The final Overkill disc to feature guitarist Bobby Gustafson, this 1989 recording is considered a classic by the group's fans, and is often mentioned as the pinnacle of the East Coast thrashers' recording career.
Casual Overkill listeners will only be able to discern subtle differences between The Years of Decay and earlier efforts, but there is no doubt that the group consistently refined their sound during the '80s, offering successive improvements on each of their first four releases.
Famed metal producer Terry Date does a fine job dealing with the instrumental overkill, allowing the tight, but still raucous performances to shine.
Typically similar with one another, it is hard to pick standout tracks, but the grinding "Playing With Fire/Skullcrusher" is a minor highlight, with its dynamic structure and above average lyrics.
As usual, vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth's impersonation of a 33 rpm Udo album cranked up to 78 severely detracts from Overkill's violent mix of tight guitars and drums.
This same problem plagues many Overkill recordings, however, so like most of the band's catalog, this record is a bit of an acquired taste.
Recommended strongly to longtime fans of the group, The Years of Decay is one of Overkill's most satisfying efforts.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Time to KillOverkill | Overkill | Play | 06:16 | 14 MB | 42 MB |
| 2 | EliminationOverkill | Overkill | Play | 04:35 | 10 MB | 34 MB |
| 3 | I HateOverkill | Overkill | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 4 | Nothing to Die ForOverkill | Overkill | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 5 | Birth of TensionOverkill | Overkill | Play | 05:04 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 6 | Who Tends the FireOverkill | Overkill | Play | 08:12 | 18 MB | 52 MB |
| 7 | The Years of DecayOverkill | Overkill | Play | 07:58 | 18 MB | 45 MB |
| 8 | E.Vil N.Ever D.IesOverkill | Overkill | Play | 05:49 | 13 MB | 35 MB |
| 9 | Playing With Spiders _ Skullcrusher | Overkill | Play | 10:15 | 23 MB | 61 MB |
| 56 mins | 129 MB | |||||
| 56 mins | 363 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terry Date | Engineer, Producer |
| 2 | Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth | Vocals |
| 3 | Sid Falck | Drums |
| 4 | Bobby Gustafson | Guitar |
| 5 | Matt Lane | Engineer |
| 6 | Overkill | Composer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 7 | Michael Paras | Photography |
| 8 | D.D. Verni | Bass |
| 9 | Howie Weinberg | Mastering |
| 10 | Jon Zazula | Executive Producer |
| 11 | Marsha Zazula | Executive Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |