What Are You Listening To?

[AlSymerz]

King Diamond - Abigail

 

[JamesT]

23 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Thanks for your interesting take Jimmy T. I haven't bought this new album yet but I've listened to it on YouTube once yesterday morning, part of it again last night and then the whole thing again early this morning. Did some shit around the house and then I braved the thunderstorms and went out to the tire shop to get a slow leaker plugged, stopped in the market for some groceries n shit because it's right next to the tire shop and then I came back and fired this bitch up again at 4:30pm with a beer like a Saturday afternoon snack.

I saw all the comments praising Bittner's drumming on the YT video and I guess drumming is just not an important part of a record for me, because I just don't get it. I can't really tell a great drummer from a good drummer from an average one from a drum machine. This just sounds like drumming to me, no better or worse or appreciably different than any of Overkill's past drummers. So that doesn't factor into anything for me. I just want there to be drums keeping the time and hopefully not be too clickety and plastic sounding or have a tin can snare. Beyond that I don't really give a shit what the drums do.

I've always been more interested in songwriting than musicianship. With half this band being even older than me in their 60's I damn well expect them to be able to play their instruments and know how to record and produce a metal album by now after 38 years in the biz. So evaluating any new Overkill album mainly comes down to the quality of the songs and the riffs for me. 

I do like this new album, but I don't like this collection of songs nearly as much as I did 2019's Wings of War. That to me was a great Overkill album and this one is just pretty good. There are some good tunes here on the new one like Wicked Place, Harder They Fall and I like the slow song Fever. But there are a few misses here as well. I really don't like this Twist of the Wick song track 4 at all. Most of side 1 falls into the generic forgettable modern Overkill fast thrash riff formula they've been using since 2010. Most of the side 1 songs have riffs that remind me a lot of older much better songs from previous albums. I think this'll end up being one of those side 2 records for me where I like the whole back half better than side 1. Not really digging Dave's guitar tone very much this time around either, definitely a bit too clean for my liking. 

I guess after 20 albums a band that hasn't largely abandoned their original musical style from 40 years ago (like most of the "Big 4" bands have) is bound to start repeating themselves to some extent. Plagiarizing themselves if you will. As a long time Overkill superfan from the days even before Feel the Fire came out I'm disappointed that they have fallen into this formulaic thrash approach that they've adopted since the success of 2010's Ironbound. All the albums since then have ranged from serviceable to good with the superior Wings of War being the best of the entire bunch afaic, and yes that's including the disappointing (imho) Ironbound, which I'd rank near the bottom of their last 6 - save for the 3 killer tracks that I actually really like on that album.

But the two albums immediately preceeding Ironbound ('05 & '07) fucking sucked leaky ass, so I guess the "formula" is working as intended for the band and has rejuvenated their waning career. So good on them. But for me this means sadly the days of originality and creativity for this band when every album contained a few pleasant surprises and they sounded very different from album to album are long gone.

I understand that younger fans born in the 90's like my Carolina boy Jimmy T just don't have that same nostalgic connection to the older material as I do. But to an old man like me the glory years of Overkill with Bobby G at L'Amour in Brooklyn, and even all their albums up until WFO as well as '99's Necroshime and their gloriously triumphant return to a thrashier approach to songwriting in the early 2000's (Bloodletting & Killbox) make albums like these last half dozen pale in comparison. In much same way digital is never as good as analog and anything corporate always sucks compared to independent mom & pop DIY. Sure I'll take the modern corporate digital version Overkill and be glad to get it because I love the band and this is what they are now. And it still beats the fucking piss out of anything Jaymz & Lars or Megadick have done over the last 30 years. But part of me knows it just ain't the same anymore.

 

I completely respect your feelings on it.  I can certainly understand how strongly nostalgia can factor into a fan's impression of more recent material.  I'm now listening through the whole discography and have listened to "Feel the Fire" and "Taking Over", along with about 2/3 of "Under the Influence" today.  I love those classic albums, but I still rank "The Electric Age" and "Ironbound" as the top two, respectively, in their catalog.  But as you stated, I was born in 1990, and sometimes, weaker-sounding production can take away from the listening experience for me (taking nothing away from the quality of the songs).  Modern production has more crunch to it, so perhaps that's why I prefer their more recent material, comparatively speaking.  That being said, I would rank "Taking Over" at #3 and "The Years of Decay" at #4 and "Horrorscope" at #5, so I do have a solid mix of classic and modern albums at the top of my list.  

