Review by Adam M on July 24, 2010.

Another piece to the excellent Thrash legacy is added by this newest work by Overkill. Though it has a bit of modern sheen, this is undeniably a Thrash album in the classic sense and worthy to stand up to a lot of the more memorable entries in the genre. It has all the meaty riffs and catchy chorus’ to catch one’s attention. The band is consistently shifting into different territories with their abrasive approach and always pummels the listener to the greatest extent.

Everything starts off with a bang as the first track is a solid 8 minute opener that segues into the title track 'Ironbound', which is perhaps my favorite on the disc. The rest of the material keeps up the pace and intensity quite well and never fails to let you down on your Thrash needs. A combination of aggression and versatility is a key factor maintaining an entertaining approach throughout the length of the album. There are some moments where the band adds interesting elements into their sound, such as on 'Give A Little' with its background chanting, or the more serene sections of the stellar title track.

Overall, the sound is Classic Thrash for the most part with a bit of a modern edge and this is perfectly welcome when it’s done as well as it is here. Don’t expect any overt technical displays as everything is kept sounding tight and focused. The material on this album is perhaps a notch shy of that of "Horrorscope", which is my favorite in the band’s discography. Still, "Ironbound" gives that album a run for its money with its efficient Thrash outpourings. Fans of the genre should hold this in the highest esteem as it sticks within the confines of thrash quite impressively.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 7.5
Overall: 8.7

Rating:8.7 out of 10

Review by Adam M on April 26, 2026.

This is an old school album with very early vibes to it. It sounds sort of like their other classic albums like The Years of Decay. It is a very aggressive and altogether fresher beast than their debut. It has a kit if catchy elements and they make the album memorable. The music is raw and energetic. There many classic songs near the beginning of the album. The work has a classic feel of early albums.

The musicianship is very solid with great guitar playing and vocals by Blitz. The production is not the best since this is an early thrash album, but the band makes up for it by having good performances all around. There is very little to dislike with the album and it has the right instrumental presence to make an impact.

The problem I am having with this album is that it does not have the modern elements of albums like Ironbound and feels a bit aged. Still, there are so many good items to the disc that it is hard not to absolutely like it. There are fun songs and this is part of what makes this band so enjoyable to listen to.

All in all, this was a good album with a lot of things going for it. It has fun, catchy songs and a whole lot of massive guitar licks. The vocal performance is excellent and this helps the tracks somewhat. It is still only a pretty good thrash album and The Year of Decay and Horrorscope are both easily better than it.

Rating: 7.1 out of 10

Review by Felix on May 22, 2019.

I have read a pretty funny comment on YouTube to this album. "Thrash rule No. 1 = shitty artwork, awesome music". Guess this hits the nail on the head. Especially the younger generations of thrashers seem to follow this questionable leitmotif. Taking Over also suffers from an ugly artwork (not the motif, but the colors!), but more relevant is another fact. The album proves evidence that the gang from New York did not lack ideas at the beginning of its career. Just like the real big players Metallica and Slayer, the four-piece was able to release more than just one classic. Their second work delivers purer thrash than its predecessor, but it does not achieve the same level of somberness. Especially "In Union We Stand" fails to create a dark mood. Its intention was rather to offer Overkill's version of Priest's "United" and further comparable, overly simple tracks with opportunistic lyrics. Overkill's peccadillo sounds less embarrassing than Priest's commercial kowtow, nevertheless, I actually see no reason why they recorded this number. Don't piss into Halford's stinky toilet as long as you have your own properly polished sanitary facilities.

Apart from this comparatively uninspired and predictable flop, Bobby Gustafson and his companions stay on the right track. They do not hesitate to shell the audience with pretty vehement thrash attacks and nearly all of them hit its intended target. "Electro-Violence", my personal favourite in view of its thunderous riffs, jagged bridge and exciting solo outbursts, washes away the sticky leftovers of "In Union We Stand", "Deny the Cross" marks a furious opener and "Wrecking Crew" with its rousing guitars is cut from the same cloth. These numbers do not deform the guidelines of thrash, they have great choruses, brilliant riffs and the young Blitz shines with charisma and expressiveness. All these tracks deserve 9 out of 10 points on the "Rotten to the Core" scale (and it goes without saying that 10 points is exclusively reserved for "Rotten..." itself!). No doubt, Overkill's creativity resulted in fantastic songs at the beginning of their career, inter alia due to the fact that any kind of groovy elements did not show up at this time. Happy childhood! Just bang your head and give all you can give, but don't intend to jump around like an idiot. These highlights deserve another form of attention.

Speaking of highlights, I have to mention the closers of both sides of vinyl. The second part of "Overkill" as well as "Fatal if Swallowed" show the entire gorgeousness of the quartet at the beginning of its career. The latter has a similar configuration like the other here presented speed songs, while the continuation of the band anthem lives up to its subtitle; "The Nightmare Continues" describes the terrifying atmosphere of this track fittingly. Just enjoy its fantastic introduction with the slowly but steadily growing feeling of discomfort and the assaulting drum rolls. All these highlights distinguish themselves from two less strong number of the A side, which prefer plodding mid-tempo. Anyway, six killers ("Powersurge" opens the B side vigorously and with well-integrated background vocals) pull the more or less adequately produced album on a very remarkable level. Needless to say, that Carl Canedy, the man who had given the debut a pretty miserable sound, was not allowed to enter the studio again. The production of Taking Over still does not offer the technical precision of works such as "Bonded by Blood", but its robust and somewhat swashbuckling mix spreads its aroma. So, what does this mean at the end? Taking Over was a worthy successor of the impressive debut, even though it did not fully achieve its excellence. Anyway, this album has withstood the test of time with great ease. Shitty artwork, awesome music? Well, most representatives of the young thrash generation were able to deliver shitty, multi-colored artworks, but only a small number of them (Warfield, Terrifier, Deathfist) have offered equally awesome music. Aggravating this situation, Overkill's enormous repertoire of exciting compositions seems to be out of reach for those guys. Well, time will tell.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10