Customer Reviews

Killing Kind

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Killing Kind is in my opinion Overkill's best album to date. This is one of the rare pearls where there is no filler tracks on it, right from the start it is Overkill. Down to business. The music is hard and furious and there are no punches held here. Overkill really shows their talent on this album. One of the best metal albums of the 90's.

This title really rocks the house down. If you like fast and heavy, then this one's for you. If you have The Years of Decay, then watch out brothers and sisters, this will blow it to a million, useless, bits of CD heaven. This will bring back memories of hard hitting mosh pits to fast flying jumps off the stage. My favorite song is The Pagan Stomp, listen for yourself!!! I purchased my own when it was released, but lost it. Now, I can't find anyplace that has it. Becuase it's the best there is, EVER :)

while i see some of my fellow reviewers have given this gem a 5 star rating, i feel it may be a 4-4.5. i am a huge Overkill fan, and have every release they have ever put forth, but a 5 is a tough standard to live up to, and i don't give them out that often. having owned over 2,000 hard and metal cds in my life, i would give maybe 80 of those a 5. which is like saying something (or someone) is a 10. however, there is a reason a used metal cd from '96 is still commanding over $7; because it is very good, and worth every penny. this cd has what we love about Overkill from the '80's, but recorded and engineered in the '90's, so no more hollow, bass-less recording sessions. great lyrics as usual, and outstanding musicianship once again from the guys from Jersey. every tune is worth spinnin'. you will definitely not be disappointed by spending the coin on this one. check it out. check out my other reviews to see which cds you should own. s.d.m.f. peace.

This is a great CD that slips every once and a while but manages to stay pretty awesome. My only gripes with this CD is that Mourning After/ Private Bleeding should have been dropped off the album and the obnoxious "yeahs" in Battle should have been dropped too. Though, the rest of the album is just plain awesome and will keep you energetic. I mean almost all the tracks are awesome... I mean despite one minor problem with Battle the song was an awesome opener. Next, God-Like and Certifiable are just two straight up thrashers that will keep you entertained. Now in Burn You Down/To Ashes we have an awesome song that for a few minutes has a soft song structure that keeps buliding until the song kicks in thrashing...I'll repeat... awesome. The tracks that follow this song are once again thrashing songs that will get you moving. Ok, so now onto Mourning After/Private Bleeding and I'll have t admit that this song is terrible. I can't believe that the song was even on such an otherwise awesome CD. It just reminds me that not everyone is perfect. Cold Hard Fact...is an awesome closer that deserves to be on this CD and will almost totally eclipse the dissapointment featured on the previous song. So, with that being said...this CD just plain rocks and was another cool/entertaining listen from Overkill.

I remember getting this cassette when I was younger,and this album is one of my favorites as well.All of the songs on Overkill's 'The Killing Kind' are well-written,and very catchy:)I actually remember the track 'God-Like' very fondly... it's a mid-paced track with thick,hard-hitting guitars that finish off with a solo that starts at normal speed and builds into a frenzy of breakneck speed soloing that takes off like a rocket!!The rest of the album is just as good but I better not spoil the rest.Why are you still reading these reviews?GO GET THE ALBUM!

THE CD IS FREAKIN AWESOME. WAY BETTER THEN I HEAR BLACK AND, WFO. THIS CD IS CLASSIC THRASH AT ITS BEST A STYLE OVERKILL LIVE IN AND DO THE BEST. SO IF YOU LIKE IF YOU LIKE BLOODLETTING OR FROM THE UNDERGROUND... YOU'LL LIKE THIS ONE.

The departure of Gustafson has led Overkill into a constant spiral of replacement guitarists that have done nothing for this band but keep them in a state of stagnation. Gustafson was a primary driving force, and wrote alot of material, since then Blitz and Verni have taken over writing much more and it has eroded this bands credibility. "Killing Kind" is a hard pill to swallow. Traces of groove still remain, but they aren't as insistent and forceful as it was on "I Hear Black", instead on this album they show up at slower portions and whimper into existence. Otherwise, Overkill attempts to keep thrashing. I can't help but laugh when I hear most of the songs on here. "God-Like" sounds like a horrible Painkiller rip off. "Battle" has a whimper of a groove hiding behind the choppy riff, almost as if the band was too afraid to abandon their tired thrash sound for more then a few moments. "Burn You Down/To Ashes" ALMOST manages to succeed. The song builds and builds with a slower more ballad like atmosphere for what seems like an eternity until one of the better riffs on the album appears about four minutes in, but the payoff for me is just too long. "Cold, Hard Fact" is a pretty awesome closer, a groove thrash song with Blitz giving some catchy lines. This one is better left behind unless you are hell bent on owning everything the band ever released. The best song on here is "Feeding Frenzy" with some truly standout bass work. The song is a wicked thrash instrumental, and it would be very comfortable on earlier efforts.

