''Horrorscope'' is the fifth studio album by

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band Overkill, released on September 3, 1991 through

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and

Megaforce Records Megaforce Records is an American independent record label founded in 1982 by Jon Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula to release the first works of Metallica, and devoted primarily to hard rock and heavy metal. It has offices in New York City (whe ...

. It was the first Overkill album to feature the duo of guitarists Merritt Gant and Rob Cannavino, and the last to be released through Megaforce, although they remained on Atlantic until 1995. Like its predecessor, ''

The Years of Decay ''The Years of Decay'' is the fourth studio album by thrash metal band Overkill, released on October 13, 1989 through Atlantic and Megaforce Records.Terry Date Terry Date (born January 31, 1956) is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in rock genres, especially heavy metal. He is well known for his work with Metal Church, Dream Theater, Soundgarden, Overkill, Pantera, Dark Ang ...

Overview

Following the departure of longtime guitarist and songwriter

Bobby Gustafson Robert Wayne Gustafson (born July 15, 1965) is an American musician, best known as the former guitarist of the New Jersey-based thrash metal band Overkill from 1982 until his split with the band in 1990. He was also the rhythm guitarist for thr ...

, who left or was fired from the band amid a feud with its founding members Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (vocals) and

D. D. Verni Carlo "D.D." Verni (born April 12, 1961) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer, best known as a founding member, bassist and songwriter of the thrash metal band Overkill. He and vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth are the only two o ...

(bass), Overkill added two new guitarists in Cannavino (who had been Gustafson's guitar technician) and Gant (previously from thrash metal band Faith or Fear). Drummer Sid Falck left the band during the ''Horrorscope'' tour in 1992, and was replaced by former

M.O.D. M.O.D. (abbreviation for Method of Destruction) is an American crossover thrash band from New York City, fronted by Stormtroopers of Death vocalist Billy Milano. The band has been around for years (minus one hiatus from 1997 to 2001), and rele ...

drummer Tim Mallare.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's Eduardo Rivadavia gave ''Horrorscope'' a positive review, awarding it 4.5 stars out of five and stating, "The insecurity felt among Overkill fans by the departure of founding guitarist and key songwriter Bobby Gustafson in 1990 ultimately proved unfounded when the New York thrashers' expanded two-guitar lineup—featuring Rob Cannavino and Merritt Gant—arguably delivered the finest effort of the group's career in 1991's ''Horrorscope''." The album reached No. 29 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Heatseekers chart and as of 2010 remains Overkill's best-selling album of the Nielsen SoundScan era, having sold over 120,000 copies in the U.S. Promo singles were released for "Coma" and "Infectious", while the cover version of "

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...

" got airplay on modern rock stations, most notably on KNAC-FM in Los Angeles. Despite never being released as singles, there were music videos for "Horrorscope" and "Thanx for Nothin'", both of which received airplay on MTV's '' Headbangers Ball''.

Track listing

Personnel

* Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth – lead vocals * D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals * Merritt Gant – guitars, backing vocals *Rob Cannavino – guitars, backing vocals *Sid Falck – drums Additional personnel *Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth – production * Merritt Gant – production *Rob Cannavino – production *

Terry Date Terry Date (born January 31, 1956) is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in rock genres, especially heavy metal. He is well known for his work with Metal Church, Dream Theater, Soundgarden, Overkill, Pantera, Dark Ang ...

–

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, production *Matt Lane – engineering assistance *

Howie Weinberg Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer with over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize. Career Weinberg mastered Herbie Hancock's 1983 album '' Future Shock''. Other ...

– mastering *

Jon Zazula Jonathan Zazula (March 16, 1952 – February 1, 2022), also known as Jonny Z, was an American music industry executive who was the owner of New Jersey's Rock'n Roll Heaven record store and founder of record label Megaforce Records. Zazula's reco ...

– executive producer *Marsha Zazula – executive producer

Charts

References

{{Authority control Overkill (band) albums 1991 albums Atlantic Records albums Megaforce Records albums Albums produced by Terry Date