If I had to choose one of my favorite Rock instrumental songs of all time, there is no doubt “Frankenstein” comes to mind. The Edgar Winter Group released “They Only Come Out At Night” in November of 1972, this is the album you will find this original song on. Written by Edgar Winter, how ahead of it’s time was this song? Realistically, this now Classic Rock masterpiece of an instrumental song was as diversified as it was heavy. The multi talented musicianship of Edgar Winter is standout on “Frankenstein”, with the keyboards creating enough spookiness to validate the song’s title. The saxophone, in my Metal opinion, has always had a macabre sounding affect on me, only adding to the overall eerie coolness that “Frankenstein” erupts. I fell Metal head over heels for this song decades ago… I still slap this song on very frequently, especially around Halloween. Seriously, this song just goes perfect when Autumn arrives… once October hits, I have plenty of scary and heavy songs to bust out and revel in their dark side glory, “Frankenstein” leads the pack. No Halloween season can ever get by me, without listening to this song on a consistent basis. The Edgar Winter Group released a mammoth of a Rock album with “They Only Come Out At Night”, “Frankenstein” just made this release immensely complete, with it’s inclusion.
Now, step in… Over Kill. “Horrorscope” was released on September 3, 1991 and on this album, Over Kill includes the cover version of “Frankenstein”. The running time of this Over Kill cover version comes in at 3:29, compared to The Edgar Winter Group’s original version of 4:44. Despite the shortened length of time, Over Kill demonstrated a monstrous Thrash Metal approach to honoring such a legendary Rock instrumental classic. Yes, I bought this Over Kill album within the first week of it’s release back in 1991, (I still have it on cassette too). When I first listened to Over Kill’s Thrash Metal burn on “Frankenstein”, I was stunned, all I felt was the immediate power force of guitar, bass and drums all coming together like a Metal typhoon. The only word that I honestly can remember saying aloud, listening for the first time to Over Kill’s cover version was… whoa. I also dropped plenty of complimentary f-bombs alongside the adjectives of great, incredible and insane. I still do, when talking about this Over Kill cover of “Frankenstein”. I will not lie, I look upon Over Kill, past and present, as if they were and still are the Thrash Metal kings of the entire universe. That type of Metal bias has no persuasion whatsoever, when I tell the entire planet that this cover by Over Kill is one for the Metal record books. As for the “Horrorscope” album itself… Thrash Metal of profound intensity.
I will succumb by stating, I honestly without a Metal doubt, cannot choose one version of “Frankenstein” over the other. This is a wicked example of how an original Rock Classic can be so legendary and inspiring, yet the cover version with all of it’s grand Thrash Metal bite and might, results in my saying it is a Metal tie. September is just around the corner… October shall be upon us very soon… “Frankenstein” will be played very loud by me very many times starting now… my home stereo speakers are going to get a Metal workout like they never experienced before.
“If it is old school Thrash Metal you are looking for, you have definitely found it! Over Kill does not disappoint, each song is as heavy as the next, TRUE Thrash Metal. This is as great a start as you can get if you are beginning an Over Kill music collection. Over Kill throughout the years have been steadfast and loyal to the Thrash Metal sound and genre, comparing “The Years Of Decay” to their other albums is non sensical, for I admire the entire catalog of albums from this band. “The Years Of Decay” in my opinion, stands out from the vast Thrash Metal album crowd, since it’s release in 1989. For an album that is now twenty plus years old, this brand of Thrash Metal from Over Kill is still Earth shattering, in my Metal opinion. Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth on vocals and D.D. Verni on bass deserve all the accolades. Bobby Gustafson on guitar and “Sid” Falck on drums are both tremendous players on this album as well. I really recommend “The Years Of Decay” to all Metal and Thrash Metal fans alike. New Over Kill fans cannot pass over this heavy hitter.
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
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