Band:	Overkill
Album:	Scorched
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	April 2023

01. Scorched
02. Goin' Home
03. The Surgeon
04. Twist Of The Wick
05. Wicked Place
06. Won't Be Comin' Back
07. Fever
08. Harder They Fall
09. Know Her Name
10. Bag O' Bones

Releasing a metal album the same day as Metallica is brave. Releasing a thrash metal album the same day as Metallica is crazy.

If there was a band with enough quality and willingness to march to the beat of their own drum and welcome the challenge of comparing themselves to Metallica (that didn't include Dave Mustaine), then it would be Overkill, the most prolific band in thrash, unleashing their twentieth(!) album Scorched. The latest instalment in a resurgence of the band's fortunes that started all the way with Ironbound, Scorched has a lot riding on it. Thankfully, it is more than up to the task.

Led by the unique voice that is Blitz, the band run through a collection of adrenaline-dripping thrashers like a runaway freight train, complete with screaming brakes and sparks galore. The ripping opening title track, featuring an unconventional and raw-sounding solo, sets an early reminder to listeners that Overkill will zig when many others' zag. This is a common theme throughout the album, while non-thrash fans may decry the genre for sounding all too familiar, Overkill subvert expectation to give sceptics pause for thought. Case in point: the breakdown in "The Surgeon"; just as you settle in for an extended section that rests on its groove, you are shaken out of this false assumption as the song immediately picks up the pace into a scintillating solo.

Thanks to the astute decision to bring Jason Bittner into the fold, the drumming has been a highlight of the band's output. A perfect foil for Verni's tight and hard-hitting bass, Bittner brings such interesting and powerful patterns to the table. "Won't Be Comin' Back" sees him throw in fills and rolls like a hyperactive toddler. This infectious energy recharges the rest of the band and the song is more powerful as a result. This is also the case for other tracks like "Harder They Fall".

Overkill have become that reliable that, to a degree, it feels like the band are able to churn out albums that feel like they come off a conveyor belt and repeat the same formula. This is only really an issue if you dislike the band. If you disliked their previous work and sound, then Scorched is going to sound much the same as what came before. If, like myself, you are a fan of the band, then this ability to remain consistent and persist is a positive and is something to be commended.

Scorched easily beats out its rival releases, putting others in its shadow and raises the question of why Overkill weren't able to break into the upper echelons of metal, especially on the back of consistent and regular quality albums.