Scorched

I can point you in the direction of great Overkill albums, but I can't really point you to any specific Overkill album that I totally like. That is, until Scorched, and for those keeping track the New Jersey boys have had a lot of chances to win me over. After all, this is their 20th full-length. I mean it, this one just ticks all the boxes for me: riffs to remember, grooves for days, lyrics that capture the band's swagger and a delivery to match. I'll spare the generic history lesson, but this shifts the trajectory just a bit from the "hard thrash" the quintet have been peddling since Ironbound, bringing back a little of the outright catchiness that they dallied with about 25 years ago, though not really any of the experimentation that went along with it. And the spices flavour the meat just wonderfully, because we had been on a downward slump for a couple of releases, and now Overkill have perked back up almost in time for Blitz and Verni to start claiming their pensions. We've seen this done in other bands, but it still surprises when guys in their 60s sound this much with it.

To give an idea of why I find this a special album, I'll describe how I've been listening to it the last couple of weeks: mainly very loud, late in the evening, a bit intoxicated. That's what this gritty, snarling, pounding music deserves, and it's also the way it physically affects me, making me stay up late, get rowdy, and feel kind of high. I've been matching it with my mood and it's been influencing my mood too. I go to bed 50 minutes later (plus or minus time for brushing teeth, etc.) buzzing with energy, then I stir in the middle of the night, mentally go through the chorus of 'Goin' Home' once or twice, then drop back off. Then I'm likely to wake up in the morning with the melodic hook of 'Won't Be Comin' Back' on the tip of my tongue. And yes, those song titles are right, Blitz never pronounces a final '-g' throughout any of the 10 songs. That mood of full physical abandon to the music doesn't rest from the band either, with much of the experience driving on with pace or heaviness, and even when the actual force drops a little the intensity remains. Some of the intros come on quite gently, with 'Fever' actually dallying with clean guitar and balladic singing for a few verses, but purpose is never missing, for instance opening 'Twist of the Wick' gradually in order to maximize the impact of the ultra-rhythmic thrashing that follows. It's the same old recipe - around 5 minutes per song, no outrageous structures - but each one counts.

Despite the general "you get what you see" vibes, I wouldn't be so hot on Scorched if it felt predictable. 'Twist of the Wick' is a good example of a song that might have been boring, what with its super straight riffing and vocal patterns, yet the skill with which the band withhold hooks and then suddenly unleash them proves effective, as well as the surprisingly atmospheric section after the second chorus, letting moody choirs and slow riffs simmer before really mounting the tension again to build up to a fiery solo. The transfer of momentum between the earlier and later parts of songs seems key as well. In classic thrash, as well as the kind of groove metal that Overkill have played, shifting tempo to half speed or double time isn't unusual, especially when that can transform a crushing song into a whirling dervish or alter a manic thrasher into a menacing beast. When this trick gets brought out, I don't hear Overkill relying on either of the standard dynamics very often (like Sodom or Devildriver often do, to name a band from either genre), sometimes doing the whole 'Playing with Spiders/Skullcrusher' thing by actually switching style, or simply loosing the shackles of the verses and setting off somewhere else. That made their '80s material entertaining and arguably explains my personal draw to this release too, since I've never been keen on knowing where a given song will end up after the first chorus. Also, it helps that Dave Linsk's solos tend to be used as flashes of inspiration within each song, doing a lot more to change the state of the music than just briefly inject excitement.

If you have even a passing familiarity with Overkill, however, you'll understand that Blitz's performance cannot be separated from the quality of this album. I would be very nervous sitting across a bar from this man, but being on the other side of the speaker never fails to be a thrilling experience. His trademark snarling, yowling delivery brings the energetic sections wildly to life as expected and offers even more benefits when leaning into the massive slower sections, such as the lurching riff late on in 'Fever' where I can feel the whole band pressing their entire bodies into the groove in the manner you might expect a fuzzy doom group to do. Of course, it helps no end that at least half of the numbers here entail Blitz telling engrossing stories, whether that be the seemingly fictive tale of 'The Surgeon', the band-related arrogance of 'Harder They Fall', or the rather confused late-night ramblings of 'Bag o' Bones' that possesses all the ramshackle jiving to match its title. To put it another way, Blitz seems to snort the riffs that Linsk and Derek Tailer lay down, smoke Verni's rattling basslines, and shoot up Jason Bittner's pounding beats, then let it all out in his inimitable brand of electricity. Since the rest of the ensemble change pace more regularly than they have in the past few albums, plus allow space for hooks to blossom, Blitz has the perfect platform to shine, and he obviously does. I can only hope I haven't impersonated him during any of my half-asleep mutterings, although I suppose my wife might have mentioned it if I had.

I would love to write more about this, but let me restrict myself to a few comments about the opening title track. Slightly the longest cut and conspicuously opening with the kind of lead melody AC/DC used for 'Thunderstruck', it immediately acts as a calling card for the album and shifts around the most during its length, introducing those fat grooving sections alongside some higher-paced madness. It's also just the right kind of ambitious opening the album requires to get it up and running, equipped with the kind of imperious classical character to its movements that takes this a level above blue collar headbanging. On that note, I read with interest that Michael Romeo (Symphony X) was in charge of orchestrations for Scorched, which just turn up the drama at times and make for one or two reflective moments like the mournful strings that close 'Wicked Place'. Sonically, everything sounds flawless - something I can't say as often as I'd like about modern music - in terms of both clarity and power, so hats off to the team working on that. If you're still not getting my point, I'll put it in plain words: Scorched doesn't conform to the typical thrash record blueprint, nor does it depart from it by so much to alienate anyone hoping for another neon green Overkill effort; the success of the songs and the whole listen comes down more to expression, confidence, and hard work, since no one can claim that the 4 year gestation period constitutes anything but an anomaly in a career that has seen new records arrive within 2-3 years at the most. Anyway, the wait was motherfucking worth it, and album number 20 might finally get these guys onto my end of year list. Scorched my brain alright.