UMUR
"The Killing Kind" is the 8th full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Overkill. The album was released through Edel Music AG in March 1996. "The Killing Kind" features to new guitarists in Joe Comeau and Sebastian Marino that weren´t part of the lineup who recorded "W.F.O. (1994)". Overkill released their first official live album Wrecking Your Neck Live" in 1995, and live releases often signal the end of an epoch and the beginning of something new...
...that´s not exactly the case when it comes to "The Killing Kind" though, but then again Overkill have always been guarantors of aggressive and energetic thrash/heavy metal, so too many changes to their signature sound would actually have been more surprising. They are like the Motörhead of thrash metal and in my world that´s not a bad thing.
So stylistically we´re presented with the trademark Overkill thrash/heavy metal style. Lead vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth snarls and spits out his usual "Fuck You" attitude laden words, the rhythm section is tight (featuring D.D. Verni´s characteristic metallic clinging bass sound) and the two new guitarists do a decent job too. A slight contemporary groove metal edge has sneaked into the band´s sound, but it´s not a dominant stylistic element. At this point they were still one of the few of the more famous thrash metal acts from the 80s, who hadn´t made considerable changes to their sound, trying to adapt to the anti thrash metal climate of the 90s. The material is generally well written and catchy, although Overkill have produced more memorable music in the past.
The sound production is more clear and less abrassive, than the case was on "W.F.O. (1994)", which featured a really raw sound, but the sound doesn´t lack power. "The Killing Kind" have a lot of good things going for it, so I guess it´s in the songwriting department where it doesn´t quite live up to past glories. Still it´s a pretty strong album by Overkill and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.