Overkill - The Electric Age (2012)

I'm sure I recall seeing an interview with Metalica drummer Lars Ulrich whos aid that the reason the band released the 'black' album was simply because there was nowhere else to go. To me this comment meant that the band had somehow grown out of thrash, and yet one only has to follow the careers through the '80s and '90s, to now, of Overkill, Testament, and the likes to see where Metallica went tragically wrong. It may have been a huge risk for thrash bands to have stayed thrash, but as Metallica altered their sound (or as sdome would have it, 'sold out') and '80s metal faded, the true metal acts kept at it and somehow, through the trends, have come out bigger and badder. I was a milod fan of Overkill's ealy work, mainly because at the time there were so many otjer bands around to check out, but the last decade or so has seen the band, alongside the already mentioned Testament, Exodus and many more, up the anti and thrash metal into the modern era. Never has the scene been so formidable, and whilst I respect the new generation of bands who are giving a huge nod to the past, the latest Overkill record is proof that we don't need a new bunch of groups, because the old guard are thrashing harder than ever. 'The Electric Age' seems like the bands millionth outing, another spine removing opus that chugs and hurtles without a care. It's an album that exists because it can, and it's an album that exists as meaning for every other '80s thrash band to get back together and record. It's difficult to pick a favourite Overkill album, because each has its own lifeforce, yet each rages just like another. Overkill don't follow trends or mess around with dynamics to the point of obscuring their aim, and their aim is simple, to splinter bone and smash brains. From the rock n' roll thrash 'Come And Get It' to the Anthrax chug of 'Black Daze', the band have never sounded so lethal, Bobby's vocals impress everytime, clear yet ramming home a few home truth's in regards to today's music scene. There's no let up, the mighty 'Save Yourself' kicks into gear and runs off the rails, destroying all in its wake, its formidable thrash taking the classic ingredients of yesteryear and somehow bolstering them to produce a murderous concoction. 'The Electric Age', like the last four or five Overkill records is proof that the past is the future and the future exists because of the past - if that makes sense - and whilst this is very much classic metal, even in its stubborn speed, it cruises into the future as if it's something new. It is a shame that Metallica never took note, but for me the Big Four nowadays is an altogether different mini league, and Overkill are very much part of it. 8.5/10