rattlead.hu
Interview with Sid Falck on the occasion of the release of the 35th anniversary album The Years of Decay. The Hungarian article will arrive in the afternoon!
Sid, at which point, did you start working on Over Kill’s fourth album titled The Years of Decay?
I don’t even remember the month. We took probably a month off, after finishing the Under The Influence Tour
How long did it take to come up with new material?
Well, DD and Gus got together first and sorted out all their ideas they had at that point.
After that we went into writing mode, and we probably spent Two months, sorting everything out to where ideas turned into songs
Were you full of ideas and enthusiasm considering the songwriting process?
Well certainly enthusiasm. DD and Gus did the writing as I said, and when the three of us started putting things together, my input was more about arrangement and such.
Did you have material written, that didn’t make up on the record?
Oh I’m sure there were lots of ideas that didn’t make it to the song stage
Were you prepared, when you entered the studio to record the album?
Yes, we were all very preparred. Besides the writing, we had also done a week of pre-production with Terry.
Did you come back into the recording session with a powerful passion and an aggressive fury cumulating into the The Years Of Decay?
Yes, we were little monsters hahaha 
What about the recording sessions?
Well the recording session, was a little different On The Years. We recorded drums first, One track a day. We might do 20-25 takes of a song throughout the day, so it was not a vacation.Then we recorded the bass, guitars and vocals. All in All I think we spent 7 weeks recording and mixing the album.
Did the band mature to the point that you were able to write music that encompasses a wide variety of metal sub-genres, including speed, thrash, doom and progressive metal?
Well I don’t know the answer to if we touched different sub-genres. We just wrote songs the felt like Overkill songs, and that we considered strong enough to be on an album. That was our only concern.. not which sub-genre people would put a song in.. to us they were simply good Overkill songs.
Time To Kill, Elimination, I Hate, Nothing To Die For and Birth Of Tension could fit the criteria for being perfect examples of thrash metal head-bangers, but their complexity and technical level far surpasses that category, how do you explain this?
I don’t know that I can explain that. Besides the fact, we took extra care to make sure all the different parts of a song complimented each other, we literally just focused on writing what we thought were the best we could create at that point in time. I’d say we simply had grown up as musicians, and that was reflected in the songs.
Do you think, that the moments which make this album a different work from your previous materials are the slower, doomier, ambitious song compositions of Who Tends the Fire and Playing with Spiders/Skullcrusher?
I think in many ways all the songs are different from previous material. And yes, those two songs were definitely a bit out of our normal wheelhouse, but then you also have songs like E.vil N.ever. D.ies, Nothing To Die For, Birth Of Tension, which are all more complex and as far as at least Evil is concerned. also much faster.
Are so good these at creating tension and atmosphere?
I.m not sure what you mean. Are Who Tends, and Skullkrusher creating tension and atmosphere ? If that is the question, the Yes I thing they definitely creates a different atmosphere.
Is the The Years of Decay comprised of classic Overkill tracks intermingled with some more experimental ones?
Well at the time they weren’t classic songs haha, but have become so over the years. I will say that everything was instantly recognizable as being Overkill songs.
Did the album contain plenty of experiments, all of which are successes?
You tell me? Do you and other people think it was a successful album? I know from our perspective, we accomplished everything we set out to do.
Is the ten minute epic Playing with Spiders/Skullkrusher the center piece of the album and serves as the bridge to the first and second half?
I don’t know. I have actually never thought of it that way… Interesting..Maybe it does?
There are longer tracks with more changes in the music and more scope to look further afield than just thrash, correct?
I think so, but I’m obviously biased. I know a lot of reviews stated that some of the songs were borderline Progressive metal, but were too heavy to completely fit into the category.
Did the band draw from their earlier releases and a couple new ideas for this albums sound?
No, we didn’t. Besides the writing being more “mature”, it was also our first time working With Terry Date. Obviously, we all had specific thoughts about what our individual instruments should sound like. ButI would be lying if I said that Terry didn’t have a lot to do with the overall production. I’d probable say that he had everything to do with it, both as a Co-Producer and especially as the main engineer. Did we have input, yes obviously , but Terry was definitely Instrumental in making the album sound the way it does.
Were you taking technical songwriting and raw energy and putting them together, that resulted in a well rounded and compelling release?
As I said earlier, we didn’t sit down and say: “Hey on this one were going to prove to everyone that we’re actually good musicians and song writers” We simply just set out on writing songs that felt right to u
Did you start writing lyrics, that are actually mature and reflect your overall musical evolution?
Well, I can’t speak for what Blitz set out to do when we had enough material for him to start writing to. He would regularly come to the studio, and just soak up the atmosphere, as well as suggest things he felt would be better for vocals to sing over, or simply just “Hey.. what if you did this with that part, and move the next part over there” It actually was a real group effort. Once the music was decided on, he would come every day to do his magic as only he does
Is it Over Kill’s most ambitious effort to date, it has the most variety, and it has the best songwriting?
There is no correct answer to that question hahaha When it was done, to us, it was the best that Overkill could be at that specific point in time. I think that everyone involved, to this day are quite happy with how it came out.
Production wise, is The Years Of Decay absolutely a giant jump in quality from the previous releases?
Yes definitely !! I don’t think you can compare the production of the earlier albums too Years.. It was definitely seen as an unusually clear production, and got a lot of other musicians attention,
Is the The Years Of Decay one of the strongest thrash metal releases out there, with its most important aspect being not even its flawless songs, but the mark and legacy that it has left for the whole heavy metal genre?
Again, i’m obviously biased haha, but I do notice that when people on social media talk about the “Best metal/thrash metal albums of all time” it’s usually mentioned amongst the top albums that people consider “Best” Of course, you cannot really stay that it is true, as we all have different criteria for what is “Best”. Nevertheless, it’s always nice to see it still being talked about in that way.
Did you manage to reach a high quality in terms of power, speed, and originality?
I don’t know…did we? As i said before, everyone involved with making the album was proud of how it turned out.
This album is a masterpiece not just of thrash but of metal, this is the magnum opus that Overkill would never surpass, do you agree with it?
Yes and no. I certainly love the album for everything it is, but I also think there are several Overkill albums since, that favorably compares to Years.
The album peaked at #155 on the Billboard 200…
I thought it peaked at #123.. but at least it was on the charts haha
Did you know, that Dimebag Darrell was so impressed with Bobby Gustafson’s guitar tone, as well as Terry Date’s production work, on this album that Pantera hired the latter to produce Cowboys from Hell?
Yes of course I do. Actually Pantera’s management, Concrete management, also ran a music promotions company at the time. So they got a copy before pretty much everyone else. The brought The Years Of Decay up when they discussed the recording of Cowboys From Hell, which is why they hired Terry. As a matter of fact, when they met Terry, they held a copy of Years up and told him that”We want this, but a different snare and kick sound” That’s straight from Terry himself.
Sid, thank you for your answers, any closing words?
Just Thanks to everyone who still listen to the music we create. Without you, there be no reason to make music.