"Scorched" is already a top-10 Overkill album for me, and I'm still loving every minute of it.  After 4 listens all the way through, it's such a pleasurable listen - increasingly so with more listens.  

But again, I absolutely respect your perspective on the new album, and I'm glad to hear you've found some songs that you do enjoy from it.  Like you said, we have very different tastes in metal styles for the most part, but it's still really cool that we both enjoy Overkill.  And I'm also glad you mentioned Candlemass as another band we both dig, because those guys are putting out incredible modern material as well!

[Dead1]

On 4/14/2023 at 6:10 PM, Arioch said:

Listening this morning :

Metallica - 72 Seasons (2023)

And James' voice, I just can't stand it anymore! 

 

This.  His voice has no bite anymore.  He also has a tendency to overemphasise some sounds.

He needs to sing less basically.

On 4/15/2023 at 1:12 PM, RelentlessOblivion said:

Overkill - Scorched

Hmm it’s Overkill, solid enough but might as well b Ironbound III

This is the problem with Overkill - they've been doing the same album for like 4 albums now.  I find their new releases superfluous.  Band's totally creatively bankrupt.

Mind you that is also most old bands and also just about every band on Nuclear Blast.

 

EDIT: Oh and the production on it and every bloody modern major label release is fucking shit - plastic sounding cookie cutter Pro-tools shit.  I hate it so very, very, very, very much.

 

NP

Such a socially packed weekend I only managed 1 Megadeth track in the car (Set The World Afire) and half a dozen songs on Gimme Metal radio...phew...

 

I did get to belt out some Sex Pistols and Black Sabbath at a karaoke bar for wife's birthday but I don't think that that counts for purposes of this thread!

[GoatmasterGeneral]

2 hours ago, JamesT said:

I completely respect your feelings on it.  I can certainly understand how strongly nostalgia can factor into a fan's impression of more recent material.  I'm now listening through the whole discography and have listened to "Feel the Fire" and "Taking Over", along with about 2/3 of "Under the Influence" today.  I love those classic albums, but I still rank "The Electric Age" and "Ironbound" as the top two, respectively, in their catalog.  But as you stated, I was born in 1990, and sometimes, weaker-sounding production can take away from the listening experience for me (taking nothing away from the quality of the songs).  Modern production has more crunch to it, so perhaps that's why I prefer their more recent material, comparatively speaking.  That being said, I would rank "Taking Over" at #3 and "The Years of Decay" at #4 and "Horrorscope" at #5, so I do have a solid mix of classic and modern albums at the top of my list.  

"Scorched" is already a top-10 Overkill album for me, and I'm still loving every minute of it.  After 4 listens all the way through, it's such a pleasurable listen - increasingly so with more listens.  

But again, I absolutely respect your perspective on the new album, and I'm glad to hear you've found some songs that you do enjoy from it.  Like you said, we have very different tastes in metal styles for the most part, but it's still really cool that we both enjoy Overkill.  And I'm also glad you mentioned Candlemass as another band we both dig, because those guys are putting out incredible modern material as well!

It's not like I don't enjoy their post Ironbound output, Wings of War and Electric Age in particular would both definitely make my top 10 Overkill albums. I'm not as familiar with WDA and Grinding Wheel as I found them decent but forgettable. The new one so far I'd put it quite a bit behind WoW and EA but ahead of the other two and Ironbound. I'm sure I will get to know the songs a bit better after a few more listens but right at this very moment sitting in the back yard by the fire pit I can't remember how any of the songs go to where I could hum the riffs off the top of my head after just 5 spins. Wings of War was much more immediate for me, I loved that one straight away and could hum most of the tunes after just one or two spins.

[JamesT]

30 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

It's not like I don't enjoy their post Ironbound output, Wings of War and Electric Age in particular would both definitely make my top 10 Overkill albums. I'm not as familiar with WDA and Grinding Wheel as I found them decent but forgettable. The new one so far I'd put it quite a bit behind WoW and EA but ahead of the other two and Ironbound. I'm sure I will get to know the songs a bit better after a few more listens but right at this very moment sitting in the back yard by the fire pit I can't remember how any of the songs go to where I could hum the riffs off the top of my head after just 5 spins. Wings of War was much more immediate for me, I loved that one straight away and could hum most of the tunes after just one or two spins.

