𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…
29 years ago today, the Wrecking Crew came at us with all cylinders “Wide .Fuckin’ .Open.”!
On this day (July 15) in 1994, Overkill released their seventh full-length album, “W.F.O. (Wide Fucking Open) via Atlantic Records.
Overview:
“W.F.O.” contains "hidden songs" on track 98 the songs start at 10:00, featuring the band warming up in the studio, playing "Heaven and Hell" by Black Sabbath, "The Ripper" by Judas Priest and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by Jimi Hendrix.
The instrumental song "R.I.P. (Undone)" was written as a tribute to Criss Oliva, co-founder of the band Savatage, who died on October 17, 1993 (nine months before the release of “W.F.O”). Oliva and his wife Dawn were driving north on Highway 301 on their way to the Fourth Annual Livestock Festival held in Zephyrhills, Florida, just north of Tampa. An oncoming car operated by a drunk driver crossed the median and struck Oliva's 1992 Mazda RX-7 head-on. Dawn survived the crash, but Oliva was killed instantly. The drunk driver, who had seven prior drunk driving (DUI) convictions, survived with minor injuries and was later found guilty of DUI manslaughter, DUI serious injury and vehicular homicide, and served 18 months in prison of a five-year sentence.
“W.F.O.” is the last Overkill album released by Atlantic Records, who released their previous five albums, and their last album with guitarists Rob Cannavino and Merritt Gant.
“W.F.O.” and “I Hear Black” were re-released on Wounded Bird Records in 2005.
Background:
“W.F.O.” was the first album Overkill produced themselves. On the making of the album, frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth explained to Gavin Report;
“We did it ourselves. We used Terry Date back in 1991, but he's almost unreachable now. Between the success of the “Horrorscope” album and the Pantera and Soundgarden albums, he's really off the map. We know our area and we just try to expand on it. We've never been one for tasting the flavor of the day. I think our longevity is due to the fact that we're not really followers. We enjoy our area and explore within it. A lot of people might say that it's not really artistic to say that you can't expand, but we just know where we're most potent. We just turned up the intensity with each record, as compared to exploring what people are calling Alternative, Grunge or Industrial.
The songs are born in a rehearsal room where everyone says 'we're there.' We put on a few finishing touches and then record it. We did this whole thing from soup to nuts this time and it was important that we saw that vision all the way through to the end. We had an option to take a producer but I've co-produced seven records with D.D., Rob is fantastic behind the board and Merritt has great ears. We just decided to go in an do it and not let anyone fuck with our vision.”
“W.F.O.” (a common biker term) was released as an answer to the criticism that “I Hear Black” had received. The album presented a fast, heads-down, old-school approach, and while “W.F.O.” was said to be a return to the band's "good ol' Thrashin’ ways", it did contain some of the traditional Heavy Metal sound previously used on “I Hear Black”, but eschewed most of that album's influences from Stoner and Doom Metal in favor of a Groove Metal influenced sound. The music video for "Fast Junkie" received little or no airplay from MTV, due to changing mainstream tastes and limited airplay availability for Metal bands.
With Grunge dominating the airwaves in the United States, many Heavy Metal radio stations changing formats and HeadBangers Ball going off the air, “W.F.O.” failed to find an audience and in 1995 Overkill left Atlantic Records. Overkill were happy to leave the mainstream label, where they felt they received little or no attention and signed to different record companies around the world (CMC International in the US).
"The Wait/New High in Lows" samples a quote from the 1993 crime film Carlito's Way.
A promotional only CD was released for the song "Fast Junkie".
Critical Reception & Album Performance:
AllMusic's Jason Anderson gave the album a positive review, awarding it four stars out of five and stating, "W.F.O.” probably represents the formal beginnings of a '90s commercial swoon for the Thrash Metal band." Anderson then added, "By the time of this 1994 release, the group's popularity might have been waning a little due to Rock fashion trends leaning heavily away from Thrash or anything that reminded listeners of the '80s. That's not to say that “W.F.O.” isn't a fine recording. It is probably one of the band's best, and last, Thrash juggernauts."
“W.F.O.” reached number nine on the Billboard Heatseekers chart in 1994, making it Overkill's third-highest chart position (after “I Hear Black” and “Ironbound”, which peaked at number three and number four respectively). Unlike many of their previous albums, it did not chart on the Billboard 200.
W.F.O. Tour:
The US leg of the tour featured special guests Pro-Pain. Overkill continued to have bigger success overseas, mounting an extensive European tour in the fall, supported by Jag Panzer and Massacra.
I caught the band on their US leg of the tour at the Capital Theatre in Flint, Michigan on Friday, August 26, 1994. Along with Pro-Pain, local Michigan acts Chaotic, Exploding Zombies, Skull Buzz & Dejecta opened the show.
OVERKILL’s setlist for this show:
The Wait - New High in Lows
Infectious
Coma
Supersonic Hate
Wrecking Crew
Play Video
R.I.P. (Undone)
Where It Hurts
Hello From the Gutter
Anxiety
Elimination
Fast Junkie
World of Hurt
Gasoline Dream
Horrorscope
Thanx for Nothin'
Under One
Fuck You (The Subhumans cover)
War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)
Fuck You (Reprise) (The Subhumans cover)
W.F.O. US Tour Dates:
Leg One:
Chuck Clark's, Elmira, NY - August 18, 1994
(Overkill, live at the Ogden Theater, Denver, Colorado during the W.F.O. tour, September 2, 1994 / Photos by Bill O'Leary)
Leg Two:
L'Amour, Brooklyn, NY - December 2, 1994
Roxy Music Hall, Huntington, WV - December 3, 1994
Agora, Cleveland, OH - January 28, 1995
Harpo's, Detroit, MI - February 2, 1995
The Mirage, Minneapolis, MN -February 2, 1995
Minneapolis
Bogart's, Cincinnati, OH - February 17, 1995
Harpo's, Detroit, MI - February 18, 1995
The Mirage, Minneapolis, MN - February 20, 1995
Club 367, St. Louis, MO - February 22, 1995
Toy Tiger, Louisville, KT - February 23, 1995
Alrosa Villa, Columbus, OH - February 24, 1995
Dawg Gone, Spartanburg, SC - March 17, 1995
While on tour in support of the album, the band returned for their second show at the Agora Theater in Cleveland, Ohio on January 28, 1995. The show was recorded, ultimately becoming the bands first full-length live album, “Wrecking Your Neck - Live”.
In late 1995, following the tour, both Cannavino and Gant decided to leave the band; Rob Cannavino to focus on motorcycle racing, and Merritt Gant to spend more time with his family.
Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:
▶ Listen to “W.F.O.” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/w-f-o/357796442
▶ Listen to “W.F.O.” via Spotify: W.F.O. https://open.spotify.com/album/6REkkVL4kxIjJ1ePbjUdM0
▶ Watch the official music video for “Fast Junkie”: https://youtu.be/bnrxG0fFXqU
▶ Follow Overkill on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OverkillWreckingCrew
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
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