To date, Overkill has released nineteen studio albums, an album of cover songs, two EPs, one demo tape and three live albums. They were one of the first thrash metal bands to sign to a major label (having signed to Atlantic Records in 1986), and rose to fame as part of the genre's movement of the mid-to-late 1980s, along with the "Big Four" (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax) as well as Exodus and Testament. Overkill achieved their first mainstream success with its second studio album and Atlantic debut, Taking Over (1987), which peaked at number 191 on the Billboard 200. The band's next five studio albums—Under the Influence (1988), The Years of Decay (1989), Horrorscope (1991), I Hear Black (1993) and W.F.O. (1994)—were also successful on the Billboard charts, with the latter two cracking the top ten on the Top Heatseekers chart. Following their split from Atlantic in 1995, Overkill went through some label changes, but continued to enjoy moderate underground success, particularly in Europe and Japan. The band experienced a resurgence of popularity in the U.S. during the 2010s, with three of their studio albums released that decade—The Electric Age (2012), White Devil Armory (2014) and The Grinding Wheel (2017)—reaching the top 100 on the charts. Overkill has sold over 16 million records worldwide; they are also estimated to have sold more than 625,000 records in the United States since the beginning of the SoundScan era.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overkill_(band)
Studio albums
Feel the Fire (1985)
Taking Over (1987)
Under the Influence (1988)
The Years of Decay (1989)
Horrorscope (1991)
I Hear Black (1993)
W.F.O. (1994)
The Killing Kind (1996)
From the Underground and Below (1997)
Necroshine (1999)
Bloodletting (2000)
Killbox 13 (2003)
ReliXIV (2005)
Immortalis (2007)
Ironbound (2010)
The Electric Age (2012)
White Devil Armory (2014)
The Grinding Wheel (2017)
The Wings of War (2019)
Scorched (2023)
Blood And Iron
Overkill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Out for the kill, and looking for donors.
As terror strikes, give your life
We drink your blood, a human sacrifice.
Ahh! Stick in the knife
Uhh! For blood and iron
Iron!
Thirst for more, our chosen path
Awake and find the Devil's wrath!
All those who dare and those who disobey
Alone you'll find, dead, as yesterday
Ahh! Fight for you life
For blood and iron
Iron!
Blood and iron!!!
All right donors! Donate!!!
Flesh of steel, a legion of donors
We are one as our blood transfers
New found power raging through your veins
Blood metal donors eat! the last remains
For blood!!! And iron!!!
The lyrics to Overkill’s song “Blood and Iron” depict a gruesome thirst for blood and power. The band is relentless in their pursuit to take no prisoners and kill mercilessly. The use of the phrase “give your life” suggests that the band is willing to do anything to obtain the blood they desire. It is stated that “We drink your blood, a human sacrifice” which further emphasizes the horrific nature of the song’s theme.
The chorus of the song is highly repetitive, repeating “blood and iron” several times. It’s as if the band is using the phrase as a mantra to fuel their violent mission. The verse “all those who dare and those who disobey, alone you’ll find, dead, as yesterday” is highly ominous, establishing the fact that the band will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. The use of violent and graphic language is highly effective in depicting the extreme nature of the band’s message.
In conclusion, “Blood and Iron” is a highly aggressive song. It tells the story of a band with an insatiable thirst for blood, willing to do anything to obtain it. The song’s lyrics are highly violent and graphic, effectively capturing the raw emotion the band is trying to express.
Line by Line Meaning
Out for blood, take no prisoners
We are looking to draw blood and will show no mercy to anyone.
Out for the kill, and looking for donors.
We intend to kill and find victims whose blood we can take.
As terror strikes, give your life
When fear takes over, prepare to offer your life to us.
We drink your blood, a human sacrifice.
We will take your blood for our own purposes, and use you as a sacrifice.
Ahh! Stick in the knife
We are violent and will attack with force.
Uhh! For blood and iron
Iron!
Blood and iron
We are seeking blood and will use iron weapons to get it.
Thirst for more, our chosen path
We have an insatiable thirst for blood, and it is the path we've chosen.
Awake and find the Devil's wrath!
When you awaken, you will come face to face with the wrath of the devil.
All those who dare and those who disobey
Alone you'll find, dead, as yesterday
Anyone who takes us on or disobeys us can expect to end up dead and alone, like those before them.
Ahh! Fight for you life
For blood and iron
Iron!
Blood and iron!!!
We're calling out for a battle, and we're fighting for blood and will use iron weapons.
All right donors! Donate!!!
We're calling out for new victims whose blood we can drink.
Flesh of steel, a legion of donors
We are one as our blood transfers
New found power raging through your veins
Blood metal donors eat! the last remains
We are a strong army of blood thirsty people, and our blood unites us. As our blood merges, you'll feel new power in your veins. We are here to drink blood, and will finish off the remains of our victims.
For blood!!! And iron!!!
Our only aspirations are blood and iron.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Serjical23
Very unfortunate that Gustafson left this band and turned down an invitation to join Megadeth in their early years. Truly one of the best early thrash metal guitarists. His solos have a never-ending, freestyle type sound to them very similar to Dave Mustaine.
McSorleyFan33
He was so good overkill had to replace him with two guitarists
tiguilherman
Powerful vocals! Especially in the chorus!
Joseph Romano
One of overkill's best albums ever! Metallica,Slayer,Anthrax,Megadeth,Ratt,and Overkill! The eighties produced the greatest metal in that era! Love all those bands!
Len Ross
Joseph Romano your forgot testament
The Elder Trolls
@Len Ross i was just about to type that :D
HuntFishExplore
One of my favorite Overkill songs.
Yosef Blacknigga
thrash needs more love!!! i'm gonna go recruit some!!!
vicente guerrero
i love the solo at 1:13 to 1:52
Mat Demaz
Omg, this is so awesome.