Customer Reviews

Immortalis

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

All you need to know about Immortalis is: 1) It's a brand new Overkill cd, 2) Skull and Bones, featuring Randly Blythe of Lamb of God on guest vox (wicked song!) 3) Production much better than Relix 14, 4) Lots of stop-and-go headbanging riffs to fill any metal head's Overkill fix, and finally 5) It will grab you instantly from the first spin and you will definitely be hitting repeat to listen to it front to end all over again right after the first listen!

The Overkill "Wrecking Crew" was a great Thrash band in the eighties, no question about that. One of the things that set Overkill apart from the hundreds of Thrash metal bands of the same era was the fact that they stuck to their guns and played on through every passing trend, with some great albums along the way, without compromising anything about their style from the nineties into the present. Another one of the nice things about Overkill is in the eighties they had enough punk/hardcore flavor in the music to keep things interesting and also simultaneously stayed closer to the Hard Rock line of things as well, which made their albums stand out.

The most important thing though is they stuck around through thick and thin in the fickle music industry and were seemly impervious to trends. This has rewarded them with a loyal fanbase, myself included. "Immortalis", their 15th studio album (if you include the self released '84 LP), finds the band with much the same sound as the past few records like "Relixiv" and "Killbox 13". The production is top notch, all the instruments are more than decent but the flaw of Immortalis is the same as with Relixiv -the album starts out with some great material and the second half just doesn't hold up.

"Devils in the Mist" opens the album with a heavy, speedier song with tons of groove. From there it only gets better with the flawless "What it takes". The goodness keeps with "Skull and Bones" which features Randy Blythe of Lamb of God. When I heard he had guest vocals on this song I cringed not being a LOG fan, but actually the song is tastefully done.
There is plenty of tempo variety, plenty of memorable riffs and some downright impressive song writing. The problem is the bland/boring numbers like "Hellish pride" and "Hell is" and the ending track take away from the intensity and groove that the first half of the album commanded.

"Immortalis" is a good album for the first half alone, but it doesn't improve on the sluggish tendencies of "Relixiv" in the latter part of that record and in fact just repeats the same mistakes. If you're an Overkill fan you will probably enjoy this record in parts but don't come expecting "Horrorscope" or "Years of Decay" or even something on par with "Bloodletting". The fact that they still produce competent records after all these years should get you to buy this release anyway.

Overkill have been one of my favorite bands for many years with Horrorscope and WFO being my favorite albums to date. After these they kept cranking out pretty good quality thrash with a few exceptions, well this is another one of those exceptions. Overkill have went through many guitar players through the years, my favorites have always been Rob Cannivino and Merrit Gant, S Marino and Joe Cameau were also very good but took the band in a less thrash more slowed down sabbath type metal, which some people liked and some didnt. I myself prefer there earlier work. So now with Immortalis which isnt one of the best names i've heard for a record they do more of the same that they have the last few albums. The main problem "AGAIN" is with guitarist Dave Lynsk who i consider to be about one of the worst guitar players in metal right now. He has almost no style, his riffs are as bland as cake with no icing and he always puts his guitar sound so out front that it takes away from the rest of the band. Killbox 13 is definately the best work with him, but his solos were still just ludicrous on that album. The other reason Immortalis just doesnt work is because since about 1997 or so Bobby Blitz has went with this new blues tinged type vocal delivery that is just getting old quick, list to Devils in the Mist, Necroshine, Thunderhead, just to name a few and you'll see that they all have the same exact vibe. So you may say with all the slagging why? do i give it 3 stars, well its hard to totally dog Overkill because they do tend to stick out and stay to there roots when it comes to metal, it just seems that with like 17 albums under there belt that the ability for them to write good quality songs has just went out the window. Get rid of LYNSK and blitz growl evil, don't sing like Stevie Ray Blitz. Some pluses are

Devils in the Mist
Skull and Bone
Overkill V
3 good songs 3 stars. Sorry boys.
Jerm.

This album sees the return of the Zalula's to the Overkill production team. They really helped Overkill get back to their old 1990's thrash form on this one. And everyone pulled it off it without sounding dated. The sound is totally up-to-date. Both the music and the songwriting are great. Blitz and DD sound as good, if not better than ever. As with all Overkill albums, it is a must buy.

While a thrash band like exodus creates a a Masterpiece with Exhibit A, Overkill creates a piece of crap with Immortalis. The guitar sounds are total crap, the song writting is boring and the riffs are very elemental for a band that used to be great. Dont know what went wrong with Overkill, but they better fix it.

When I first received this album and listened to it I thought it was so-so at best but after a few listens it became in my opinion the best release that Overkill has put out to date.

Though I love every album Overkill has ever released and with "WFO" being my personal all time favorite, this album goes above and beyond all of them. From the opening track "Devils in the Mist" to the final cut "Overkill V...The Brand", this album is a must have for any fan of Thrash Metal.

immortalis doesnt do it for me as a long time fan of overkill.i figured with having a new drummer for inspiration overkill would write some ground breaking music.not the case.to me,the cd isnt heavy enough for overkill.the mix of the cd isn't great either.oh well,at least overkill is still the best band to see live!!!

Reuniting with the Zazula's, who helped them in the early days....Overkill is very reliable to begin with. When you need some crushing metal, they have it covered. You wont find sappy ballads and any "loss of power" that some refer to with this band. Overkill has one primary gear, full shred ahead. I think they kicked into another level when they found Dave Linsk, as good a guitarist as they've had. Ron Lipnicki makes his debut here on drums, replacing long time skinsman Tim Mallare.

SINCE THE EARLY 80'S OVERKILL HAS BEEN MY FAVORITE BAND. WHAT CAN I CAN, I HAVE EVERY1 OF THEIR ALBUMS. BE HONEST WITH YOU ALL, OVERKILL HAVE BEEN TRUE TO THEIR FANS FOR MORE THEN 20 YEARS, NEVER CHANGED THEIR STYLE, THEY THRASH UNTIL DEATH. NEW "HEAVY METAL" BANDS SUCH AS AS I LAY DYING, CHILDREN OF BODOM, AND OTHER SCREAMING BANDS HAVE COPIED AFTER THE OLD SCHOOL THRAS BANDS LIKE OVERKILL. THATS HOW THESE OTHER BANDS FORMED, I JUST THINK THAT SOME OF THE SCREAMING BANDS WOULD DO BETTER WITH A LITTLE MORE VOICE ADDED TO THEIR MUSIC. OVERKILL ITS JUST OVERKILL, THEY ARE SOMETHING THAT NO OTHER BAND IN THRASH WERE EVER ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH AND THAT IS "STAY TRUE TO THEIR FANS". IF YOU LIKE OLD OVERKILL, THEY ADD THIS ONE TO YOUR LIBRARY.

You got to give Overkill credit for consistency. I thought it was great through and through. They're probably the one band that I've bought each of their cd's without listening to clips first. With overkill you get overkill. If you like the last album, or the one before that, or any of them for that matter, you should like this one also. I can't think of any other band I can say that for. Maybe AC/DC...but that's really comparing apples and oranges...