence/Rebellion

The Album

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"The Years of Decay" is an album by the thrash metal band Overkill, released in 1989 (see 1989 in music) under the label Mega (but was distributed by Atlantic Records). Considered Overkill's breakthrough album, The Years of Decay featured one of the bands best known songs "Elimination", which had a popular music video. Many fans and critics consider this to be one of their best albums.

Recorded with famed producer Terry Date (Pantera, White Zombie, Soundgarden), The Years of Decay featured the bands cleanest production, mixing the raw approach of Under The Influence with more complex song structures and epic elements found on Taking Over. The album also featured a more serious atmosphere and longer songs, including the eight minute title track and the ten minute "Playing With Spiders/Skullkrusher." The uptempo thrasher "Elimination" was released as a single, and the music video received regular play on MTV's Headbangers Ball. The song became a fan favorite, and would be played at every show, even 15 years later. support for The Years of Decay took place in part with a tour called "Dawn Of The Decade" together with label mates Testament.