The Years of Decay
| The Years of Decay | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Overkill | ||||
| Released | October 13, 1989 | |||
| Recorded | June–July 1989 | |||
| Studio | Carriage House Studios, Stamford, Connecticut | |||
| Genre | Thrash metal | |||
| Length | 56:17 | |||
| Label | Atlantic, Megaforce | |||
| Producer | Overkill, Terry Date, Jon Zazula, Marsha Zazula | |||
| Overkill chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Years of Decay is the fourth studio album by thrash metal band Overkill, released on October 13, 1989 through Atlantic and Megaforce Records.[1] This is the last Overkill album to feature guitarist Bobby Gustafson, who left the band after disagreements with bassist D. D. Verni.[2][3]
Touring and promotion
Overkill spent nearly a year touring in support of The Years of Decay. In November–December 1989, the band toured with Wolfsbane and Dark Angel, and a month later they toured Europe with Mordred.[1] They also supported Testament on their Practice What You Preach tour. Overkill embarked on a headlining North American tour for three months, which took place from March to June 1990. Supporting acts for this tour were Excel, Vio-lence and Deceased.[1]
To date, all songs from The Years of Decay have been played live except "Nothing to Die For".[4] According to frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth, "E.vil N.ever D.ies" is a continuation of the self-titled "Overkill" series of songs from the band's three previous albums, but was not named "Overkill IV";[5] this would be the last song of the series until Immortalis (2007), which features the most recent part in "Overkill V... The Brand".
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
Jason Anderson at AllMusic gave The Years of Decay a positive review, awarding it four stars out of five. He called it a "classic by the group's fans", and that it "is often mentioned as the pinnacle of the East Coast thrashers' recording career".[6] The album reached No. 155 on the U.S. Billboard 200[7] and remained on that chart for eight weeks, making it Overkill's fourth highest-charting release to date.[8] As of May 2000 it had sold over 67,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.[9]
In August 2014, Revolver magazine placed the album on its list of "14 Thrash Albums You Need to Own".[10] It was also ranked number ten on Loudwire's top ten list of "Thrash Albums NOT Released by the Big 4".[11]
Track listing
All tracks written by Overkill.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Time to Kill" | 6:16 |
| 2. | "Elimination" | 4:35 |
| 3. | "I Hate" | 3:46 |
| 4. | "Nothing to Die For" | 4:22 |
| 5. | "Playing with Spiders/Skullkrusher" | 10:15 |
| 6. | "Birth of Tension" | 5:04 |
| 7. | "Who Tends the Fire" | 8:12 |
| 8. | "The Years of Decay" | 7:58 |
| 9. | "E.vil N.ever D.ies" | 5:49 |
| Total length: | 56:17 | |
Personnel
- Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth – lead vocals, production
- Bobby Gustafson – guitar, production
- Sid Falck – drums, production
- D.D. Verni – bass, production
- The Satones – background vocals
- Terry Date – engineering, production
- Matt Lane – engineering
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
- Jon Zazula – executive production
- Marsha Zazula – executive production
Chart performance
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Billboard 200 | 155[7] |
References
- 1 2 3 "Over Kill;". metallipromo.com. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
- ↑ "Ex-Overkill Axeman Bobby Gustafson Returns To Metal With New Band Response Negative". Metal Rules. May 2003. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
- ↑ David, Leslie (2010-11-15). "Over Kill - Bobby Gustafson". Leslie's metal. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
- ↑ "Songs played by tour: The Years of Decay". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
- ↑ "OverKill Interview". Metal-Rules. 2003. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
- 1 2 Anderson, Jason. "The Years of Decay - Overkill". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
- 1 2 "The Years of Decay - Overkill | Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
- ↑ "Overkill - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
- ↑ "Sludge Scan For May 2000". Metal Sludge. 2000-05-03. Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
- ↑ Popoff, Martin (2014-08-29). "14 Thrash Albums You Need to Own". Revolver. NewBay Media. Retrieved 2014-08-30.
- ↑ Hartmann, Graham (2015-10-08). "Top 10 Thrash Albums NOT Released by the Big 4". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. Retrieved 2015-12-28.