Editing Overkill (band) (section)

===''Horrorscope'', ''I Hear Black'' and ''W.F.O.'' (1990–1995)===
Not long after ''The Years of Decay'' tour ended in the summer of 1990,{{r|metallipromo}} Gustafson parted ways with Overkill. Accounts vary as to exactly how and why he had split with the band: he had been either fired by Verni and Ellsworth, or had left Overkill following an argument over the band's musical direction.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.metal-rules.com/interviews/BobbyG.htm | title = Ex-Overkill Axeman Bobby Gustafson Returns To Metal With New Band RESPONSE NEGATIVE | access-date = 2019-12-06 | year = 2003 | publisher = [[Metal Rules]]}}</ref> Gustafson has claimed that one of the reasons for his split with Overkill was due to disagreements over royalties, during which he became embroiled in a bitter feud with Verni and Ellsworth.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/ex-overkill-guitarist-bobby-gustafson-slams-former-bandmates-says-upcoming-dvd-is-a-piece-of-st/|title=Ex-OVERKILL Guitarist BOBBY GUSTAFSON Slams Former Bandmates, Says Upcoming DVD Is A 'Piece Of S**t'|work=[[Blabbermouth.net]]|date=March 17, 2018|access-date=March 17, 2018}}</ref> The remaining members added two new guitarists to the band: Rob Cannavino, who had been Gustafson's guitar technician, and [[Merritt Gant]], formerly of Faith or Fear. Ellsworth stated in an interview with ''[[Invisible Oranges]]'' years later that the reason Overkill hired two guitarists was mainly because they wanted to do something different: "We knew if we replaced Bobby with one guitarist, we'd get compared to what we were. So, it seemed like to logical thing to bring in two players. We didn't want anyone to say, 'Bobby was better than this new guy.' And we wanted to perform old stuff with two guitars to keep in fresh. We realized that change isn't a bad thing."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/overkill-singer-bobby-blitz-ellsworth-doesnt-have-a-problem-with-bobby-gustafson-he-has-a-problem-with-me/|title=OVERKILL Singer BOBBY 'BLITZ' ELLSWORTH Doesn't Have A Problem With BOBBY GUSTAFSON: 'He Has A Problem With Me'|publisher=[[Blabbermouth.net]]|date=March 11, 2020|access-date=November 25, 2020}}</ref>

The "new" Overkill recorded their fifth album ''[[Horrorscope (Overkill album)|Horrorscope]]'', once again produced by [[Terry Date]], in 1991. Featuring the furious riffs and trade-off solos of new guitarists Cannavino and Gant, and the refined songwriting of Verni and Ellsworth, ''Horrorscope'' quickly silenced worries from fans that the band would not recover from their split with Gustafson. The album is widely regarded as one of Overkill's defining moments and is arguably their heaviest release. Focusing on a darker, heavier style, the album spawned the doomy single "Horrorscope", a departure from the band's earlier singles, which had traditionally been uptempo songs. ''Horrorscope'' was also Overkill's first album to be accompanied by more than one music video or single; there were music videos for the title track and "Thanx for Nothin'" (both of which received some good airplay on ''Headbangers Ball''),{{r|hbb}} while other songs like "Coma", "Infectious" and the cover version of [[Edgar Winter]]'s "[[Frankenstein (instrumental)|Frankenstein]]" received particular attention (through radio or otherwise),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Overkill-Coma/release/3266484|title=Overkill - Coma (1991, Vinyl)|website=[[Discogs]]|year=1991 |access-date=April 23, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Overkill-Infectious/release/7405360|title=Overkill - Infectious (1991, CD)|website=[[Discogs]]|year=1991 |access-date=April 23, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://people.delphi.com/dkasper13/knac/knaca2z.html|title=KNAC A to Z Listing|website=people.delphi.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000305154225/http://people.delphi.com/dkasper13/knac/knaca2z.html|access-date=April 23, 2021|archive-date=March 5, 2000}}</ref> therefore expanding the band's popularity in the heavy metal community, and helping the album enter the Top 30 on the [[Top Heatseekers|''Billboard'' Heatseekers]] chart.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/horrorscope-mw0000674938/awards |title=Horrorscope – Overkill – Awards |publisher=[[AllMusic]]. [[Rovi Corporation]] |url-status=dead |access-date=April 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004195921/http://www.allmusic.com/album/horrorscope-mw0000674938/awards |archive-date=2015-10-04 }}</ref> Overkill supported ''Horrorscope'' by touring North America with [[Anacrusis (band)|Anacrusis]] and [[Galactic Cowboys]] in 1991{{r|metallipromo}}<ref>{{cite news|url=http://anacrusis.us/anac_hist_manic.html|title=Manic Impressions - Back Home|work=anacrusis.us|access-date=August 5, 2019}}</ref> and [[Armored Saint]] in 1992,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.knac.com/servlet/Feat_Page?featureID=574|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010622215339/http://www.knac.com/servlet/Feat_Page?featureID=574|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 22, 2001|title=Armored Saint Marches On|work=[[KNAC|knac.com]]|date=January 26, 2000|access-date=August 5, 2019}}</ref> after which drummer Sid Falck left the band. Admittedly never a big fan of thrash metal music, Falck said that he had initially wanted to push his drumming to the limit by playing the most complex type of music (of the era), and in time he decided to pursue other musical interests. Although later in an interview to Antichrist Magazine he said it was misquotation, and that he still listens to thrash metal exclusively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://antichristmagazine.com/sid-falck-ex-overkill-infectus-13-interview-by-heather-williams/|title=Interview: Sid Falck (ex-Overkill, Infectus 13)|lang=en-US|website=ANTICHRIST Magazine|access-date=2025-03-27}}</ref>

