The Overview Effect

Resurfacing after nearly a decade on hiatus, Ohio hardcore legends, led by the enigmatic John Tole, Pitboss 2000 quickly released their comeback album, The Cult of Fuck Yeah, in November of 2015. The album brought all of PB2K’s trademark aggression and attitude, but the typical hardcore vibes were tempered with blasts of thrashing crossover. As surprising as it was for the band to resurface in the first place, it was even more so when the band dropped another album a month later, The Overview Effect.

Looking back at the band’s earlier output, notably 1998′s Everyone’s a Winner, it seems the band existed solely to piss people off with their anti-PC take on everything. Sure, it was set to some pummeling hardcore, but the material really didn’t age well. The Cult of Fuck Yeah injected some new life into Pitboss 2000, and it wasn’t just the Iron Reagan and DRI tinged crossover leanings; it was the band’s new attitude and outlook that focuses on living in the moment and having fun, rather than hating on everyone and everything. Interestingly, the band chose to rerecord and update five tracks from earlier in their career, which really shows the changes these guys have made, if you’re familiar with the originals.

Solid performances all around here, as the percussion focuses on thrashing double kicks and double bass runs and the bass thumps along with tons of creative fret walking. The vocals see John Tole moving away from his typical hardcore shout in favor of a more acerbic, gruff approach that brings more of those crossover/thrash vibes into their sound. Despite the fierce rhythm section and Tole’s vocal performance, the true standout is the rollicking, pummeling guitar riffing. The title track is a freaking scorcher, with loads of thrashing riffs and double kick percussion, while “RagFight” will melt your face off with its frenetic burst of speed at the beginning which moves into crunchy, pummeling destruction.

The Overview Effect proves that Pitboss 2000 are, once again, a force to be reckoned with. While the band’s early hardcore-only material was decent, this album just proves that the band is freaking good at this whole thrashing crossover thing. This album basically takes their early Cleveland hardcore style, merges it with a mix of Bay Area thrash and acerbic crossover, and runs straight for the gate. If you would have asked me fifteen years ago if these guys could release such a furious chunk metal, I would have scoffed. Fans of circle pits rejoice, PB2K is here to thrash.

Written for The Metal Observer.