Time To Kill Bass Tabs - Overkill @ BigBassTabs.com


Artist: OverKill
Song:   Time To Kill
Album:  The Years Of Decay

Tabbed by JOSH/SCALLYWAG
Tuning: DGCF (1 step down)

This is definetley one of my all time favourites.The song starts with a guitar 
chord (it sounds like an E) fading in for about 20 seconds. After that, the 
bass plays this (Note: the
time measures look so short because they contain triplets):

Riff A (Play 6 times):

F|———————————|———————————|——————————————|————————————||
C|———————————|———————————|——————————————|————————————||
G|———————————|———————————|——————————————|————————————||
D|2———————242|5———————242|5———2425———245|2———————————||

Instead of the last measure of the 6th time, a new guitar riff enters, the 
bass supports it like this:

Fill 1:

|————————————|————————————|————————————|————————————|
|————————————|————————————|————————————|————————————|
|————————————|————————————|————————————|————————————|
|2———————————|————————————|2———————————|————————————|

|————————————|————————————|————————————|————————————|
|————————————|————————————|————————————|————————————|
|————————————|————————————|————————————|————————————|
|———2—————2——|———2—————2——|——22—————2——|——————522522|
                                                    2x
|————————————|————————————|————————————|————————————||
|————————————|————————————|————————————|————————————||
|————————————|————————————|————————————|————————————||
|222222522222|3222256——5——|222222522222|322222522522||

|————————————|————————————|————————————||
|————————————|————————————|————————————||
|————————————|————————————|————————————||
|2——222522522|2——222522522|2——222522522||

Fill 2:

|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|

|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—|2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—|2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—|2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—||

And the first verse starts

Riff B:
                                                                    2x
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—|2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—|2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—|2—2—2—5/6———5———||
                                                                    2x
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|2—2—5—2—2—5/6—5—|2—2—5—2—2—5/6—5—|2—2—5—2—2—5/6—5—|2—2—2—5/6———5———||

 (1st verse)
  Vioent indecision
  Surge of mass religion
  Let me out of prison
  I'm just killing time
  Every time I turn around
  I start to hear a familiar sound
  Counting down as time stands still
  Yes I think it's time to kill

And the Chorus might have some tricky parts when it comes to timing, but furthermore 
it's quite easy to play (the last measure is 5/4)

Riff C:
                                  4x
|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————4———————|3———————2———————||
|2———————————————|————————————5—5—||

|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|
|————————4———————|3———————2———————|————————4———————|3———————2—2—————|
|2———————————————|————————————5—5—|2———————————————|————————————5———|

|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————————||
|————————4———————|3———————2———————|————————————————|————————————————2—3—||
|2———————————————|————————————5—5—|2———————5———————|4———————3———2—2—————||

 (Chorus)
  Time to kill
  Time to kill
  Time to kill
  Time to kill

Then play Riff B and Riff C once more

 (2nd verse)
  All the mental anguish
  Speaks a common language
  I have yet to lavish
  A chance to walk away
  Every time I turn around
  I start to hear a familiar sound
  Counting down as time stands still
  Yes I think it's time to kill

 (Chorus)
  Time to kill
  Time to kill
  Time to kill
  Time to kill

Riff D (Play 4 times):

|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————4———————|3———————2———————||
|2—2—2—2———5—————|——4———————3—————||

Riff E (Play twice):

|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|——————4—————————||
|2—2—2—2—5—5—5—5—|4———3—2—2—2—2—2—|2—2—2—2—5—5—5—5—|4———5—————5—4—3—||

This is where the song slows down. At first, only the guitar plays, the bass 
and drums enter later.

Fill 3:

|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|

|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|4—2—————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————4—3—————————||
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||

Riff F (Play 3 times, vocals enter 2nd time):

|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|
|————————————————|3———————————————|3———————————————|3———————3———————|
|2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—|————2—2—2—2—2—2—|————2—2—2—2—2—2—|————2—2—————2—2—|

|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|3———————————————|3———————————————|3———————3———230—|————————————————||
|2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—|————2—2—2—2—2—2—|————2—2—2—2—2—2—|————2—2—————————|2———————————————||

 (Bridge)
  Unknowing, unseeing
  Revelations unfold before your eyes
  Relenting, repenting
  No time to think or compromise
  Time falling, time calling
  Into a void and seal the past
  You're waiting, annihilating
  Making it real, making it last

Then instead of the last measure of the 3rd time, start playing the following 
riff (faster!):

Riff G (Play 3 times):

|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————||
|222—————555—————|444—————332—————||

Before going into the third verse, play this (last measure is a 5/4):

Fill 4:

|————————————————|————————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————————||
|————————————————|————————————————2—3—||
|222—————222—————|222—————222—————————||

Then play Riff B and Riff C once more

 (3rd verse)
  Worn out compromises
  Inside out demises
  See through all the lies
  We don't walk away
  And every time I turn around
  Start to hear that familiar sound
  New beginnings, time stands still
  Yes I think it's time to kill

 (Chorus)
  Time to kill
  Time to kill
  Time to kill
  Time to kill

Then play Riff D 4 times, then Riff G 3 times, then Fill 4 (without the closing 
A and A#) then the bass holds an E (lowest string, 2nd fret)
and the song closes off with some ad libs. The final part that's played goes 
back to the first tempo (thus including the triplets) to more
or less return to Fill 1 and close off like this:

|————————————|————————————|————————————||
|————————————|————————————|————————————||
|————————————|————————————|————————————||
|222222522222|322222522522|2———————————||

Some tricky changes in time measures, but overall it's an easy and cool song 
to play.

How to Read Bass Tabs

Bass tablature (tabs) is an easy way to learn songs without needing to read traditional sheet music. Here’s a quick guide to understanding the symbols and techniques commonly found in tabs:

1. The Basics

Strings and Frets:
Each line in a tab represents a string on your bass:
- The top line is the highest-pitched string (G on a 4-string bass).
- The bottom line is the lowest-pitched string (E on a 4-string bass).
Numbers on the lines indicate which fret to press. For example:
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------------------|
A|---3---------------|
E|-------------------|
            
```
This means you play the 3rd fret on the A string.

2. Common Techniques

Hammer-On (h):
Play the first note by picking it, then press down on a higher fret with another finger without picking again.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------5h7---------|
            
```
Pull-Off (p):
Pluck a note and then "pull off" your finger to let a lower fret ring.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------7p5---------|
            
```
Slide (/ or \):
Move your finger up (/) or down (\) the fretboard while maintaining pressure.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------5/7---------|
            
```

3. Advanced Techniques

Bend (b): Push the string up or down to raise the pitch. Example: G|-------7b9---------|
Vibrato (~): Shake the string slightly after playing a note to create a vibrating sound. Example: G|-------7~----------|
Muted Notes (x): Rest your finger lightly on the string without pressing a fret and pluck for a percussive "click" sound.

4. Rhythm and Timing

Tabs don’t always indicate timing, so listen to the song while reading the tab. Wider spaces between numbers mean longer pauses, while closer numbers indicate quicker notes.

5. Slap and Pop

Slap (s): Strike the string with the side of your thumb for a percussive sound.
Pop (p): Pull the string away from the fretboard and let it snap back.

Practice Makes Perfect

Tabs are a great tool to learn songs, but mastering the techniques takes practice. Listen carefully to the original track and play along to lock in the rhythm. Don’t rush — smooth, accurate playing is more important than speed. Happy jamming! 🎸

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Overkill — Time To Kill bass tabs