OVERKILL — The Wings Of War (review)

OVERKILL — The Wings Of War album cover Album · 2019 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"The Wings Of War" is the 20th full-length studio album by US, New York based thrash/heavy metal act Overkill. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in February 2019. It´s the successor to "The Grinding Wheel" from 2017 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as drummer Ron Lipnicki has been replaced by Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, Anthrax, Toxik, Flotsam and Jetsam).

"The Wings Of War" pretty much continues the energetic and raw thrash/heavy metal style of "The Grinding Wheel (2017)" (and the style on quite a few albums before that one), with hard edged thrash/groove/heavy metal riffs, blistering solos, and a strong playing rhythm section. It´s sharp, it´s raw, and it´s powerful. The icing on the cake is as always the rusty "fuck you" attitude loaded vocals by lead vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth. His voice is like listening to nails put through a grinder but at the same time he is able to put enough melodic hooks and catchy phrases into the songs, to always keep a good balance between the raw and the more accessible.

There´s little out of the ordinary featured on "The Wings Of War" but all tracks are of a relatively high quality. Highlights include the opener "Last Man Standing", the heavy groove laden "Distortion", and the fast-paced and energetic "Welcome to the Garden State", but all tracks are pretty much of an equal quality and catchiness. The band are as usual incredibly well playing and obviously very passionate about what they do, and that´s one of their greatest assets.

Upon conclusion "The Wings Of War" is yet another high quality release by Overkill and I´m still amazed that they can continue to produce music of this quality, keeping in mind this is their 20th full-length studio album. There have been small ups and downs in quality over the years, but they are more or less the definition of solidity. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.
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siLLy puPPy wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Still haven't heard this. Gotta change that soon!

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