OVERKILL — The Years Of Decay (review)

OVERKILL — The Years Of Decay album cover Album · 1989 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"The Years Of Decay" is the 4th full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Overkill. The album was released through Megaforce/Atlantic Records in October 1989. "Under The Influence (1988)" saw the band pursue a more "pure" thrashy direction compared to the more traditional/NWoBHM sound of their first two albums. "The Years Of Decay" pretty much continue down the same road as the band travelled on "Under The Influence (1988)".

...the riffs are thrashy and aggressive, the vocals by Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth are generally more raw and less melodic and rythmically we´re talking an album that shifts between fast paced and heavier sections. "The Years Of Decay" is actually a pretty varied album. Energetic and faster paced tracks like "Elimination", "I Hate", "Birth of Tension" and "E.vil N.ever D.ies" are complimented by heavier tracks like the 10:15 minutes long "Playing With Spiders / Skullkrusher" and "Who Tends The Fire". The title track starts out as a ballad and then goes through various heavier changes and is a track that stands out too.

Featuring a full playing time of 56:22 minutes, "The Years Of Decay" is pretty long for a thrash metal release, but because of the variation (and the generally high quality of the music) it doesn´t feel that long. The fact that we´re talking high quality musicianship and a relatively strong sound production too don´t exactly lessen my excitement about the album. This is a kickass album by Overkill. It´s memorable while still snappin´ necks and a 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.
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