Overkill Are Scorchingly Brilliant on ‘Scorched’ | Album Review

Overkill are probably one of the most hard-working bands on the planet today. Since their debut album Feel the Fire (1985), the American thrash metal band has been pumping out new albums almost consistently. This past April, they released their twentieth studio album Scorched (2023) through Nuclear Blast Records. In an article transcribed by Blabbermouth.net, bassist D.D. Verni said that most of the material was written before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, unlike the band’s previous releases, where they followed a schedule to get the album done by a certain date, Overkill took their time and paced themselves when making Scorched due to the pandemic, the article continued. 

“It was funny, because usually I’ll kind of demo up everything at home, all the songs, and I’ll send it out to the guys, and then they’ll learn the stuff from the demo and then we’ll get together and play. [And then we’ll decide] ‘Maybe it should be faster or slower’ – we kind of noodle around till it feels good in the room. But we weren’t able to do that ‘cause of COVID. But now that it’s taken so long, we could have done that. So, I don’t know exactly…This one’s still gonna be a bit of an odd record ‘cause it was kind of done all remotely – everything. We’re gonna put out a record of songs that we’ve not one single time stood in a room and played together,” said Verni from the Blabbermouth.net article.

The lineup that plays on the album includes Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth on lead vocals, Verni on bass guitar, Dave Linsk on guitars, Derek Tailer on guitars, and Jason Bittner on drums. 

Scorched kicks off with the bone-crushing title track. With a killer riff, a memorable chorus, ferocious kick drum work, and gang backing vocals, Overkill immediately lets listeners know that the band hasn’t lost their touch. These songs are pure thrash metal, with some groove metal elements in there. “The Surgeon” showcases this perfectly during the bridge. Yeah, it’s probably best to stay away from doctors after listening to that song.

A lot of bands like to bury their bass players in the mix, for some reason. But Overkill are different; they want their bass lines to be heard loud and proud. Just listen to Verni’s distorted bass tone in “Wicked Place;” it’ll immediately send chills down listeners’ spines. That’s if Ellsworth’s haunting shrieks aren’t enough to do so. “Won’t Be Comin’ Back” has a moody, mid-tempo intro that resembles Dio’s “Holy Diver” before it transitions into a metal barnstormer. 

“Fever” changes things up a bit. It’s a moody, mid-tempo headbanger and Bittner does some incredible fills on that track. The album closes with possibly the best song on the album, “Bag o’ Bones.” It’s the ultimate groove-oriented track with an insanely catchy chorus.

It’d be unfair to compare Scorched to The Wings of War (2019) because both albums stand out for different reasons. Some of the songs on the former aren’t as immediate, but that’s a slight complaint. The overall vibe is there. Great sounding production, dark lyrics, heavy distorted bass lines, crushing guitar riffs, intense kick drum work, and aggressive lead vocals. Everything that makes Overkill great is present on Scorched; there’s no doubt about that. I’ll give the album a rating of 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. 

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