Most bands spend the majority of their time petering around with their style, a little of this sound, a pinch of that, aimlessly wandering that void and desolate "gray area" where countless bands are crushed by the weight of non-distinction and a lethal lack of identity. Such has never been the world of OVERKILL - never has their flare for style faltered, never have they lost their way, and never will there be any doubt about what to expect when OVERKILL unleashes a new album. Your time would be better spent ambling around harvesting an aromatic bouquet of fart blossoms than expecting OVERKILL to deliver anything but boot to the head, stomp a mud hole in your face All-American Thrash Metal.

When it comes to their style, their approach, their sound, OVERKILL are as locked in as ever; even the old "revolving guitarist" curse has been held at bay for some time, with Dave Linsk and Derek Tailer handling their duties rather nicely for nearly eight solid years now, and with old friend/new drummer Ron Lipnicki spinnin' the sticks, it doesn't take long to figure out that, as always, OVERKILL have dialed up yet another neck wreckin' winner with "Immortalis". For Lipnicki's part, this is some of the most bombastic drumming to be heard on an OVERKILL album in many a year, and the double bass in "Devils In The Mist" alone should suffice as evidence that this man is right where he belongs. And still, somehow, someway, OVERKILL have managed to keep their not-so-secret ingredient still secret...Truly a novel concept, and why others never thought of it we may never know, but at some point very early in their career Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and D.D. Verni must have sat down and said, "Hey, what if we used a bass guitar, but we actually recorded so you could HEAR it? Huh? Wouldn't that be something?" And wouldn't you know, all these years later, it still works. A bass guitar not buried and flushed out in the production process? Why, miracles never cease. Fans will be glad to know that, as is par for the course, D.D. is still thumpin' away at that bass and it is blissfully noticeable in every song.

Any Thrash fan true to their roots has got to love "Immortalis". Besides the fact that OVERKILL are pretty much as clutch as it gets when it comes down to kickin' out winning albums, you get a band that believes "if you're gonna do it, you better do it right". Apart from the drunken festivities that embody the tune "Old School" from "ReliXIV", OVERKILL has never been much for cameos, so proper surprise is due when you learn that "Immortalis" has OVERKILL bringing an honest to god guest appearance to the table with LAMB OF GOD's Randy Blythe on "Skull And Bones". And knowing how OVERKILL takes care of business, you should know this is no hokey, one verse, "I think that was someone else but I'm not sure" guest appearance; this tune fits both vocal styles fully, and each person breathes their own personality into the track, all the way through. Easily one of the band's best tunes ever, and all the better for having the professionalism to do it for the sake of a great song and not for trendy publicity.

All in all, "Immortalis" has the goods and delivers them well; like you should expect anything else from a band devoting 20 plus years to honing and refining their art. OVERKILL represent more than Thrash Metal at its finest-they represent what the genre itself is all about: "Ride the wind son, through my eyes, you'll see where you must stand. Remember what your purpose is-and that you wear the brand."