Overkill - I Hear Black review
| Band: | Overkill |
| Album: | I Hear Black |
| Style: | Thrash metal |
| Release date: | 1993 |
01. Dreaming In Columbian
02. I Hear Black
03. World Of Hurt
04. Feed My Head
05. Shades Of Grey
06. Spiritual Void
07. Ghost Dance
08. Weight Of The World
09. Ignorance & Innocence
10. Undying
11. Just Like You
12. Killogy [bonus]
I Hear Black marks the sixth full length album of the American band Overkill. This album puts on the table a different Overkill, very different from the past albums. Until I Hear Black Overkill was mainly a thrash metal band filled with very quick drum parts and sick riffs and solos. In this album they changed their style to a more alternative and underground personality.
Although, being very different from the previous albums, this is in my opinion an average album. Certainly this album shocked Overkill fans all around the world introducing a new style of metal. It was the beginning of the 90's, 1993 with grunge in the "mainstream" and with the help of Overkill another type of music was made. I always interpreted this album as a mix of nu-metal and thrash combined...with a touch of groove in some riffs and drum parts. With I Hear Black, the band broke the relationship between the fast and furious riffs, sick drum parts and insane voice parts by "Blitz". For the true fans of Overkill this is certainly a disappointing album but on the other hand, it has great elements that showed the level of competence this band brings since the start of their career.
Sure it doesn't have insane, fast, intense with crazy instrumental parts like the fans were used to since Feel The Fire... Still it was a good effort to give a different pace to their careers, sometimes bands have the necessity to change style, in order to freshen their minds. As a true fan of Overkill I have to be fair to all the styles both thrash and more alternative and say that this album is an average album with a few good tracks. Just thinking of "Dreaming In Columbian", "World Of Hurt" or "Feed My Head", it proves what I said, the three tracks are pretty good with great elements of thrash, heavy, groove and nu metal combined in each track. The band performance is not bad, Blitz is not amazing but still very well. Verni had a solid performance as always; the guitar duo had good parts and made a competent job; the drummer Tim Mallare is my least favourite drummer of Overkill but still performed well maintaining the level of competence between the rest of the members.
This album for the true fans of the band is not an "Overkill-masterpiece" but it is still an average album. I mean it isn't a complete disaster and for something alternative, it's OK. Still, it's the first album of a different band style... but still OK to keep in your personal collection.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 7 |
| Songwriting: | 6 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 7 |
Written by AndMetalForAll | 21.01.2012
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments: 14
Visited by: 87 users
| AndMetalForAll kual21 Posts: 314 From: Portugal  |
Highlights: "Dreaming In Columbian", "World Of Hurt" and "Feed My Head" greets, AndMetalForAll
---- greets, kual21
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 From: Canada  |
This album sucks. Typical of the sucky decade the 90s were for Thrash. Pretty much every new album from an 80s Thrash band sucked. When you put Thrash and 90s in the same sentence, the word that comes to mind is 'sucks'.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| R'Vannith ghedengi Posts: 3099 From: Australia  |
This album always leaves a bad taste in my mouth after giving it a listen. Hollow and barren is how I'd describe it. A more than fair review.
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| JohnDoe Account deleted |
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| AndMetalForAll kual21 Posts: 314 From: Portugal |
Written by Guest on 22.01.2012 at 20:39 What i meant to say is: the nu metal is usually associated to alternative, mixing grunge with heavy for example...In my opinion Overkill started that alternative metal, i didn't meant to say nu-metal as the style itself...but the start of something alternative in the world of metal..and of course giving the first steps in the nu-metal scene... And there isn't a specific date to the start of nu-metal, it arises in the 90's. I don't dislike this album either but it's way different than the typical Overkill. greets, AndMetalForAll
---- greets, kual21
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| JohnDoe Account deleted |
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 From: UK  |
Written by Guest on 22.01.2012 at 21:43 I totally agree with this. The album is highly influenced by Sabbath. Grunge/alternative are not really influences I hear on this album at all. I personally love this album a lot, although it took me a while to fully warm to some of it's tracks. "Weight Of The World" and possibly also "Just Like You", are the only ones that really bear any resemblance to the Overkill of the previous 4 albums, so I can definitely see why some fans wouldn't like this one much. "World Of Hurt" is my fave song from this album. I love the lyrics, and melodies, and also the amazing solo. @Ravenking: You seem to clearly see this album as being a lot worse than earlier Overkill material, yet I thought you hated Overkill, even their earlier thrash days... 
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 From: Canada |
Written by Angelic Storm on 22.01.2012 at 23:22 I never liked Overkill, yes. But, Imo, they released better material than what we can hear on this album during their career. For example, "Ironbound" is not an album I would buy but I would surely take it over "I Hear Black" anyday. Same for "Horrorscope" and some others.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 From: UK |
Written by RavenKing on 23.01.2012 at 00:37 Ah, okay I know what you mean now.  So you don't find Overkill's thrash material entirely without merit then?
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 From: Canada |
Written by Angelic Storm on 25.01.2012 at 14:31 I don't think I ever said that those guys mever released anything decent or have no talent. I only said that I don't like this kind of Thrash. When it comes to Thrash, I like it to be more extreme. That's why I like bands such as Flames, Hellish Crossfire, Hypnosia, Kreator, Merciless, early Slayer, etc. Overkill is too tame for me. Anyway, like it happens quite often with Thrash bands, vocals are enough to turn me off.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 From: UK |
Written by RavenKing on 26.01.2012 at 00:41 Well, Overkill have created some very aggressive riffs in their career... But I can understand about the vocals. I myself love Bobby's unique vocals, and his screams give me the chills still today. However, I acknowledge that his vocals are a very aqquired taste, and it doesn't surprise me that some people hate them even though I love them myself. lol
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| AndMetalForAll kual21 Posts: 314 From: Portugal |
Written by Angelic Storm on 26.01.2012 at 05:46 In my opinion "Blitz" is one of the top frontmen in metal music. He has an excellent voice that has been improving through the years, you can see that in the band's most recent album Ironbound...what a performance, he was the best member performing in Ironbound album.. He shifts from high pitched singing to a lower range with a great and unique voice, and that is very rare to listen in a heavy metal record. He's one of my favourite singers in metal, no doubt about that!! greets, AndMetalForAll
---- greets, kual21
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 From: UK |
Written by AndMetalForAll on 26.01.2012 at 17:31 I couldn't agree more! I actually prefer his voice on more recent albums as it's matured and has more grit in it than before. I also think he's an awesome frontman with great stage presence, and he puts everything into what he does. He can still do THAT venemous scream even today, which just blows me away, and his lower range has definitely improved with age. He does have a very unique voice, and that makes it an aqquired taste, but I've always loved it a lot. He's one of my faves too for sure!
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| LWR88 Posts: 8 From: USA |
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