OVERKILL Frontman: 'There Is No Identity Crisis With This Band'

Metal Mark of Ghost Cult magazine recently conducted an interview with vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of New Jersey thrash metal veterans OVERKILL. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

Ghost Cult: I've been blasting [the new OVERKILL album] "The Grinding Wheel" all day, and I absolutely love it. Unlike the last few releases, this is a more diverse and epic attack, but it comes off amazing, man.

Blitz: "Thanks, man. I'm glad you're digging it, because we are too. A lot of people that have heard it have said it's our 'epic' album, and I think the diversity of the songs is why they say that. We really threw everything that we love about heavy metal into each song. Whether it was thrash, or punk rock, or New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, it's all there, and each song is its own monster, I think. I think it's cool to hear the punk rock feel in tracks like 'Goddamn Trouble' and 'Let's All Go To Hades', then hear the thrash in 'Mean, Green, Killing Machine', then hear the groove in 'Our Finest Hour', and also the 'epicness' in 'The Grinding Wheel' at the end. It makes for an exciting listen for any metal fan, so we are super proud of it."

Ghost Cult: Was the original mindset for this album to bring that diversity back, or did it just happen that way?

Blitz: "I think we are just sick and twisted individuals. [Laughs] We got in the attic, and found some old shirts and records, and wanted to be cool again. [Laughs] In all seriousness though, we knew what we accomplished with the last three records, but it was different when we were writing this new stuff. We were just jamming in the studio, and all these other influences came out, and it just worked. It's like when you hear a song for the first time, and you're just, like, 'Holy shit! This rules.' That's what happened. It was not planned at all, but I think once fans hear it all together, they'll understand, because it's still heavy metal after all. We're not doing a pop record here. [Laughs]"

Ghost Cult: Even with the diversity, it's still an OVERKILL record, and fans will hear that.

Blitz: "We are who we are, man. We've always been OVERKILL, and we will always be OVERKILL. There is no identity crisis with this band. How sad would it be for us to try and find a new sound? We are in our fucking fifties, man. [Laughs] If we don't know who we by now, we are fucked. [Laughs] So, yeah, there's definitely more diversity, but the thrash element is there as always, so fans won't be freaking out. At least I hope not. [Laughs]"

Read the entire interview at Ghost Cult.