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)
Ironbound
Overkill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Never thought twice, never did time
Never turn back, never go home
Never get used to being alone
One by one, into the sea
Too many eyes are staring at me
Two by two, watch as they go
Who are you and what do you know
Never let go
Make it
Take it
Never let go
Tell all you know
This is what you make it, pound the ground
Make it
Take it
Never let go
Tell all you know
How far can you take it as you go... Ironbound
Two by two, iron to bend
Keeping the oath, right to the end
Three by three, breaking some bones
Snapping some neck, never alone
Here they come, rumble and pound
Never get used to hearing that sound
There they go, fast as they came
Never go back, never the same
All my friends are green and black
All my friends are right
All my friends are automatic
They all rule the night
All my friends are think and thin
They've loyalty and heart
Said all of them are green and black
Everyone is right
All my friends are automatic
Born to rule the night
The lyrics to Ironbound by Overkill describe a person who has committed crimes and never turned back. They have lived a life of never getting used to being alone and have gone so far as to throw people into the sea. The person is described as having the heart in hand and never letting go. The lyrics repeat the lines "Make it, take it, never let go, tell all you know" and "All my friends are green and black," which gives the impression of a gang-like mentality. The lyrics describe the person's friends as being "automatic" and "born to rule the night," which suggests that they are confident and powerful.
The lyrics also talk about breaking bones and snapping necks and the feeling of never getting used to hearing that sound. This gives the impression of violence and danger. The repeated phrase "never go back, never the same" reinforces the idea that there is no turning back from this way of life. Overall, the lyrics paint a picture of a life of crime and loyalty to a group of friends who share this lifestyle.
Line by Line Meaning
One by one, doing the crime
Committing crimes one after the other
Never thought twice, never did time
Didn't consider the consequences and never faced punishment
Never turn back, never go home
Never retreat or return to civilized life
Never get used to being alone
Always feeling lonely and isolated
One by one, into the sea
One by one, drowning in the consequences of past deeds
Too many eyes are staring at me
Feeling guilty and paranoid, as if everyone is watching
Two by two, watch as they go
Observing others and questioning their intentions
Who are you and what do you know
Questioning the identity and knowledge of others
I got your heart in hand
Having power and control over others
Make it
Achieve success
Take it
Seize the opportunity
Never let go
Hold on tight and never give up
Tell all you know
Share your knowledge and wisdom
This is what you make it, pound the ground
Success is what you create, so work hard for it
How far can you take it as you go... Ironbound
Push yourself to the limit during your journey, even in difficult circumstances
Two by two, iron to bend
People working together to achieve a common goal
Keeping the oath, right to the end
Commitment to honor and loyalty until the end
Three by three, breaking some bones
Using violence and force to achieve desired outcomes
Snapping some neck, never alone
Engaging in brutal actions together with others
Here they come, rumble and pound
Preparing for an intense and violent encounter
Never get used to hearing that sound
The sound of violence should never be normalized or accepted
There they go, fast as they came
Quickly leaving the scene of destruction
All my friends are green and black
All his friends are members of the Overkill band
All my friends are right
All his friends are correct in their attitudes and behaviors
All my friends are automatic
All his friends are authentic and true to themselves
They all rule the night
They dominate the nighttime scene
All my friends are think and thin
All his friends are there for each other, no matter what
They've loyalty and heart
They have devotion and sincerity in their friendships
Said all of them are green and black
Repeating that all his friends are members of Overkill
Everyone is right
All are correct in their actions and views
Born to rule the night
Destined to dominate the nighttime scene
Contributed by Abigail D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Daby
Actually Blitz has one of the most original thrash metal vocals ive ever heard,I should know Ive listened to hundreds of thrash bands(even ones that lasted only 1-5 years)and I didnt hear anyone sing as great as him.Blitz and Overkill are the kings of THRASH.
Rebel5012
Growing up in the early 2000s surrounded by hip hop I never thought of listening to thrash. I got this CD for free 10 years ago and have been hooked on thrash metal since. Thank you Overkill.
Paladin 1
Welcome brother
Captain Moondog
well that's the internet, you can listen whatever you want when you want, glad to know that you like Overkill :)
the gray channel
I grew up on it in a way. I was early 90s born, started with grunge, iron maiden made me metal and overkill is in my big 4. Not what the 4 was made
the gray channel
My parents were mostly 80s glam metal, but I've loved overkill and testament for a while. I always tell them Thrash is so much cooler than Glam lol
Rebel5012
@the gray channel That's funny you just listed 2 of my big 4. I have Testament, Overkill, Slayer, and Megadeth in no particular order. Not that I have anything against Metallica they were just thrash for 4 albums only. And I really don't know what's so great about anthrax. Just my opinion.
zero x
This band is soo underrated.
AlphaOmegaSin
These legends got even better with time. Definitely a good time to be a fan of Thrash with the pioneers showing they still got it and the new guns firing off some truly insane shit \m/
əɔսəʎᵴԀ
i hope the new guns today can do the same with the future new guns, that would be sick