Customer Reviews

ReliXIV

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Twenty years and fourteen albums into their career, Overkill are still going as strong as ever. Following up 2003's somewhat experimental "Killbox 13," "ReliXIV" is more-or-less a return to form for this New Jersey-based five piece. It is ten tracks of no-frills, no-surprises attacks of vintage, classic, old-school, unabashed, headbanging thrash metal. And in an age where 99% of all thrash bands have abandoned their speedy roots, listening to this album is like chugging a glass of cold water on a hot summer's day.

Guitarists Dave Linsk and Derek Tailer offer more than a passing glimpse of skillful, crushing leads and big, chunky riffs, while drummer Tim Mallare pounds away at his trapkit, creating very muscular, pounding rhythms. Lastly, D.D. Verni serves up a fair share of thick bass lines, and Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth aggressively snarls his way through every song. The band experimented with self-production this time around, and the results were a success, as these songs sound crisp, but also have a rough edge.

Most of "ReliXIV" (e.g. songs like "The Mark") opts for mid-paced crunch, so most of these songs are melodic, catchy, and groovey enough to be memorable. But, even though there could stand to be another fast song or two, tracks like "A Pound Of Flesh," which is an ultra-fast song propelled by a blistering, buzzsaw guitar lead and quick, nimble drumming, prove that Overkill can still bring the speed (and the noise) like the best thrash bands.

Some songs, like "Keeper," are driven by pounding drum blasts, but the guitars are usually the center of attention. Opener "Within Your Eyes" is one of several tracks here to feature heavy, churning riffs, deft, thumping drums, Strapping Young Lad-esque vocals, and a tasty guitar solo. Other highlights include "Love," which features a catchy, punching rhythm bolstered by a fast double bass drum, the crunchy, stutter-stepping riffs and long, mazey guitar solo on "Bats In The Belfry," and the excellent, very melodic solo which sprouts up on "Loaded Rack."

Overkill may never reach the popularity level of their thrash contemporaries, like Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, or even their East Coast speed metal brothers (Anthrax), but this is one of many albums which proves that they are definitely as talented as those bands, and deserve to be in their same league. "ReliXIV" will surely bring a smile to any old-school fan's face, and it will get any metalhead's neck snapping, so it is definitely an essential inclusion in every thrasher's collection. It doesn't get this reviewer's vote for the best speed metal album of 2005, but it's a very enjoyable listen all the same.

I won't bore you with a long review of this album. This is classic overkill all the way. This band continues to put excellent albums, WHY aren't they playing bigger venues? Stand out songs are loaded rack and bats in the belfry. You can't go wrong with this one.

Overkill is the hardest working and most underated band in the business. If they're not recording - their touring. I would definatly compare this album equally with their previous release "Killbox 13". Exactly the same sound. Not really the trademark 'Kill riffs and guitar tones we grew up with but they are still here and going strong. Nothing trendy here.. 100% metal

Typical idiotic complaints by people who have no clue about what it takes to make an album. This album is AWESOME!!! No it may not be a "KILLBOX" OR "YEARS OF DECAY" but my god lol what fails on this album? If the guys put the exact same album out over and over you'd be complaining about that!!!!! I saw the overkill monster on this tour at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus OH (RIP DIME) The guys were in top form like always. Bobby stood outside his tour bus and talked to us for over an hr. after the show!!! Yeah nice to see bands who enjoy their fans!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005 marks the twenty-year anniversary of Overkill's debut album, Feel the Fire. Relixiv is supposedly their fourteenth studio album including their two EP's released in 1988 and 1995. Their new album finds the band expanding on their style displayed on Killbox 13; the lineup remains the same with D.D. Verni on bass, Blitz on vocals, Dave Linsk and Derek Tailer on guitars, and Tim Mallare on drums. The music, however, slightly differs from their previous effort. This one has better sound quality and a more crisp production. Blitz's vocals are very well balanced in the mix and the guitars have good tone. D.D.Verni's bass is always fresh and pounding. The drums, while played forcefully, are a bit dry for my liking, but they don't take away from the quality of the record.

