Retro-Review: Overkill – Feel the Fire

Welcome to Retro-Reviews, a space where I indulge in my own nostalgic reveries, reminiscing about a time that never truly existed, but one that I’ve crafted through various random albums that hold significance for me. Whether good or bad, one thing is certain: remembering can be a bittersweet journey.

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It’s 1985—the first internet domain is officially registered, Mexico City suffers a horrendous earthquake, someone discovers what’s left of the Titanic, and Live Aid happens with little success for Ethiopia. Oh, right! The Metal scene—what an interesting year, with many legendary bands beginning to find their style, such as Slayer, Possessed, and Celtic Frost. But today, we’re going to talk about one band that has been consistently overlooked: Overkill and its album Feel the Fire. Let’s roll!

This section is slowly becoming the reader appreciation moment of the week. Nothing wrong with that—keep it coming! I want you to return to an era when Metal lived and died by the passion of its guitar solos, not so much by technique or complex songwriting. Yes, I’ll say it now: the ’80s aren’t my favorite era at all. In fact, you could call me an ’80s hater. Metal during this time often strikes me as rudimentary and overly influenced by pop music. However, there’s one thing I do love about albums like Feel the Fire—there’s real love for the art here.

Overkill is probably the band that got robbed the most from the first wave of Thrash. They’re rarely acknowledged as much as their peers, despite arguably being the first Thrash band ever. In Feel the Fire, you can hear the missing links between Heavy Metal and what, in a few years, would become extreme Metal. Sure, the riffs are fast and mean, but the vocals are surprisingly digestible—like the singer actually hits a few notes properly. Back then, all Thrash singers sounded like they had just finished a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and snorted a good line of magic powder. It’s almost as if Bruce Dickinson did Thrash.

Feel the Fire isn’t deep, but it’s just so much fun! It can get corny from time to time, I won’t deny it. Yet, the solos in this album are out of this world. For those of you who grew up in the 2000s or later (yours truly included), there’s something you need to understand: if you couldn’t play a wacky solo in the ’80s and early ’90s, you were probably going to get fired from the band—or worse, they’d put you on bass (before you stab me, my fellow bass players, I challenge you to name one ’80s Thrash album with a memorable bass line that isn’t “Orion”).

Perhaps what I find most unique about this album isn’t how it summarizes all the trademark traits of the style—we know those well from Metallica, Anthrax, etc.—it’s that Overkill feels happy. I get it—there’s teen aggression in the lyrics and themes, but you can’t convince me you’re evil with such colorful guitar work and tuning so standard that everything feels major. I find it refreshing in our era, where bands either try to be as dark and heavy as possible or just ironic memes that never take themselves seriously. Feel the Fire is something in between, and we don’t make those anymore.

Relax, I’ll never say the past was better—it’s rarely the case since nostalgia and cognitive decline take away the best of you. However, it’s interesting to hear what we gain or lose as time passes, what comes back, and what stays forgotten. That’s why we retro-review, because I’m sure Feel the Fire was, for ten minutes, the most brutal and merciless album in the world. But now? It feels like music for partying with your uncle who likes Rock ‘n’ Roll, and I think that’s awesome! So, give it a try and enter a conversation not only with more innocent times, but with your grandparents (this album is almost 40 years old now, so even your parents might not have been conscious when it came out). Let that sink in!

I want to thank one of our most loyal readers, Johannes, for suggesting this album. See? Comment respectfully on the blog, and we’ll make it happen!

Label: Megaforce Records

Release date: 15 October, 1985

Website: https://www.facebook.com/OverkillWreckingCrew

Country: USA

Score: more dated than a VHS, but fun!