UMUR "Necroshine" is the 10th full-length studio album by US, New York based thrash metal act Overkill. The album was released in February 1999 by Steamhammer/ SPV. Overkill has always been one of the hardest working and quality wise most consistent metal acts on the scene. They are like the Motörhead of thrash metal. Most of their albums are quality releases, that may not surprise you or leave you completely breathtaken, but they are sure to kick your ass and put a smile on your face, and that´s sometimes all that´s needed to make me happy.

The music on "Necroshine" is predominantly mid-paced groove laden and catchy thrash metal. The riffs are simple and effective but never simplistic to a point where they are not interesting anymore. The raw and attitute laden vocal delivery by Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth is as usual a defining element when listening to an Overkill album. It never cease to amaze me how vibrant and alive he sounds. The snarling "Fuck You" attitude is simply irresistable. "Necroshine" isn´t necessarily the band´s most interesting effort though and besides a few really great tracks the material is pretty standard for Overkill. Some of my personal favorites on the album are the title track and "Stone Cold Jesus", but if you ask me the tracks generally don´t stand out enough individually.

The production is professional and powerful and the musicianship is as always excellent. The band are extremely well playing and you can sense the burning passion, which is something I find is sadly missing on many other metal releases.

I really want to reward Overkill for their endless passion and relentless energy, but in the end "Necroshine" just isn´t their best effort and I guess somewhere between a 3 and a 3.5 star rating is fair. I still find the album recommendable though.