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Although everybody seems to have a different account of who came first in the world of East Coast thrash metal, it seems certain that New Jersey’s Overkill have stayed around the longest and have remained true to their roots for over 20 years with an unprecedented 15 full-length albums. Through much hard work and a slew of infamous live performances at New York area clubs like L’Amours, Overkill established a reputation as a blue-collar working-class metal band. The band, lead by founding vocalist Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth, released a self-financed EP in 1984 shortly breaking onto the national metal scene in...
Although everybody seems to have a different account of who came first in the world of East Coast thrash metal, it seems certain that New Jersey’s Overkill have stayed around the longest and have remained true to their roots for over 20 years with an unprecedented 15 full-length albums. Through much hard work and a slew of infamous live performances at New York area clubs like L’Amours, Overkill established a reputation as a blue-collar working-class metal band. The band, lead by founding vocalist Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth, released a self-financed EP in 1984 shortly breaking onto the national metal scene in 1985 with “Feel The Fire,” their debut crushing assault for pioneering thrash-metal label Megaforce Records. The self-proclaimed “Wrecking Crew” borrowed heavily from punk rock roots while adding a venomous metal crunch that allowed them to compete favorably with peers like Testament, Anthrax, and Megadeth.
By 1987’s “Taking Over,” the band had worked there way up to a deal with Atlantic Records. This relationship would last another 7 years and produce several blistering metal albums from that label including 1988’s “Under The Influence,” 1989’s “The Years Of Decay” (which featured the MTV Headbanger’s Ball hit video “Hello From The Gutter”), “Horrorscope” (’91), “I Hear Black” (’94), and W.F.O. (’94). Subsequent releases on CMC and Spitfire Records spanned throughout the next decade proving Overkill to be an unstoppable metallic force even in an insipid climate of grunge, hip-hop, alternative, and acoustic folk-rock.
Now with Bodog Music, Overkill has rejoined forces with Jonny and Marsha Zazula, previous owners of Megaforce Records, who are now part of the US Bodog Team. Overkill unleashed its 15th studio album, “Immortalis,” in October 2007 featuring their latest lineup, which, along with founders Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and D.D. Verni, includes guitarists Derek "The Skull" Tailer and Dave Linsk, and newest member Ron Lipnicki on drums. With the resurgence of metal music, Bobby Blitz and Overkill are poised to return to the top of the heap and show the new-school metal crop the sheer brutality of classic American thrash!
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