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)
Burn You Down / To Ashes
Overkill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You make amends to the ones you have tried to destroy
So profound
To make amends to the ones who have tried to destroy you
As confusion mounts
As you fall in rank
The heart and mind throbbing both go blank
Then why do you jump at the sound of my voice?
If you're not afraid
With time running down
You've done all that you could to be close to your God
Life unfound
You've done all that you should to be far from your God's hands
It blows like ash in the wind
I throw no stone for I've sinned
If you're not afraid
Then why do you question the good of your choice?
If you're not afraid
If you're not afraid
If you're not afraid
Listen to for what you paid but the speaker is a liar
Working hard for what you made, your values are on fire
Burning you down
Scramble for what's good and right, testament to the manic
The innocent flash before his eyes, the man begins his panic
Burning him down
What you are and what you've done is what you had to be
What you are and what you've done gets the better of me
Burning you down, down, down
Burning you down, down, down
Burning you down, down, down
Burn you down
The lyrics to Overkill's "Burn You Down / To Ashes" speak about the idea of making amends to those who have tried to destroy you, while also addressing the confusion and fear that comes with facing consequences for one's actions. The lines "With time running down / You make amends to the ones you have tried to destroy" and "To make amends to the ones who have tried to destroy you" uses repetition to emphasize the importance of mending relationships with those who have caused you harm, and the singer's understanding of the need for forgiveness.
Additionally, the lyrics address the themes of fear, regret, and judgment. The lines "If you're not afraid / Then why do you jump at the sound of my voice?" and "If you're not afraid / Then why do you question the good of your choice?" suggest that the subject is afraid of facing the consequences of their actions, and is questioning the choices they made.
Furthermore, the lyrics also confronts the idea of a misleading speaker, as noted in the lines "Listen to for what you paid but the singer is a liar / Working hard for what you made, your values are on fire." This verse calls attention to the idea that we should be mindful of who we listen to and what we believe, as someone's words may not always accurately reflect their true intentions or values.
Overall, "Burn You Down / To Ashes" uses powerful and emotive lyrics to explore themes of forgiveness, fear, judgment, and confusion.
Line by Line Meaning
With time running down
As time is running out.
You make amends to the ones you have tried to destroy
You apologize to the people you've tried to harm.
So profound
Such a deep action.
To make amends to the ones who have tried to destroy you
To forgive the people who have tried to harm you.
As confusion mounts
As confusion builds up.
As you fall in rank
As you lose your position or status.
The heart and mind throbbing both go blank
Both the physical and intellectual aspects of yourself shut down.
If you're not afraid
If you're not scared.
Then why do you jump at the sound of my voice?
Why do you react strongly to my words?
You've done all that you could to be close to your God
You have lived your life in a way that you believe is pleasing to your God.
Life unfound
Your life feels meaningless.
You've done all that you should to be far from your God's hands
You have deliberately lived your life in a way that is displeasing to your God.
It blows like ash in the wind
It is easily forgotten and scattered like dust.
I throw no stone for I've sinned
I won't judge you because I am also a sinner.
Then why do you question the good of your choice?
Why do you doubt the value of your decision?
Listen to for what you paid but the speaker is a liar
You paid to listen to someone who is lying to you.
Working hard for what you made, your values are on fire
Your hard work has led you to a situation where your beliefs and morals are in danger.
Scramble for what's good and right, testament to the manic
Struggling to do what's good and right is proof of your emotional instability.
The innocent flash before his eyes, the man begins his panic
The thought of harming innocent people makes the person panic.
What you are and what you've done is what you had to be
You feel that your actions were necessary given the circumstances.
What you are and what you've done gets the better of me
Your actions and nature overwhelm and confuse me.
Burning you down, down, down
Destroying you completely.
Burn you down
Destroy you.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CARLO VERNI, ROBERT ELLSWORTH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Iordache Sorin
yes! yes, finally proper apreciation of this band. people need to be aware of the depth and energy of overkill's songs and buy their albums. Living For The Kill is a true fan
Jordan Cummins
Dude the only thing that sucks is that you can't get bloodletting, killbox 13, reliXIV and the regular Immortalis not the immortalis live at wacken
TJ Misanthrope
Love this song!!
Living For The Kill
Same here. Such a haunting and heavy song.
Anastesia Flotzilla
Only a few of my relates love this song( Glad to see it being put in your fav list, cause i can listen to it forever. A-m-a-z-i-n-g and emotional
Louis Csanko
OVERKILL ARE THE UNDISPUTED THRASH KINGS 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
rawkit rawn
GOOD KILL ! spooky unhinged, great visuals thanks-a-milia
Eddie Maiden
I like this Overkill song it's good. i have this album the killing kind it comes with 3 bonus tracks on the CD Album in my overkill collection. 🤟🏻🤟🏻🫶🏻
chroscielewski
the haunting feeling of this masterpiece song always reminds me of Diablo 1, especially clean guitars...
AbortedEvolution
My go to band while playing all the Diablos.