Coverkill arrives only several months after its predecessor
Necroshine, consisting -- as the title suggests -- entirely of cover tunes rather than any newly written material. Some of the choices are predictable, but to their credit,
Overkill picks some of the more underrated items from major metal artists like
Black Sabbath ("Hole in the Sky," "Cornucopia," "Never Say Die"),
Deep Purple ("Space Truckin'"),
Kiss ("Deuce"),
Judas Priest ("Tyrant"), Manowar ("Death Tone"),
Jethro Tull ("Hymn 43"), plus the
Motorhead tune that gave
Overkill their name. These parts of the album actually work pretty well since
Overkill is a tight, professional metal band, and they've chosen high-quality material. More problematic are the punk covers by first-generation bands like the Dead Boys ("Ain't Nothin' to Do"),
the Sex Pistols ("No Feelings"), and
the Ramones ("I'm Against It"). Most thrash/speed metal bands who have done punk covers in the past only point up the fact that metal's often rigorous technical requirements and studied theatricality don't sit well with punk's simplicity and raw expressiveness. And unfortunately, that tends to be the case here as well. But those are only three songs, leaving the rest of the record a fine showcase for
Overkill's well-developed musicianship. ~ Steve Huey