I Hear Black

After releasing perhaps the finest, most musical recording of the band's already considerable thrash metal career in 1991, Overkill followed up Horrorscope in 1993 with I Hear Black, a slightly more dense, ambitious recording, and the band's first for Atlantic Records. There had been a few lineup changes over the first years of their recording career and the only original members to appear on I Hear Black are vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and bassist D.D. Verni. Ellsworth and Verni are joined by relative newcomers Rov Cannavino and Merrit Gant on guitars and Tim Mallare on drums. Initially, I Hear Black was met with a somewhat cool response by the group's thrash fan base but, over time, metal fans of all varieties have come to appreciate the slower, more dynamic grind that at first confused fans expecting exclusively lightning-fast riffs from the group. The opening "Dreaming in Columbian," the title track, and "Weight of the World" are all mid-tempo metal highlights featuring some decent work by Ellsworth especially, as the singer continues his '90s trend by focusing slightly more on melody, going over the top only where necessary. While not an important release for its genre or even for the band, Overkill's I Hear Black is still a respectable post-thrash offering. ~ Vincent Jeffries