Overkill stopped playing pure Thrash Metal over a decade ago. It seems like some fans still want them to go back to their roots and abandon their current groove metal approach. If they expect to hear this on Relixiv, it may be a big disappointment. This is still very groovy throughout, with little to no thrash riffs whatsoever. That said, there are brief thrash moments to be heard on a few tracks, but none of them are completely thrash-oriented. "A Pound of Flesh", the shortest number on the album, sees the band playing speed riffs decorated with nice thrash riffing, but that's about it. The other songs are more experimental. "Within Your Eyes" and "Bats in the Belfry" stand out after several spins. Contrary to many fans, I happen to love the long intro build-up on the album's opening track, "Within Your Eyes". The drumming sounds a little flat, but there's a great groove that carries the tune displaying an infectious vocal performance by Blitz.

As strange as it may sound, I think D.D. Verni's subtle phrasing of his bass is evocative of his work in The Bronx Casket Co. The main bass riff on "Bats in the Belfry" right before the melodic guitar section, the rhythmic groove on "Keeper" and the atmospheric outro on "The Mark" all seem very Bronx Casket-ish to these ears. This is a much welcome change in Overkill's sound, as I'm all for musical evolution. D.D. Verni also does some back-up vocals on this track.

Sadly, the album is far from perfect. Some of the arrangements are mediocre at best. "Love" has these acapella like vocal harmonies sung over simple AC/DC-like guitar riffs. The song does introduce an interesting breakdown in the middle though. The same thing applies to "Wheelz" (not a very good songtitle in my opinion) where you can hear a cool mid-section. Dave Linsk and Derek Tailer provide solid guitar solos, particularly on "Loaded Rack" and "The Mark". The 50-minute album closes with "Old School" -- a humourous punk track, as its title suggests. Overall Relixiv is a good album, and worth picking up for any Overkill fan, as long as they don't expect another Horrorscope or The Years of Decay.

As all right-minded people already knew, Overkill didn't disappoint with their 13th studio album of original material. No it's nothing new, just another retuning of their current groove-thrash/straight-thrash combination, but that was always a good sound, and it leaves them a whole lot closer to true thrash than just about anyone out there. Personally, I'd say 'Relixv' isn't as good as their last two albums, but it certainly stands nicely beside them. It's perhaps a bit more groove oriented then the last two, but it's still mostly you're classic Overkill groove rather then trendy, and more importantly, lame modern stuff. (With the exception of 'Play the Ace' which is relatively modern sounding. It's still pretty good, though) Besides, groove material has been a big part of the Overkill sound since 'The Years of Decay', so it's not like you shouldn't expect it. Yeah, it'd be nice if this were a little more conventionally thrash oriented, but they do what they do well, so I won't complain much.

The opener, 'Within Your Eyes' is probably the strongest track on the album. Overkill never fail to impress with their openers, and this is another classic. Pretty much pure thrash, driving and powerful and catchy. All the things it needs to be. 'A Pound of Flesh' is another total thrasher with some of the most unrelenting tremolo riffs and pounding double bass of their career. 'Loaded Rack' and 'Keeper' combine thrash and groove elements, with the former having a fine, incessant chorus and the latter combining pulsing, groove verses with a raging thrash chorus. For the groovier tracks we have 'Wheelz' and 'Bats in the Belfry'. 'Wheelz' shows Overkill's unique ability to combine a severe groove with nicely formed, memorable riffwork, and 'Bats in the Belfry' is choppy, punchy number, with a totally headbanging chorus, though it's a bit too repetitive in the latter half. Everything else here is pretty good, though none of it is worth too much mention other than the closer 'Old School'. It's a weird metallicized punk track with some simple but effective riffing and a totally silly, drunken, bellow-along chorus. This song is definitely a bit too goofy for it's own good, but it's kinda unique and fun anyway.

Yeah, I'm done. Not everyone out there necessarily needs every Overkill album, I suppose, but hey, I own 11 so far and don't forsee me getting rid of any of them. Overall, this isn't one of the better ones, so if you don't have much of their stuff you should hold off on this, but if you like all their other stuff you shouldn't be disappointed in this, even if you may not be overly thrilled either.

ReliXIV, spelled with three roman numerals on the end to indicate the fourteenth entry in Overkill's catalog, is one enjoyable album. Heavier and more cohesive than the previous album "Killbox 13", there is evidence on ReliXIV in the overall sound that the band's chemistry is stronger than ever.

The dual fretwork of Dave Linsk and Derek Tailer is excellent; Linsk provides the melodic line while Tailer provides the shred. Tim Mallare's drumming is great; he keeps the flux of the album moving with his driving rhythms. Good solid bass line is provided by band co-founder DD Verni. Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth once again outdoes himself; he ups the ante by giving a stellar job on lead vocals.

