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Overkill are heavy metal veterans. Singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and bass player D.D. Verni started the band back in 1982 in New Jersey. After a self-released EP in 1984, Overkill signed to Megaforce Records and released their debut album, Feel The Fire, in 1985. After 5 albums for Megaforce, the band was signed to major label Atlantic Records. They released 1993's I Hear Black and 1994's W.F.O., and then returned to smaller labels. Overkill has remained one of underground metal's most popular groups, and their latest release is their 13th, appropriately titled Killbox 13. I recently spoke to the very funny and very frank Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth.
Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth: Killbox is a good blend of our past and present. It's probably a better blend than the last two records. What I mean by better is that it shows a little more of where we've come from. Not that it's a retro record, but more of a reinvention of that time and coupled that with the present. It's quite bombastic. Overkill has self-produced many of your previous albums. How did you decide to use Colin Richardson as the producer for Killbox 13? We decided because of our relationship with him, first and foremost. We've known this guy for two mixes (From The Underground and Bloodletting). We were more than satisfied with the results. He came in at the last minute for Bloodletting and pulled the record out of the shitter for us because we were having some problems with the mix and we knew Colin could save the day. Our relationship has grown over those mixes. I remember meeting him in 97 and five minutes after I met him he was standing on a chair playing air guitar. I said to D.D. (Verni), we've either made the biggest mistake of our lives or this is going to be fucking great. There's gonna be no in between. So quite obviously we're happy with his work. If I had to give a professional assessment of Colin, he knows where the guitars and drums go. It's just about perfect getting a cohesiveness between the two where they work together, where they don't rub against each other and they both appear louder than the other. That's what makes great metal records. Do you have plans to go on tour? Yes, in mid to late May. We like to have a minimum of six weeks of promotion. It looks like it will start in the New York area and spread out into the South, Midwest, and into Canada. We have some South American stuff prior to those US dates, then some stuff in Europe, and back into the US.
The copyright of the article Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth (Overkill) Interview in Heavy Metal is owned by Chad Bowar. Permission to republish Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth (Overkill) Interview in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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