UMUR
"Coverkill" is the 10th full-length studio album by US, New York based thrash metal act Overkill. The album was released through CMC International Records in October 1999. "Coverkill" is a covers album featuring tracks by artists like Motörhead, Sex Pistols, Deep Purple, Judas Priest, and no less than three covers by Black Sabbath. 10 out of 12 tracks were recorded during the same recording sessions at Carriage House Studios, while the remaining two were recorded at other studios.
Covers albums are always a bit hard to review, as they are often a very subjective listening experience and people´s opinions if an artist does a great job or a poor one covering their musical heroes usually vary greatly. Personally I think Overkill does a pretty good job overall on this release, bringing in the right amount of themselves without straying too far from the originals. When you have a singer like Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth fronting your band, it could not be any other way though. "Blitz" has a very distinct sounding voice and delivery, which is one of the primary defining elements of Overkill´s sound, and his performance here also ensures that even though these tracks were written by other artists, you´re never in doubt that it´s Overkill playing. All 12 tracks on the 43:29 minutes long album are worth investigating, but to my ears "Space Truckin'" by Deep Purple and "Tyrant" by Judas Priest are among the highlights.
The sound production is powerful and metallic. Fully in sync with the "regular" Overkill albums which bookend "Coverkill". There´s a slight difference in the way some of the tracks are produced, but the album is generally consistent sounding. The musicianship is also on a high level throughout, and "Coverkill" is overall a pretty good covers album by Overkill. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.