ReliXIV starts out with a slow, gradual sonic buildup on "Within your eyes", then the thunder hits the speakers at the 90-second mark. "Love" is a more unconventional Overkill track that has Bobby singing almost a capella in many parts, like he's trying to wake up the neighbors up at 4 am.

More thunder emerges on "Loaded Rack", with one of the longest, primal screams by Mr. Ellsworth that you'll ever hear in the history of metal. One of the defining moments on ReliXIV is on the 4th track "Bats in the Belfry". The band chugs along even faster on bats, with Ellsworth screaming, "COME ON! HOLD ON!" in perhaps the most infectious chorus of the album. The band does not let up on "A Pound Of Flesh," a blistering, fast paced track that is hands down the best song on the disc. You can feel the enthusiasm of the band when Ellsworth yells "Higher!... Higher!" during the song.

The next track, "Keeper", starts out with a wah-wah pedal trance groove, with Ellsworth initiating the thunder once again. "Keeper" will soon become an Overkill staple. "Wheelz" starts out with a good old-fashioned hard rock groove that whets the sonic appetite.

"The Mark" starts out strong and powerful, and for two and a half minutes, gallops along at racehorse speed. The tempo then slows down to an experimental, Sabbathesque groove. "The Mark" could have been made into two songs: one fast, and one slow.

"Play the Ace" starts out with a strong, slow groove. Ellsworth's vocals are at their finest here, as he continues to display his signature angst driven growls on "Play the Ace". Just when you thought the song was over, the band kicks the song into overdrive, in perhaps one of the hardest rocking parts of the record.

"Old School" is a punk-like, tongue in cheek tribute to the small clubs and the people who put Overkill on the proverbial metal map. It's an infectious tune that will no doubt be a new anthem for the band.

Overall, ReliXIV is an excellent addition to the Overkill catalogue. While it is difficult to gauge an album's "staying power" in terms of listenability (it takes years), this disc will be in my CD player for the next few months. At 50 minutes and change, this is a great big slab of supersonic metal. Highly recommended.

You can't go wrong with Overkill. They always deliver heavy metal. Raw, chaotic, hungry, mad, and intense are some adjectives I'd use to describe their music and the same goes for Relixiv (whatever that means). Thev've seemingly downtuned this one a bit, so it's similar sounding to their earlier 80's stuff, like years of decay (where they explored some great doomlike slower songs). But you won't get slow with this one. As I find with most of their post Horrorscope releases, their are some great songs and some average songs (and maby some bad songs). Most of all, however, you get a really good heavy metal album that includes melody with all out thrash with some mastermind riffs that make you want to get out that leather jacket and shout out to the metal gods. This isn't a perfect CD, but its damn well better than the last 3 Metallica albums (Unless you like watered down riffs with songs that bleed comercial intent). Overkill fans, go out and buy this. New metal fans, drop that nu-metal, rage rock, gangsta rap crap and take hold of the true gospel. The religion that is Overkill.

A friend and I were shopping in a CD store, and he bought a brand new copy of Killbox 13, when I saw a $7 copy of ReliXIV. I figured "why not" and picked it up, figuring if it was crappy I could easily get rid of it to him or somebody else and wouldn't be out much money. The last Over Kill album I bought was I Hear Black and it was okay, but I traded it off for some other albums awhile back, because it just didn't hold my attention or catch me. But this album has some groove thrash mixture that I really like. After spending most of my time listening to thrash in the form of Testament and Armored Saint and Metal Church, this new Over Kill is a good break and a really good album. I love the lyrics and the guitar work is simplistic in places but thrashy and heavy and the tone is just perfect. It has a slightly raw feel to it, to me, and that really catches me into it. "Within Your Eyes" instantly caught me when I listened to it, I must have listened to it 10 times before I even went on to the rest of the album. I think it's a really strong album, but perhaps people whom have followed Over Kill's whole career and want them to return to their pure thrash roots will think otherwise.

Classic Overkill, the sound and style have not changed but that's sometimes a good thing. Some of the late '80s - early '90s thrash bands changed too much and were never able to capture the feeling they started out with. Overkill is consitent. You know what to expect and you get it. They played a great show in Allentown, PA on this tour, playing songs from the new Relixiv CD that fit in the set very nice, and topped off an awesome night that included metal newcomers Beyond Fallen on the bill as openers keeping pace with the mighty Overkill.