If you couldn't tell by the name of the DVD, this release chronicles Overkill's performance at the 2007 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival. One of the biggest metal festivals in the world, it spans four days and features a veritable ton of bands playing heavy music to more than 40,000 rabid metal fans around the world.
Each year it attracts some of the top metal acts and this year was no exception. In addition to Overkill, the stage welcomed the likes of Cannibal Corpse, Lordi, Sacred Reich, Samael, Moonspell, Napalm Death, Lacuna Coil, and a lot more. Overkill was the band chosen to close the first day of performances. Ten years removed from their first Wacken appearance, they took to the stage and proceeded to tear it up for 50 minutes.
I have said before that I am not the biggest fan of Overkill, and I will likely say it again. Despite that fact, which I stand by, there is no denying the quality of music, energy of execution, and the importance of the band to the metal scene. They have been a force to be reckoned with for north of a quarter century, helping forge the early days of thrash metal. Without Overkill's contributions, who knows where metal would have ended up. Yes, I know that sounds a little more dramatic than it truly is, but the band was a player in the birth and continued success of thrash. Not to mention, they have been a near constant force through all of the intervening years, releasing 14 albums and touring constantly.
So, on that warm August night Overkill took the stage and proceeded to rip through a 50 minute set of songs that spanned their entire career, right through to their (at the time) not yet released Immortalis LP. Led by founding members Bobby Blitz on vocals and D.D. Verni on bass, they took everyone back in time. The set was a ferocious tour de force that demonstrated the wild nature of the early days of metal, playing fast and loose with the conventions of rock and punk, fusing them with a new aspect of heaviness and speed. The crowd responded in kind, opening their welcoming arms and paying tribute to this long lasting band.
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