OVERKILL's BOBBY 'BLITZ' ELLSWORTH Says Past Health Challenges Have Taught Him To 'Enjoy Moments'

Mike of Planet Metal conducted an interview with vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of New Jersey thrash metal veterans OVERKILL before the band's March 8 concert in Vienna, Austria. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about his decision to quit smoking, Ellsworth said: "[I stopped] two and a half years now. It's a good thing. It was necessary. I'd crossed over into my fifties. And it was… My doctor said, 'You're on the line.' He goes, 'It's now or it's never. Or it doesn't matter.' So I said, 'Okay.' So I do this. I 'vape' [smoke electronic cigarettes], especially on the road."

Asked if he misses smoking, Ellsworth said: "No, I never had a problem with [stopping]. I smoked over 35 years, but I never had a problem [quitting], because I immediately started getting benefits. I think, as we were talking [earlier in the interview] about wanting to perform at a high level, that was one of the benefits I got. It felt like I grew a third lung. I'm singing in the studio and I'm saying, 'Shit, the fucking voice feels great!' [Laughs] And they are the benefits from me stopping smoking."

He continued: "I'm not an anti-smoker. I don't hate people who smoke. But it has helped my voice, and it has helped my performance, so I received benefits immediately."

Ellsworth, who in the past has suffered a stroke, battled nose cancer and overcome severe pneumonia, said that he is not afraid to face new health challenges head on, especially as he gets older.

"That kind of shit happens," the singer said. "I remember when I… I had cancer as a young man; I was in my thirties. And I was riding in a bike club. And I remember sitting with a friend, we were sitting on a river… this biker I got very close to. And he said to me… He goes, 'You know, man…' And I was feeling sorry for myself, 'cause of the cancer. He said, 'It's not about the problem. It's about getting through the problem. There's another side to the problem. You may not like the results, but sure, there's another side.' And I said, 'Boy, that's so simple.' So I think that from that learned lesson, that when shit has come up in my life, whether it be pneumonia, whether it be a stroke or something like that, it's about getting through the problem. And it was just a great thing to learn early on in my life that I could take with me to this day."

He added: "I was never one of those guys that was afraid of the end. In my case, I think I've learned to enjoy moments, and I think that when a person does enjoy moments, you can tour for thirty years, and you can have a great relationship with a partner like [fellow OVERKILL members] D.D. Verni and Dave Linsk and Ron Lipnicki and Derek Tailer, that we can get together and enjoy these moments. And if we do such things, we're actually… We're writing our own legacy. It's the greatest joke on life, is a life well lived. [Laughs] So I'm not really afraid. Not at this point."

OVERKILL's new album, "White Devil Armory", sold around 8,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 31 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on July 22, 2014 in North America via eOne Music and on July 18, 2014 in Europe through Nuclear Blast Records. The effort was tracked at Gear Recording and was mixed by Greg Reely, who also worked on 2012's "The Electric Age".