OVERKILL Frontman Isn't Surprised By Thrash Metal's Continued Relevance

In a brand new interview with The Offering webzine, OVERKILL frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth was asked if he is surprised by thrash metal's continued popularity and relevance. He responded (see video below): "It [doesn't] surprise me, because I always thought it had value. I always thought that the coolest thing about this was that it alienated the masses. It was the antithesis of pop. The closest that pop ever came to this is METALLICA, just because of how big that their following is. But the rest of us all kind of swim around in… we've endeared ourselves to the minority. That means it's valuable. [It's] hard to throw away when the minority wants it, because they hang on to it like grim death: 'This is ours.' And 'This is mine' too — 'ours' as as a group. So I'm not surprised that it's that popular, but it does show me that now that it affects father, son, granddaughter, that its value is what we always hoped it would be, that it would transcend generations. And I think it's something to be proud of — not just me and OVERKILL or other thrash bands, but also the people who listen to this. They should be proud of the fact that they wanna pass it down to their grandchildren or their sons and daughters. I think that that's what proves that the feeling that we had when we were kids about this was correct."

OVERKILL was an integral part of the early-'80s thrash metal movement that spawned acts like METALLICA, SLAYER and EXODUS on the West Coast and ANTHRAX on the East Coast.

"Thrash was a voice in the dark," Bobby recently told Stereoboard. "Somehow, these bands were all connected by having the same DNA — kinda like cousins you never saw, but with whom you shared the same interests. It was an absolute reflection of the social and political time."

OVERKILL's latest album, "The Wings Of War", was released in February via Nuclear Blast. The album was recorded at Gear Recording Studio in New Jersey, SKH Studio in Florida and Jrod Productions with engineering handled by bassist D.D. Verni and lead 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" marks OVERKILL's recording debut with drummer Jason Bittner (SHADOWS FALL, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM),who joined the band in 2017.