Overkill - Under The Influence (1988)

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Overkill - Under The Influence (1988)

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Overkill - Under The Influence
WV+CUE+LOG -> 341 MB | 47:54 min | Artwork -> 38 MB

Often ignored due to the strange production
Production isn't everything, and this album proves it, people seem to complain about the production alot…why. I've heard MUCH worse production than this, the production isn't THAT bad!, sometimes good production can ruin an album, if the production is overdone.
Anyways, onto the album, this is Overkills 3rd offering, after surprising everyone with their stellar debate "Feel The Fire", then the best CD they've ever done came second "Taking Over", could they top that? In my opinion, no, but is this and the following 2 albums great? Indeed!, the song writing is a bit different than the previous 2, but still Thrash.

Bobby Blitz must've smoked alot of cigarettes after "Taking Over", because this is where his rasp begins, still uses the melodic kind of vocals though, like on the previous 2, but in spots, he gets really raspy, and would continue this more on the next 2 releases, great vocalist!
Bobby Gustafson is truely a shredder, great riffs, heavy, fast most the time, and catchy as all hell, great solos, an underrated guitarist.
D.D Verni is a great bassist, great bass lines, just listen to the bass solo in "Never Say Never" excellent!
This is the first album containing Sid Flack, who replaces Rat Skates, and the change is obvious, Sid is great though, alot of nice fills and stuff, his work would show better on the next album "The Years of Decay" though.

"Shred" A very strong opener, great opening riff, great riffs all throughout, very catchy too, SHRED!
"Never Say Never" Starts out a bit slower, then moves into a nice mid paced riff, then another nice riff, then comes the great bass solo by D.D!
"Hello From The Gutter" Everyone knows this song, it's their most popular song, this is how I got into them, I saw the video for this back in the day on Headbangers Ball, great song.
"Mad Gone World" is kind of mid paced to begin, with a nice set of riffs, it gets quite a bit faster during the chorus though, just listen to that riff after the first chorus!
"Brainfade" Not quite as strong as the first 4, but still enjoyable, has a very catchy chorus.
"Drunken Wisdom" Starts out with a nice classical guitar, this is where the pace slows down alot, more groove in this one, but a great song.
"End of the Line" is mostly mid paced, with a killer solo.
"Head First", Starts out with another great bass solo by D.D, and works it's way into the first riff, then another Bass lead by D.D, and yet again, works it's way into the riff, He's heard really nice on this song, great song.
"Overkill III (Under The Influence)" The last song of the Overkill trilogy, a killer track, not quite as good as part 2, but really good, a nice way to close the album, and end the trilogy.

This is an underrated album, other than "Hello From The Gutter", nothing else off this got really noticed. And the production isn't that bad people, the only thing that is kind of pushed back is the drums, but you can still hear them well. So if you've heard "Feel The Fire" and "Taking Over" and want to hear Overkill with a change on the skins, and the songwriting, check this one out. Also check out "The Years of Decay" and "Horrorscope" for more greatness!

– Review at amazon.com