UMUR
"Killbox 13" is the 13th full-length studio album by US, New York based thrash metal act Overkill. The album was released through Spitfire Records in March 2003. It´s the successor to "Bloodletting" from 2000 and features one lineup change compared to the predecessor as Derek "The Skull" Tailer has been added as a second guitarist. From what I can see he doesn´t actually play guitar on the album though, but only performs backing vocals. While there are three years between the release of "Bloodletting (2000)" and "Killbox 13", Overkill have kept busy as always, and in addition to touring they also released the "Wrecking Everything - Live" live album in 2002.
Stylistically the material on "Killbox 13" is a continuation of the groove laden thrash/heavy metal style that Overkill have played since the mid-90s. Hard edged riffs and rhythms, a metallic toned bass, and Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth´s rusty raw voice in front. "Killbox 13" is well produced and the songwriting is decent enough with few highs and lows when it comes to the quality of the material. There are a couple of pretty great tracks on the album like "Devil by the Tail", "Damned", and especially "The One", but there are just as many unremarkable tracks featured on the album. In this case unremarkable doesn´t mean bad, just that quite a few of the tracks are pretty standard quality material for Overkill, and that those tracks aren´t exactly "classics" in their discography.
Upon conclusion "Killbox 13" is another solid and groove laden thrash/heavy metal release by Overkill. It may not be their most remarkable release but it is relatively consistent in both quality and style and in that respect it´s an album that´ll probably satisfy most fans of the band. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.