Overkill, Forbidden, Evile, Gamma Bomb, Bonded By Blood
Club Firestone, Orlando Florida
It’s not a long trek to central Florida from its west coast, so having beaten the traffic through Tampa this fine Metal night, my mate Chris and I figured we’d probably be at the venue before any band had started playing. They must have lifte the curtain on the stroke of 8pm, as when we entered nary a few seconds later, Bonded By Blood had already started their set. Part of the recent throw-back revival of Thrash, the young band was well in the throes of their hasty assault by the time we moved toward the stage. Not being familiar with the band’s work, I couldn’t tell you their setlist at all. What was apparent though is that they reside firmly in the break-neck paced arena of Thrash; never a moment of remotely slower songs or passages, just fucking kill it with speed all the way through. Their sound was poor, so it was even difficult to tell how well they executed their own work. They did nothing to make me want to go out buy any of their music anytime soon. I would be remiss though if I didn’t comment on the singer’s endlessly awkward jumps while clad in skin-tight red jeans! He seemed just a little too happy to be there (although I suspect the demon drink had a bit to do with that), and it had numerous people around me sniggering a bit. Lastly, the band played for an inordinately long amount of time for the lowest group on a bill, which as usual manifested itself on later bands having to cut their set short. Now, I assume these things are planned ahead but way too often this happens and it drives me mental. I’m guessing more people paid and showed up to hear a longer set from both Evile and Forbidden than they got. Certainly not Bonded By Blood’s fault, but as a fan it was disappointing as they were just filler on the night for me.
Now, Gamma Bomb are a band I had heard of but had simply never made an effort to check out. I didn’t even know these jokesters are from the Emerald Isle. Playing a punkish, yet also melodic style of Thrash, I was quite taken by their fun and engaging performance. Looking nothing like a Thrash band at all, down to their guitar choices (how often do you see Thrash bands these days cutting away on a Les Paul?...Alex Skolnik excepted), they managed to convey much of what you used to see in many Thrash acts: great Metal and a good bit of fun into the bargain. Nice solos mixed with solid rhythms and a tongue-in-cheek attitude did a lot to impress me and I plan on checking out their albums soon. Sound opening act.
Much like Gamma Bomb, I had heard a lot about Evile recently and managed to listen to their most recent outing “Infected Nations” before I went along to the show. While it’s a stoic, likeable album firmly fixed in contemporaneous Thrash, it still wasn’t anything that had me salivating with excitement. Judging by reactions they were definitely well liked by most of the crowd and I was looking forward to what they could throw forth. First, their sound was extremely poor, worse than the previous bands’ and it’s at this point in shows I always wonder what the fuck the sound guy is listening to? I mean, the clarity went down from Gamma Bomb and how anyone couldn’t notice that is astonishing. Perhaps it was something to do with Evile’s equipment, but it looked like the usual bad-sound-for-lesser-bands-on-a-bill-syndrome, as they were sharing most of the hardware with the other supporting bands, so I have little clue what happened. So it is with this hindrance I have to filter what Evile gave us on the night. For the most part Evile ploughed through hasty Thrash with a cutting sound and the accompanying rawer vocals many new Thrash bands utilize. A bit messy in presentation, the group had the crowd moshing and from all appearances enjoying their set and execution. Besides the poor sound I didn’t find much to get excited about but neither much to have me yawning. Evile then were like many bands on bills I’ve seen recently: perfunctory.
While I was quite intrigued to see Forbidden live after such a long hiatus, I wasn’t quite as enraptured as most at the show or the legions online who had blown a gasket upon hearing the band had both reunited and were touring. I certainly appreciate their work and have enjoyed both “Forbidden Evil” and especially “Twisted Into Form” many times, but I can’t count myself among those who think Forbidden are a tragically under-rated band. They had their moments and recorded a few good albums, but I’ve just never been one to salivate over them. Ironically one of the aspects that turns me off from them was one of their best qualities on the night: Russ Anderson’s vocals. Recorded I find his vocals to be just a little too soaring, a little too ‘Power Metal’ for my tastes. But on a night where gruff shouts where the norm, Anderson’s sweetened voice stuck out and came across far better than it does on CD (or LP for those of us old enough to own such things). The band fired through a good set at a rapid pace. Sounding excellent and an obviously revitalized band due to circumstances, they forged through class songs like “Twisted Into Form”, “Step By Step” and “Chalice Of Blood” with real ferocity and vigour. Strong, technical and with their own brand of melody, Forbidden impressed me beyond what I had hoped for and they left the stage with a rapturous response from both the crowd and yours truly.
Forbidden setlist I believe:
Alpha Century
March Into Fire
Step By Step
Adapt or Die
Omega Wave
Twisted Into Form
Through Eyes Of Glass
Chalice Of Blood
Amongst the ‘big’ bands of American Thrash, I think both to some degree critically and amongst fans, Overkill have most often been given less credit than their contemporaries. You could stick Testament in with them but I think for a band who have never split up and have a fantastic and prolific output, Overkill get overlooked more frequently and far too often. With their recent records being some of the best in Thrashdom, especially this year’s “Ironbound”, these New Jersey natives are as vital and impressive as any plying their trade in the genre right now.
It was with that mindset and the fact I hadn’t seen them live in over 20 years that I was awaiting their show with baited breath. With only the slightest of disappointments (see below) they were near perfection; just balls-out, face-splitting fucking Thrash. This is how it’s done, no bells and whistles, no egotistical bullshit, just out in front of an adorning crowd giving them exactly what they came for. Noticeably the light show was upped and provided a cool but not too extravagant wall of atmosphere and after an initial minute of muddiness, the sound cleared to a perfect level. Blitz was the consummate front-man we’ve all come to respect and love and judging from his continuous sly grin, he was loving every minute as much as everyone in the seething crowd. Galloping out first with “Green And Black”, the brilliant opening track from their new album, Overkill never let up with their bludgeoning assail. Blitz continued his propensity for running on from off-stage just in time for the next vocal and delivering it with unwavering commitment. D.D. Verni still blasts out those gut level bass lines with authority, even if he is looking a bit like a Wall Street banker these days. Classics like “Rotten To The Core”, “Hello From The Gutter” and “Horrorscope” were battered out with brutal precision. An unusual highlight was “Bring Me The Night” which I’m sure not too many of the older crowd knew but sounded fantastic live. Dave Linsk cut through a decent little solo and everyone was on top of their game, providing an excellent show and reinforcing my value of them. If you’re a Thrash fan to any degree, Overkill are a must see before you traipse off this mortal coil, and a band I won’t be waiting another two decades to catch up with.
Overkill setlist*
Overkill setlist*
Green and Black
Rotten to the Core
Wrecking Crew
Infectious
Bring Me the Night
Ironbound
Necroshine
Thanx for Nothin'
Give a Little
Hello From the Gutter
Where It Hurts
Old School
Horrorscope
Elimination
Fuck You
*this is to the best of my recollection as my memory is fucked, so I also used posted setlists to help. My only tiny disappointment being no inclusion of any of the “Overkill” series, especially either the first or most recent, but you can’t have it all!
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