By: Jack Mangan

Metal historians recognize 1987 as one of the pinnacle years for the Thrash sub-genre, due in no small part to the releases of Testament's "The Legacy," Anthrax's "Among the Living," and Overkill's "Taking Over." Those three albums detonated powerfully upon release, widening the dinosaur-asteroid impact of the previous year's - - possibly any year's - - two biggest Thrash albums: Metallica's "Master of Puppets" and Slayer's "Reign in Blood." That's a helluva lot of history made in a short period of time. Here in the new century, Overkill have earned subculture respect and reverence as Thrash elder statesmen, but it's often more for their career longevity and consistency than for any individual achievements. On deeper examination, critics sometimes cite the "Horrorscope" album as their magnum opus, others point to "The Years of Decay," and still other geezers go to debut "Feel the Fire." These are all excellent records, worthy of admiration, but their sophomore release, "Taking Over," is the one that I feel showcases Overkill, and genre of Thrash Metal, at its best.

Production: "Taking Over" was produced by widely-underappreciated legend in his own right, Alex Perialis, the George Martin of Thrash. He and the entire production team's studio work brought exactly the right amount of bite and life and punch to every track. The engineers manning the mixing board and microphones deserve credit for keeping the tone gritty, yet professional, without going too Garage Days.

Guitars: Overkill were still a four-piece at the time, but Bobby Gustafson's guitar tracks were anything but thin. I'm going to say it. . . There has never been a stronger Metal guitar sound than Gustafson's on "Taking Over." Whether by drunken accident, meticulous attention to gear, teamwork between Perialas and the band, or some combination of the above - - the fast power chords and muted chunk convey more torque and energy than an army of Gibsons and Marshalls could, in lesser hands. Bobby G's leads are always solid, but it's his underappreciated rhythm work that fuels the fire. Speaking of rhythm. . .

Bass: Credit for the great sound is also due to the most iconic and instantly recognizable Thrash bass device of all time: the pick in D.D. Verni's right hand. Every spotlight moment for the bass serves to propel the music to a new realm of excellence. E.g.: the break in "Powersurge;" e.g.: the bridge in "Overkill II." Respect D.D.'s lack of ego too: he's never flashy or showboating, he's just determined to serve the best interests of the song.

Drums: Never weird, never avant-garde, never overthought, never flamboyant with vanity fills, the drums perform their task with a high degree of adept, unassuming workmanship. Overkill have been blessed with a number of talented drummers over the years, but all of them owe Rat Skates a debt for laying such incredible groundwork on the first two albums. Just listen to the opening of "Fatal if Swallowed" and the drum work on "In Union We Stand."

Vocals: Guttural backing vocals may be a staple of Thrash, but Overkill have always been the best at it, and never better than on "Taking Over." I won't dismiss the great work of the Big 4, Testament, or (probably) any others you suggest as a counter, but can any of them match the wordless shouts that close out the song, "Electro-Violence"? Answer: no.

While we're talking vocals, let's discuss what's likely the most divisive element of Overkill's early work: Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth's shrill, pre-cigarette-gravel voice. I get it. For "Leave don't try / They die to get inside," (Powersurge), it sounds like the little Ells were getting squeezed while he was singing. Most of us appreciate the raw-throated singer he'd evolve into in later years, but he still delivered the sawed-off double-barrels of charm and power, love and hate, life and death, and will and anger on their first two full-lengths. All of the "Fuck You" Jersey attitude and swagger were there from the beginning (even if he overdid it a bit with the sinister laughs. . .) Blitz's presence - - on stage and on record - - is as unique for his position as D.D.'s bass sound is for his. Every frontman should be required to study the work of Bobby Blitz.

Side 1 of the "Taking Over" cassette runs the gamut, from the violence-charged dark Thrash of "Deny the Cross," to the crowd-pleasing, attitude-heavy "Wrecking Crew," to the epic Fantasy and grandeur of "Fear His Name," to the grimy, unfiltered baseness of "Use Your Head," to the sleazy supernatural vampiric sexuality of "Fatal if Swallowed." Note that as good as the primary sections of each of these songs are, it's the bridge sections in each that elevate them to the Metal stratosphere. Incredibly, this is the lesser album side on "TO," but it still contains more classic riffs than in its five tracks than most Thrash bands can muster across entire careers.

Moving on to Side 2: this is what lifts "Taking Over" to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best of its peers, bar none. From the brutal, unstoppable, sound-barrier assault of "Powersurge," to the raised-fist magnetism of "In Union We Stand," to the breakneck/break-fucking-everything berzerker explosion of "Electro-Violence" (minus the 2.5 seconds of quiet guitar. Overkill were the first to do this gag), to the epic, atmospheric grand finale of "Overkill II. . . The Nightmare Continues," no album side in the history of Metal has come much closer to perfection. The blend of guitar and vocal melody on the closing track, plus all of the chapters contained in its 7 minutes, plus Blitz's lyrics steeped in terror, drawing from Poe and Shakespeare - - this is perfection, and the ultimate album capper. To diminish this song as an immature banger is to disrespect and misunderstand the dual art forms of song composition and performance. I can't count the number of times I popped in this tape, rewound to the beginning of Side 2, and lost myself in the 19:55 of pure Metal abandon.

Evil, fast, fun, heavy, sleazy, vibrant, atmospheric, violent, inspirational; "Taking Over" is as good as Thrash gets. Many bands have based their careers around Tony Iommi's favorite note: Bb in the key of E, but there's never been a purer distillation than the goods delivered here on the necks of Verni's and Gustafson's instruments. Add top-notch, inspired songwriting and Blitz's undeniable charisma, and you have the ingredients of an instant classic. Overkill wouldn't stop here; there are gems on every one of their albums. I encourage you to dig through their entire ouvre to get the full scope of their brilliant career, but the most important place to start and come back to again and again is "Taking Over."

It may have become a bit obscured by the sands of time, along with the extent of Overkill's catalogue, but I know there are others out there who feel as strongly about "Taking Over" as I do. And if you disagree? Well. . . we don't care what you say.