I was fortunate enough to hit up the 2011 edition of HEAVY T.O. and even purchased the tickets before the band were announced. For some reason, I had a feeling it was going to be a good year :-)
Now, for these articles, I usually throw around some opinions and constructive criticisms. I'm going to keep all feelings aside and just report on some need to know facts about these bands to make your experience at the festival a little more enjoyable. If you know of someone going to the festival, pass the articles along and get them just as stoked as we are!
Thrash metal from New Jersey! This is a group that I have not yet had the pleasure to see, but have been waiting patiently to catch at this year's HEAVY T.O. After 30+ years in the music game, its safe to say these guys have made quite an impact in the metal world we know today. The riffs are catchy, the vocals are soaring and the songs have been refined over and over again that will make any metal head run for the beer tent, just for the chance to cheers the guys at the end of their set. For those who have no idea who I'm talking about, AFGM brings you OVERKILL!
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OVERKILL consists of:
Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth - Vocals | D.D. Verni - Bass | Dave Linsk - Lead Guitar | Derek "The Skull" Tailer - Rhythm Guitar | Ron Lipnicki - Drums
"Although everybody seems to have a different account of who came first in the world of New York/New Jersey area thrash metal, it seems certain that New Jersey’s Overkill have stayed around the longest, and have never let their fans down by remaining musically consistent and true to their roots for over 20.
With a career that launched in 1984 that produced 15 studio albums, Overkill celebrates its 25th anniversary with the release of Ironbound, a new album, on E1 Music and a North American tour with support from Vader, God Dethroned, Wabringer, Evile and Woe of Tyrants. Ironbound is a thrash metal masterpiece that features Overkill’s latest lineup, which, along with founders Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth and D.D. Verni, includes guitarists Derek 'The Skull' Tailer and Dave Linsk, as well as the newest member to join the band, drummer Ron Lipnicki.
There are few names as well respected as Overkill, and with the resurgence of metal in the music world, this band is poised to return to the top. Overkill are ready to show mature metal heads they still have it and are geared up to teach the new schoolers exactly how it’s done.
The band gained their first major label deal with 1987’s Taking Over. They signed to Atlantic and remained with the label for 7 years, based on the strength and consistency of their music. Under The Influence (1988) and 1989’s The Years of Decay (1989) brought Overkill to new heights in their career. Sid Falck would replace founding drummer Rat Skates on drums to bring his own brutal percussive assault to Verni’s already powerful rhythm section. The band had already established a rabid fan base with songs like 'Rotten ToThe Core' and 'Hammerhead' (as well as their infamous cover of D.O.A.’s 'Fuck You'), and new songs like 'Evil Never Dies' and 'Hello From The Gutter' would become Overkill mainstays as well. A video for 'Hello From the Gutter' was garnering much fan response when it received play on MTV’s Headbangers Ball.
(Photo courtesy of Overkill Facebook)
The band’s W.F.O. album (1994) would be Overkill’s final album with Atlantic, as they would release their first official full-length live assault, Wrecking Your Neck on CMC in 1995. Overkill released 3 more full length albums (Killing Kind, From The Underground and Below, and Necroshine) by 2000.
Bloodletting (2000) was released on Metal-Is, and the band added guitarist Dave Linsk to the fray. The current Overkill lineup would be completed with the release of the live album Wrecking Everything, recorded in Asbury Park, NJ, and the addition of second guitarist Derek Tailer in 2002.
Overkill released Killbox 13, one of their most well-received albums to date, on Spitfire Records in 2003. ReliXIV and Immortalis followed, continuing the Overkill legacy.
On October 30, 2009, Overkill inked a multi-album deal with Nuclear Blast Records. The band's debut album for the label, Ironbound — which was described as a true "thrashter-piece" — was released on February 9, 2010. The album received much acclaim, both critically and fan wise, and described by some as an instant classic."
(Photo courtesy of Overkill Facebook)
The Electric Age was released on March 27th, 2012 via Nuclear Blast and has been noted by friends/enthusiasts/reviews as one of OVERKILL's strongest albums. It was the first time in the history of the band that an LP was able to crack the "Top 100" chart of Billboard 200.
1. Come and Get It
2. Electric Rattlesnake
3. Wish You Were Dead
4. Black Daze
5. Save Yourself
6. Drop the Hammer Down
7. 21st Century Man
8. Old Wounds, New Scars
9. All Over But the Shouting
10. Good Night
(Photo courtesy of Overkill Facebook)
"I never doubted Overkill’s ability to deliver a follow-up to an album like Ironbound, and they have vindicated my faith by coming up with 'The Electric Age', a very worthy successor. I’m sure Ironbound is still strongly etched in the minds of fans, but I certainly think the new album matches up to it, and given the time, it has the potential to be regarded as an album one step ahead of Ironbound, in every sense of the term.
Overkill’s 'The Electric Age' is a scorching thrashterpiece that will enhance the band’s legendary status even further, and will ensure the successful continuity of the band’s quest to infect the whole planet with headbanger whiplash. Even though we’re still in the early part of 2012, I think I’ve found my album of the year already. Do yourselves a favor, buy it right now, at this very moment." -Metal Assault
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"Here we have it again, another Overkill album, another amazing production sound (how does any band sound this full on an album?), more catchy tunes, wild and manic thrash, and those endearing overly long songs ('Electric Rattlesnake' has time to go from full-throttle thrash to slow-burn middle breakdown to mid-tempo stomper and back in its 6:20 playing time, and it's placed 'strategically' as the second song). At this point, these modern-day Overkill albums are all blending together: the band have their sound nailed down so tight it's ready to explode, merging Anthrax-ian hysteria, punk attitude and the occasional misguided boogie part or something. No one's saying that Blitz is the greatest vocalist, but damned if he's not one of the most likeable in metal. You know, we blow a load over Anthrax actually releasing an album and we go crazy if Metallica do anything that could place in a local battle of the metal bands. Meanwhile, Overkill were putting out awesome thrash all along." -Gregg Pratt/Exclaim
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(Photo courtesy of Overkill Facebook)
"At this point in their career, every time Overkill come back with a new album it feels as if they're giving the metal world a much needed lecture in thrash 101. Much like 2010's Ironbound, The Electric Age is a window to a more straightforward era in heavy metal's past, reminding the world of a time when the genre was a rebellious loner that thrived on volume and aggression and not a nomenclature-obsessed librarian. As such, this album is prefix- and hyphen-free thrash, pure and simple. The guitar and bass work is tight and technical, the drums are fast, and the vocals are soaring, and with a toolkit so direct and simple, not a whole lot more is needed. Even though they always seemed to exist in the second tier of bands snapping at the heels of the "big four," it's hard to think of any bands from that era that are still doing thrash better than Overkill, and while The Electric Age may not be an artistic revelation, it is an incredibly solid album that might cause spontaneous outbreaks of sleeveless jean jackets to occur anywhere it's played." -All Music
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For more info on these guys and their 32 year career, check em out at the following official links:
- Overkill Official Website
- Overkill @ Wikipedia
- Overkill @ Facebook
(Photo courtesy of Overkill Facebook)
*OVERKILL WILL BE PERFORMING ON SATURDAY (THE 11TH) AT THE JAGERMEISTER WEST STAGE FROM 14:45-15:30*
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