This album is a logical progression from 1994's "W.F.O." but it's more punky and more bikerish but still pretty thrashy. I really like this album. There are only two songs on it that I don't care for: "Bold Face Pagan Stomp" and "The Mourning After/Private Bleeding". I love "The Cleansing", "Feeding Frenzy" and "Let Me Shut That For You". This is a quality album and was released in 1996 when watered down metal was popular. I have great respect for Overkill for staying true to their style and releasing albums throughout the 90's when most of the thrash bands from the 80's just disappeared. Also their 5th album, "Horrorscope", wasn't their "Black Album" like Metallica, Megadeth, Testament, Exodus, Sepultura, and Coroner. Am I missing anyone else who sold out or simplified their style? If you liked "W.F.O." you won't be disappointed by this. Also if you like good quality 90's thrash, this is definately an album you should get.

This album is a little weird. 'W.F.O.' was pure, straight thrash from beginning to end, but here, just one album later, we get a mix of stuff, with thrash and groove thrash and some ballads and some dirgey stuff and an unusually sludgy sound to the whole thing. The songwriting isn't as compelling as on 'Years of Decay' or 'Horrorscope' but it's still pretty decent, and it's got the variety and ingenuity to make it more than worth while.

The first 3 tracks are pretty much thrashers. A little groovier at times, with somewhat less choppy, thrashy riffs, at times, but still basically thrash. They ain't as good as 'Elimination' or 'Live Young, Die Free' or some other classics but they're good, solid Overkill songs. Most people seem to like 'Battle' best, but I go for 'God-Like' myself. It's probably the fastest, most energetic thing here, with a nifty, kinda rasp-growled chorus. 'Burn You Down/To Ashes' is a dirgey track. Pretty decent, not all that memorable, but still reasonably interesting. 'Let Me Shut That For You' is basically a thrasher as well, though the groove level increases. It's an attempt at your edgy-jokey-agressive Overkill song a la 'I Hate', and it works pretty well. Lotsa gang vox, naturally. Not brilliant, but it works. 'Bold Face Pagan Stomp' further heightens the groove level, but it's still a kickass song. Stomp is right, but still pretty catchy, and with some riffs that actually sound decent, rather than just having a lot of groove. 'Feeding Frenzy' is an instrumental, and it's awesome.(Man, I wish more metal bands would do instrumentals) Pretty dynamic, with lots of sweet, off the wall bass playing and some truly fierce rhythm guitar work. Nice drumming too, just a solid track all around. 'The Cleansing' is another dirge, rather than a groove number, and it's quite good. Better than 'Burn You Down'. The vox get a little weird at times, but it's actually pretty energetic for this sorta thing, and the immense, doomy riffs never fail to impress. And, the closing section is different, if nothing else. 'The Mourning After/Private Bleeding' is/are a ballad. It was a little weird at first, what with the piano and synths and all, but it's another good track. Nice melody and atmosphere, and a good change of pace, for sure. It's got a genuinely mournful feel to it, as it ought to. Kinda like `Soulitude' from a tone standpoint, anyway. 'Cold, Hard Fact' is a fitting, odd ending which combines lots of elements from the rest of the album with a real slow doom riff appearing now and then in between some groove thrash and true thrash riff work, along with some more melodic, less raspy vox.(At times, anyway.) Once again, pretty good. Fun, catchy, unexpected, and all that.

In the end, this album is rarely all that great, but everything is pretty good, at least. It's perhaps not as solid on a song to song basis as 'W.F.O.', but that album was a little too monotonous and too much of a retread. Some sort of innovation was needed, and they found it, while still writing solid songs. Another worthwhile release from Overkill.

"The Killing Kind" starts kicking your ass right where "Wide F*@king Open" left off. Metal the way it's supposed to feel.