BOBBY 'BLITZ' ELLSWORTH On OVERKILL's Upcoming Album: 'It's Gonna Be The Next Logical Step'

OVERKILL singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth spoke to Talking Metal about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's new album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Drums tracks are done. Guitar tracks are filtering in. Obviously, during Peter Pandemic, we are a little bit removed from each other. But I think that everybody's making the effort. I mean, yesterday I spent the whole day with Jason Bittner, our wonderful drummer. He drove down from Albany, New York to hang out with me and have lunch because I had [my 62nd] birthday a couple of weeks ago and he wanted to see me. He goes, 'Man, I just haven't seen you in so long.' So I think that there's still that camaraderie that we have, even during these trying times. And I've seen the other guys here and there."

Regarding the musical direction of the new OVERKILL material, Blitz said: "Does it have a vibe? Sure, it sounds like OVERKILL. Are we a thrash band? Sure, we're a thrash band.

"Some people will tell you, 'Oh, Jeez, every OVERKILL record's the same.' From the inside, the nuances are always different to me," he explained. "There's always a bit of rock and roll, there's always a bit of punk, there's always a bit of melody, it's devoid of melody, there's harmonies — et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

"So what is this record gonna be? I think it's gonna be the next logical step. Because regardless of the fact that our next tour will be playing senior citizens' homes around the country, we obviously still think we're viable. And that's what makes you valuable in the day — is that you still think you have it. So we're not mailing anything in. We're going for it — full bore, balls out, let's do it."

Last November, OVERKILL bassist D.D. Verni told MetalAsylum.net that the band's new LP would be mixed by Colin Richardson. "He did a couple of records for us, and he's great," Verni said.

Richardson previously worked with OVERKILL on 1997's "From The Underground And Below", 2000's "Bloodletting" and 2003's "Killbox 13".

Last June, Ellsworth told A&P Reacts that OVERKILL's new songs were "a natural progression from 'The Grinding Wheel' [2017] and 'The Wings Of War' [2019]. I think when we had done the 'Ironbound' record [2010], it almost became like a trilogy in there — it was kind of like 'Ironbound', 'The Electric Age' [2012] and 'White Devil Armory' [2014], and they seemed to be the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost kind of a thing," he said. "I think we kind of broke the mold a little bit with 'The Grinding Wheel', and then I think a little bit more with 'The Wings Of War'. And on this one, I see it way more. And what I mean by that is that we've used other tools from our toolshed in the past, and that's the slow grind that is coupled with that fast gallop. So it feels like a natural progression, but maybe two records ahead of what 'The Wings Of War' is. And that's probably as objective as I can be."

OVERKILL spent most of 2019 and early 2020 touring in support of its 19th studio LP, "The Wings Of War", which was released more than two years ago. The disc was recorded at Gear Recording Studio in New Jersey, SKH Studio in Florida and Jrod Productions with engineering handled by Verni and guitarist Dave Linsk. The album was produced by the band while Chris "Zeuss" Harris took care of the mixing and mastering. Travis Smith (NEVERMORE, OPETH, SOILWORK, DEATH) was again enlisted to create the artwork for the album.

"The Wings Of War" marked OVERKILL's recording debut with Bittner (SHADOWS FALL, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM),who joined the band in 2017.