Motörhead
Overkill

THE REVIEW

First of all, let me start by saying that it's almost an insult to rock that there isn’t even one review of this extremely important band that has contributed so much to the world of music. And this is a fact, not just a mere opinion. When you think of '70s hard rock, you immediately think of bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and so on. From this hard rock, a myriad of subgenres emerged, including the metal of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, etc., culminating in the true heavy metal of Metallica, and proving the influence these latter bands had from Motorhead are the countless covers played and traceable in the double CD released in '98, "Garage Inc."

Well, the link between hard rock and heavy metal is to be found in the '70s, and in my opinion, Motorhead is the quintessential group that determined this evolution. In 1979, after "On Parole" ('76) and "Motorhead" ('77), "Overkill" was released, which in the opinion of the person writing, is Motorhead's masterpiece. The band, led by the legendary Ian Kilmister known as Lemmy, bassist and frontman of the group who combines the powerful sound of his bass with a hoarse voice derived from billions of cigarettes; Eddie Clarke, guitarist, capable of blending the psychedelia of Hendrix and the rock and roll of Chuck Berry into a mix of power never heard before, Phil Taylor, drummer, another laudable member, also seminal in his field.

But now, let’s talk about the album, which begins with the title track "OVERKILL", immediately showing us who Motorhead are; lightning-fast drums and bass and rock and roll guitar amidst a thousand distortions, without a moment's respite; the perfect summary of Motorhead's sound. At a certain point, the track seems to end with Clarke's solo, yet the drums restart and another guitar solo comes in, the track ends, no, the double bass kicks in again, another piercing solo, and the track finally concludes. "Stay Clean" continues in a calmer manner compared to the initial roar, "(I Won't) Pay Your Price" is the classic rock & roll altered in its traits by these rock bikers, "Capricorn" relies heavily on Clarke's guitar work and delivers a series of anthology-worthy solos deserving of the best Hendrix. The album always proceeds at a high level with the same well-established pattern, without moments of pause for the listener who gets swept away by a whirlwind of distortions and a heart-pounding rhythm section. "Metropolis" slows things down a bit and perhaps offers the best chorus followed by another series of always effective, original, and ferocious solos. The album concludes with "Limb from Limb", truth be told, without adding anything to this rock milestone.