Feel the Fire in Bloomington, MN

This full-length debut from New York
thrash
band
Overkill
made quite a splash within the
heavy metal
community and listenership. While certainly not the group's best effort,
Feel the Fire
possessed all the blistering riffs and complete abandonment fans would learn to expect from
. With band classics like the title track and
"Rotten to the Core,"
this 1995
Megaforce
release solidified a loyal fan base that would grow steadily as the band expanded their sound and catalog through the mid- and late '80s. The classic original band lineup of
Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth
on vocals,
Bobby Gustafson
on guitars,
Rat Skates
on drums, and bassist
D.D. Verni
sounds surprisingly accomplished on this major-label debut, giving tight performances and ultimately helping (along with fellow second-wave
bands like
Flotsam and Jetsam
and a myriad of Bay-Area
metal
outfits) define a generation of spastic, but impressive second wave of aggressive
thrash metal
. ~ Vincent Jeffries