The Wings of War was an awesome album!  It kicks off with "Last Man Standing", which is just a blazing track, and "Batshitcrazy" is another favorite of mine from that one.  The Grinding Wheel is an album that actually took a bit of time to grow on me to the point where it is now.  Initially, following up "Ironbound", "The Electric Age", and "White Devil Armory", "The Grinding Wheel" didn't resonate with me as immediately as those three did.  But now, I'd rank it ahead of "White Devil Armory" and "The Wings of War".  I'd put it at #6 in their catalog.  Once I have a few more months with "Scorched", I'll have a better idea of where I might personally slot it within the whole discography.  I do find myself enjoying the "middle period" a bit more now than I used to as well (from "I Hear Black" up through "Immortalis").  I've always said there's not a true clunker in the entire catalog.  

On this new one, I'd say "Know Her Name" is a track I've become more and more fond of with each subsequent listen.  And I completely agree that "Fever" is really cool track as well.  "Scorched" achieves a fantastic balance of offering variety while also being very much an identifiable thrash album.  Can't wait to start spinning it some more! 

[Thatguy]

And the wide world of music goes on beyond Metallica and Overkill.

ULTHA - Live at Soulcrusher 2022. A lovely set.

DYMNA LOTVA - Wormwood. Meh.

NETTVERD - Styggdom. Noice.

NOIRCURE - Pathos. Very noice.

NP - AUSTRALIAN ART ORCHESTRA/MASTER MUSICIANS OF SICHUAN PROVINCE - Water Pushes Sand. Also very noice. but this is not metal, GG.

[AlSymerz]

7 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

And the wide world of music goes on beyond Metallica and Overkill.

 

Bloody noobs coming here to prattle on about how their music is better than ours!

 

 

[Thatguy]

37 minutes ago, AlSymerz said:

Bloody noobs coming here to prattle on about how their music is better than ours!

Well, yeah, you silly old bugger.

[AlSymerz]

Harsh words for such a gentle decrepit old man

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Exodus - Fabulous Disaster, 1989, why am I listening to Exodus tonight?

 

Exodus - Pleasures of the Flesh, 1987, I like salad, I just ate a nice salad, baked potato, some cream cheese....this would be my choice for best Eggs at Us album because fuck Paul Baloff. Not that I'm a Zetro fan either, they've never really had a decent vocalist in this band. But Steve-O would be the closest they've come.

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Overkill - Taking Over, 1987

 

Overkill - Horrorscope, 1991

 

[MacabreEternal]

A Diadem of Dead Stars - Kingdoms Bathed In Golden Light (2016)

 

[markm]

RIPPED TO SHREDS-埋葬

And, I've been enjoying Vastum's Orifical Purge from 2019 on repeat listens, one of my favorite recentish DM albums. 

[Arioch]

Demolition Hammer - Epidemic of Violence (1992)

Sadist - Tribe (1996)

Grip Inc. - Solidify (1999)

Seprevation - Consumed (2014)

 

[MacabreEternal]

Djevel - Naa skrider natten sort (2022)

 

[AlSymerz]

Dark Angel - Darkness Descends

 

[DeathMetalBangers]

Grave-You’ll Never See…(1992)

 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Putrid Yell - Consuming Aberration, Chilean death

 

Placid Rat - Feline Extermination Rat Tricks, One man space doom/sludge out of North Carolina

 

[Serpentboi1992]

[DeathMetalBangers]

44 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Placid Rat - Feline Extermination Rat Tricks, One man space doom/sludge out of North Carolina

This is pretty good. Sounds a lot like acid bath which I guess is what they were goin for. Album art even looks similar. I love acid bath guitar work.

[Serpentboi1992]

[JamesT]

2 hours ago, Serpentboi1992 said:

Loving the new album!  My favorite thrash band never disappoints!  I'm now listening through the entire catalog from start to finish.  Currently listening to "I Hear Black" (1993).  Not a single clunker in the discography (of course, some are better than others), and that's pretty incredible in a discography like this one.

[Thatguy]

NOIRCURE - Pathos. Again. Really enjoying this. Blackgaze, I guess. Great vocals. Not crude or egregiously riffy enough for the goats. It's refined, you savages. The cover art reminds me -  naturally -  of Ophelia by Peter Hammill. Lovely song.

LO! - The Gleaners. Something completely different. Also good.

KEKAL - Eternitarian. An almost three hour anthology of this band I've never previously heard of. I am about 1 hour in and I will reserve judgement for now. The are eclectic.

NP - HEY COLOSSUS - Dances/Curses - I'm giving these dudes another spin and enjoying it a lot more than first time round.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

2 hours ago, Thatguy said:

Not crude of egregiously riffy enough for the goats. It's refined, you savages.

The egregiouser the betterer 🐐

[AlSymerz]

You lot and your high praise have inspired me...

NP Metallica - Metallica