Overkill
White Devil Armory

Overkill is one of the few legendary bands that started back in the early 80s and have survived to this day without interruptions in their activity. Judge for yourself: 17 studio albums in 29 years is a very decent result. Of course, not all of these works were successful, and in the 00s it was felt that the musicians were tired. Or maybe it was the recent regular change of the line-up. It was all the more unexpected when, after the not very successful "Immortalis", the masterpiece "Ironbound" followed. Yes, in 2010 these veterans surprised many with their agility and in one fell swoop showed numerous young bands, like mushrooms after rain that appeared 6-7 years ago on the wave of the thrash revival, how to play in this style. The subsequent "The Electric Age" was a confirmation that the group is in perfect order and is not going to retire. Given the current trend, it was clear before the release of "White Devil Armory" that Overkill would not veer off the path. This was confirmed by the released single "Armorist". The song turned out to be such a typical action movie of the group that it even caused a certain feeling of secondary. True, the words of Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth that the upcoming release would not be as straightforward as "The Electric Age" were intriguing. And I must say that it turned out to be so. The music on White Devil Armory is typical of the band's old school thrash metal with influences from NWOBHM. The first three songs of the album (not counting the short intro) fly by in one breath, although at first they are not particularly memorable. But with "Bitter Pills" everything is much more interesting - unhurried introduction, interesting guitar riffs, prevailing average tempo with acceleration in the middle of the song, chorus, as if hammered into the listener's head. I will not highlight the guitar solo of this particular song, as the guitarists did their best on the entire album. In my opinion, "Bitter Pill" is definitely the centerpiece of "White Devil Armory". It is not surprising that the second video in support of him was shot for this song. Also among my favorites are the longest composition on the album, almost seven minutes long, but this does not lose its hurricane power "Freedom Rings", and, of course, the final "In The Name" - one of the most interesting songs not only on the album, but also the group in general. It begins, I would say, epic, turns into a kind of military (and very aggressive) march, and ends with unexpected polyphonic singing. Class !!!