Band:	Overkill
Album:	Ironbound
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	January 2010

01. The Green And Black
02. Ironbound
03. Bring Me The Night
04. The Goal Is Your Soul
05. Give A Little
06. Endless War
07. The Head And Heart
08. In Vain
09. Killing For A Living
10. The SRC

I've always wanted to travel to the eighties and touch the peak of thrash metal, when giants in the underground world like Overkill of New Jersey shied away from the camera and only thought about producing true thrash. Although Overkill always tried to reconstruct that world for people like me, bands like them suffer from people criminally under-rating skilled thrash bands. The only thing I can say is that, after the release of each album, everyone's jaw always dropped in admiration for them.

Forget about the composition of the Big 4, which kissed thrash goodbye and gave up once grunge soared into view and Metallica produced "Enter Sandman." If you thought we live in a world where there is no media present, the Big 4 were selected from among artists less visible to the public, from among bands unheard of by anyone who didn't go searching for real thrash. The "subservient" artists maintained their power and, above all, integrity. If I were forced to choose the Big 4, I would suggest the Big Three in the German style - Kreator, Destruction, and Sodom - and the one that should not be forgotten, Overkill. Of course, Overkill will always be called thrash, like it or not, because they play thrash of the purest and richest style. You can always count on this: if you want good thrash, Overkill won't disappoint you.

With its 16th album, we hear the return of that lovable monster that is predictable and well-known to us. What's predictable? It's fast, brutal, rough, and heavy. This album's ten tracks are fueled by the massive tanker that is D.D. Verni's apocalyptic bass, and the howling rhythms of Derek Tailer keep it rigid. Bobby Ellsworth's vocals (more like mysterious cackling) are the most prominent aspect of the album; Bobby's larynx has the best structure for this brand of sour thrash metal. And, of course, the percussion and lead guitar that nest in the depths of the album, ready to educate us and school us in the art of making blood flow. Overkill is like an unstoppable tank full of armor, resistant to any weather conditions and internal chaos; it may be wounded, but the motion never stops. Without Overkill, the thrash scene would be empty; they never give up, never change tempo, never lay down their weapons, and always greet their supporters with a smile. What better way to appreciate Ironbound, drowning in the cracks of the album? Is it any wonder that when the album starts, it seems like Overkill has come to raise up thrash again with iron steps? But Ironbound is complex and necessary for all metal fans. All the tracks are so extraordinary that the album needs its own review.

Ironbound is a symbol of the blood and sweat that Overkill poured into producing the thrash desired by its supporters, thrash that will quench even the thirstiest metal fans. One could not really expect less of this band, but nevertheless I am confident that Overkill will again surprise us all when they reveal their next work.

In the 1980s, thrash was alive?