Album
Overkill
Overkill is Motörhead's second studio album, and it arrived in March 1979 as the band's first release on Bronze Records. It follows their self-titled debut of 1977 and sits just ahead of Bomber, which came out later the same year, so it belongs to a remarkably quick run of records that set the band's course.
It has earned a lasting reputation in heavy music. Kerrang! placed it at number 46 in its list of the 100 greatest heavy metal albums, and the American thrash band Overkill took their name from it. If you want to hear Motörhead as they hardened into their fast, forceful style before the success of Ace of Spades in 1980, this is a fine place to start.
Overkill: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 35:00Tracklist
- 1OverkillClarke, Kilmister, Taylor5:14
- 2Stay CleanClarke, Kilmister, Taylor2:43
- 3(I Won't) Pay Your PriceClarke, Kilmister, Taylor2:57
- 4I'll Be Your SisterClarke, Kilmister, Taylor2:54
- 5CapricornClarke, Kilmister, Taylor4:12
- 6No ClassClarke, Kilmister, Taylor2:42
- 7Damage CaseClarke, Farren, Kilmister, Taylor3:04
- 8Tear Ya DownClarke, Kilmister, Taylor2:42
- 9MetropolisClarke, Kilmister, Taylor3:37
- 10Limb From LimbClarke, Kilmister, Taylor4:54
- Produced by
- Jimmy Miller, Neil Richmond
- Recorded at
- Roundhouse Studios, Sound Development Studios, Wessex Sound Studios, Roundhouse, London, Sound Development, London
- Recorded
- December 1978 – January 1979
- Engineered by
- Trevor Hallesy, Ashley Howe, Neil Richmond
- Label
- Bronze
- Length
- 35:00
Line-up
- Eddie Clarke · electric guitar
- Lemmy Kilmister · electric bass guitar, lead vocals, electric guitar
- Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor · drums (drum set)
Singles
- “Overkill” · 16 February 1979
- “No Class” · 15 June 1979
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1979 | 24 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2019 | 9 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1979 | 17 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2019 | 25 |
| German Albums · 2025 | 60 |
| Scottish Albums · 2019 | 73 |
| Swiss Albums · 2025 | 77 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2019 | 168 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom · 1981 | Silver |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
56.1
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
4.8k
ListenBrainz listeners
79k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
1.6k
Deezer fans (all editions)
More from Motörhead
Full discography →
Motörhead
1977
Bomber
1979
On Parole
1979
"The Golden Years" Live EP
1980
Ace of Spades
1980
Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers
1980
Motörhead Great Pleasure 1981
Great Pleasure
1981
Stay Clean
1981
St Valentines Day Massacre
1981
No Sleep ’Til Hammersmith
1981
Motörhead The Complete Motörhead Kit 1982
The Complete Motörhead Kit
1982
Iron Fist
1982
Another Perfect Day
1983
No Remorse
1984
The Birthday Party
1985
Orgasmatron
1986
Rock ’n’ Roll
1987
Nö Sleep at All
1988
Lock Up Your Daughters
1990
1916
1991
March ör Die
1992
'92 Tour EP
1992
The Best of Motörhead
1993
Bastards
1993
The Best of Motörhead: All the Aces
1993
Sacrifice
1995
Overnight Sensation
1996
Snake Bite Love
1998
Everything Louder Than Everyone Else
1999
We Are Motörhead
2000
The Best of
2000
Over the Top: The Rarities
2000
Live at Brixton Academy
2001
25 & Alive: Boneshaker
2001
Hammered
2002
Tear Ya Down: The Rarities
2002
Extended Versions
2002
Hellraiser: Best of the Epic Years
2003
Stone Deaf Forever!
2003
Inferno
2004
Stage Fright
2005
BBC Live & In-Session
2005
Kiss of Death
2006
The Essential
2007
Better Motörhead Than Dead: Live at Hammersmith
2007
Motörizer
2008
The Wörld Is Yours
2010
The Wörld Is Ours, Vol 1: Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else
2011
The Wörld Is Ours, Vol 2: Anyplace Crazy as Anywhere Else
2012
Aftershock
2013
Bad Magic
2015
Clean Your Clock
2016
Under Cöver
2017
Enter Sandman
2023
The Manticore Tapes
2025
The best of 1979
All of 1979 →
More on Bronze
The label →Ace of Spades
Motörhead · 1980
Bomber
Motörhead · 1979
Iron Fist
Motörhead · 1982
"The Golden Years" Live EP
Motörhead · 1980
Motörhead The Complete Motörhead Kit 1982
The Complete Motörhead Kit
Motörhead · 1982
Motörhead Great Pleasure 1981
Great Pleasure
Motörhead · 1981
No Sleep ’Til Hammersmith
Motörhead · 1981
No Remorse
Motörhead · 1984
St Valentines Day Massacre
Motörhead · 1981
Stay Clean
Motörhead · 1981
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1979-03-16; musicbrainz + wikidata 1979-03-24 (8 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 24 March 1979 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 16 March 1979 | |
| Wikidata | 24 March 1979 | |
| UK / Europe release | 24 March 1979 | earliest UK or European date |
28 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XW | Sanctuary Records | 4050538804935 | other |
| 1979 | DE | Bronze | other | |
| 1979 | IT | Bronze | other | |
| 24 March 1979 | GB | Bronze | original | |
| 1987 | DE | Bronze | other | |
| July 1987 | GB | Legacy Records | 5013858301125 | other |
| 1988 | GB | EMI | 0077779426522 | other |
| 1988 | US | Profile | other | |
| 1988 | DE | Bronze | other | |
| 21 July 1989 | JP | Metal Mania | 4988004013065 | other |
| 1991 | XE | Castle Classics | 5017615617825 | other |
| 1991 | US | Roadracer Records | 016861922924 | other |
| 1992 | DE | Castle Communications | 4010946508726 | other |
| 1996 | US | Dojo Records | 600234303221 | other |
| 10 March 1996 | GB | Essential! Records | 5017615831023 | other |
| 2000 | XE | Castle Music | 5050159110728 | other |
| 2001 | US | Metal-is Records | 060768521223 | other |
| 2 September 2003 | US | Silverline | 676628818992 | other |
| 2004 | GB | Sanctuary Midline | 5050749203922 | other |
| 28 June 2004 | GB | Sanctuary Midline | 5050749203922 | other |
| 2005 | US | Silverline | 676628455029 | deluxe |
| 15 November 2005 | US | Sanctuary Records | 060768640726 | deluxe |
| 25 July 2007 | JP | BMG Japan | 4988017650158 | other |
| 17 November 2008 | XE | Sanctuary Records | 602517855366 | other |
| 8 August 2013 | XW | — | 5414939491177 | deluxe |
| 8 August 2013 | XW | Sanctuary Records | 5414939542572 | other |
| 25 October 2019 | XE | Sanctuary Records | 4050538462470 | other |
| 18 March 2022 | XW | Sanctuary Records | 4050538788914 | deluxe |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 4000x4000, downscaled to 3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 4000×4000 | native: native 4000x4000, downscaled to 3000 |
| itunes | 3000×3000 | native |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |