Overkill - The Electric Age (2012) - High voltage energy - 83% (09/04/12)

After more than thirty years Overkill still stand tall and haven't changed a bit. They are as hungry and wild as in their early years and after the brilliant thrash metal revival that was "Ironbound", the Americans deliver another genre highlight only two years after the last strike with the energizing "The Electric Age". This record is not as brilliant as the last one but comes quite close after all and should be a must have on the list of any thrash metal fan out there in the universe.

Already the opening track "Come And Get It" takes no prisoners. The vocals sound angrier and hungrier than ever before and the song itself is filled with many interesting changes, killer riffs and an amazing bass guitar work. All over the record we can hear punk influences from bands such as The Exploited or Sex Pistols, classic heavy and power metal bits and pieces that make me think of Accept or Grave Digger and also some stuff reminding me of Black Sabbath or the genre colleagues of Metallica in the calmer tracks of the record. Anyway, the final mixture definitely sounds like Overkill but I want to underline the excellent mixture of straight riffs and surprising diversity.

My personal highlights apart of the brilliant opener are the retro banger "Save Yourself" that dominates with multiple energizing vocal parts, once again an excellent bass guitar performance and a sharp solo in a perfect running time without any lengths. Everything is said in not even four minutes which has become a very rare quality in the metal scene that perpetually tends to produce overlong and often boring epics, even in the thrash metal scene.

If bands might work on pieces with a longer running time, they should at least be of the quality of the third highlight of this record which is "Good Night". The track starts with soft guitar sounds that make me think of Metallica's "Fade To Black" or "To Live Is To Die" but the track turns quickly into a pitiless piece of excellent thrash music that makes me think of Metallica's "Master Of Puppets" or the more recent "Cyanide" because of its multiple breaks and atmospheric parts. This track is without a doubt the most diversified song on the entire album and my personal favourite. I wish Metallica would write this kind of music nowadays instead of doing weird experiments with aged rock icons and releasing shallow bonus tracks from old recording sessions.

Even if there are a couple of only solid tracks on this release such as the rather ordinary "Wish You Were Dead" that seems to be written as a straighter piece for some live performances and "21st Century Man" that sounds too much like any other classic Overkill track which are the reasons why this release is not as strong as the last Overkill album or some of their earlier works, this is still a top notch thrash metal record with many new hymns, a few diversified experiments and several future live anthems. I also feel that more complex tracks such as "Electric Rattlesnake" grow each time I listen to them once again and that this album has indeed some serious long time potential. This record is nothing really groundbreaking or new but a hell load of fun to listen to. After this release, I also definitely feel the need to want to see these guys in concert. So please come and get this release!