Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog

My first taste of the invincible OVERKILL was their second studio album Taking Over. Released back in 1987, this masterpiece of thrash metal has stood the test of Metal time, for me. Taking Over should be filed under mandatory old-school Metal, if one is to create such a list.

I purchased this album first on vinyl at a regional record store chain called Strawberries Records & Tapes, while living in Connecticut. This retail chain no longer exists, closing its doors in 2006. Years later I bought Taking Over on CD. I never owned this gem on cassette.

My favorite song on Taking Over is the powerful thrash hym: In Union We Stand. To this very day, this song galvanizes my Metal soul and creates positive chills through my body. Electro-Violence encapsulates everything that a thrash song should be; speed, aggression, explosive and short guitar solos with a blistering rhythm section that induces moshing and head-banging madness.

Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth is still my favorite thrash vocalist of all-time. I always felt that his vocals are so unique that no other vocalist remotely sounds like him. This OVERKILL lineup, with Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth were truly pioneering and legendary, with drummer Rat Skates, bassist D. D. Verni and guitarist Bobby Gustafson.

• Taking Over is the last OVERKILL studio album that drummer Rat Skates would perform on.

Taking Over – Track List:

01. Deny The Cross

02. Wrecking Crew

03. Fear His Name

04. Use Your Head

05. Fatal If Swallowed

06. Powersurge

07. In Union We Stand

08. Electro-Violence

09. Overkill II (The Nightmare Continues)

This entry was posted on March 2, 2026 at 4:59 pm and is filed under Heavy Metal, Metal, metal bands, metal music, Music, music news, news, nu metal with tags Metal, Metal albums 1987, metal music, Metal News, metal odyssey, overkill, thrash, Thrash Metal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.