20 illinoisentertainer . com february 2017
New Jersey ' s “ Wrecking Crew ” and old guard thrash metal kings , Overkill are back with their 18th album , The Grinding Wheel on February 10th . The 2017 line-up features members vocalist Bobby “ Blitz ” Ellsworth , bassist D . D . Verni , guitarists Dave Linsk and Derek Tailer and drummer Ron Lipnicki , all intact and energized .
The Grinding Wheel is the perfect metaphor that best describes the band ’ s tenacious ability to “ grind ” it out with each passing year . On first listen , fans will recognize that this band doesn ’ t have an identity crisis ; Overkill sounds like Overkill .
“ To have the opportunity to have this quantity of records with our brand on it is amazing ,” Ellsworth began . “ So what you ’ re doing is inside you and of course you want to top it and you ’ re pushing yourselves .”
Boasting a classic heavy metal vibe decorated with a modern sound , Overkill delivers in spades with its 10 new tracks . “ We ’ re talking about diversity in almost every song ,” Ellsworth said . “ The Long Road ” has those NWOBHM influences . “ Come Heavy ” has the super groove with the dual guitar , while “ Red White And Blue ” has a New York influence . “ Our Finest Hour ” has a modern vibe to the punk rock influences on “ Lets All Go To Hades .” " So what we ’ ve got here is diversity . And we recognize that in the songs and the separation of them are identifiable .”
With nearly every album , Overkill has always had the uncanny ability to offer up an anthemic opening track . And “ Mean Green Killing Machine ,” is no exception . “ The opener has always been mock-titled for us as far back as the ’ 90s ,” Ellsworth confessed . “ It comes to fruition and it exists for close to a month until it gets developed . I think I got the demo from D . D . and next to the song it said , ‘ Opener .’ So I kind of already knew that it had something special about it to open the album with .”
The Grinding Wheel was produced and mixed by the Grammy-winning British music producer Andy Sneap , whose credits include Accept , Testament and Megadeth . The band couldn ’ t be happier . " We ’ ve been trying to get Andy on board since Ironbound ," Ellsworth admitted . “ He ’ s really the state of the art in regard to the section of the genre that we spent most of our time in . So we ’ ve been trying to get him for four records now , but it ’ s always been a scheduling problem . When we finally got Andy , everybody cracked a smile because we finally got “ Mr . Ears ” and “ Mr . Knob-Turner .” It ’ s easy to like Andy immediately , and add that to his talents , the communication was easy .”
Gearing up for a headlining North American trek with Nile , Amorphis and Swallow the Sun , the other Jersey boys will be making a stop at Concord Music Hall on Feb . 17 . And playing live is what it ’ s all about for Ellsworth . “ This has always been really the drug for me ,” he said . “ This is where the high and the instantaneous gratification comes from . And that ’ s what I ’ ve been chasing since those ( early ) days of chaos . So to go off on a tour for me is always the most exciting part of it .”
Overkill has always been wellreceived by Chicago ’ s faithful metal enthusiasts , which gives the band many reasons to keep coming back . “ We ’ ve been to so many venues in Chicago over the years ; Medusa ( original Chicago location ), Thirsty Whale , Aragon , House of Blues , the Pearl Room in Moline ,” Ellsworth remembers . “ There ’ s so many different places that we ’ ve played there and I think that ’ s a testimony to a good metal community . The idea is , you don ’ t keep coming back unless it ’ s successful , and all of it has been successful . Some of the great memories I have go all the way back to the early days standing outside Wrigley Field at the Cubby Bear wondering if I could get tickets to the game ! So I always look forward to going back to Chicago .” Appearing 2 / 17 at Concord Music Hall .