Falck was replaced by former [[M.O.D.]] drummer Tim Mallare, with whom the next Overkill album ''[[I Hear Black]]'' was recorded. Released in March 1993, ''I Hear Black'' saw the band reunite with [[Alex Perialas]] as a producer, and was the first Overkill album released directly through [[Atlantic Records]]. The album once again presented a change in style, from the heavy thrash of ''Horrorscope'' to a more [[Stoner rock|stoner]]/[[Blues|blues rock]]-oriented style influenced by [[Black Sabbath]]. The eclectic nature of the album is often attributed to the fact that many different songwriters were involved. Verni and Ellsworth would handle most of the song writing themselves on subsequent albums, with only minor contributions from the other members. A music video was shot for "Spiritual Void" and it had received minor airplay on ''Headbangers Ball''.{{r|hbb}} The European leg of the 1993 "World of Hurt Tour" featured [[Savatage]] and Non-Fiction as support acts.

Overkill's self-produced seventh album ''[[W.F.O.]]'' (which stands for "Wide Fuckin' Open", a common [[Motorcycle|biker]] term) was released on July 15, 1994, in response to the criticism that ''I Hear Black'' had received. The album presented a fast, heads-down, old school thrash metal style without any of the [[Experimental music|experimental]] elements present on ''I Hear Black'' in favor of a [[groove metal|groove]]-oriented sound.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ranking OVERKILL: The Studio Albums – Worst To First |url=https://metalnation.com/ranking-overkill-the-studio-albums-worst-to-first/ |website=Metal Nation |date=February 22, 2019 |access-date=May 23, 2021}}</ref> 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. Overkill continued to have bigger success overseas, mounting an extensive European tour in the fall, supported by [[Jag Panzer]] and [[Massacra]].

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 split with Atlantic Records. The band was happy to leave the major label, where they felt they received little or no attention and signed to different record companies around the world ([[CMC International]] in the US).

A March 1995 show, once again in [[Cleveland|Cleveland, Ohio]], was recorded for Overkill's first full-length live album, a 100-minute double CD entitled ''[[Wrecking Your Neck]]''. The album was released in May 1995, with the first pressing featuring a bonus CD containing the ''Overkill'' EP that had been out of print for ten years. A music video for the song "Bastard Nation" taken from ''Wrecking Your Neck'' was also released, but again failed to receive airplay in the US.