OVERKILL: East Coast Thrash Metal Masters Return with "The Electric Age!"

New Jersey's thrash metal legends Overkill are preparing to release their 16th (!) full length studio album - titled THE ELECTRIC AGE - at the end of March 2012, which is great news for this longtime fanboy. Overkill has been one of my favorite bands for a quarter century now and in that time they have rarely disappointed. The band has never wavered from their mission to bring fans the best in crunching, punishing, heavy-as-hell Thrash Metal and it does my heart good to know they're still around and still recording long after most of their mosh-pit contemporaries from the '80s have either broken up, sold out, or disappeared. Overkill may never have achieved the massive level of popularity that the so-called "Big Four" bands did during the '80s thrash metal explosion, but they have maintained a diehard, blue-collar cult following both at home and abroad that comes out in force every time they release a new album or go on tour. This is a band that has survived countless line up changes, continuously ignored musical trends, and has damn near lost its lead singer to the Grim Reaper -- twice! -- and yet they keep on truckin', releasing a new album every year and a half to two years like clockwork and fighting the good fight on concert stages across the globe. Such longevity demands respect!! While we wait for THE ELECTRIC AGE to be released, this Hub will give you a quick Reader's Digest version of the band's proud history and point out what I feel are the strongest of their recorded works.

Overkill were born and bred in Southern New Jersey, formed out of the ashes of bassist Carlo (later "D.D.") Verni and drummer Lee "Rat Skates" Kundrat's high-school punk rock band The Lubric*nts. Equally inspired by the early '80s underground metal scene as well as the punk movement, Overkill started out playing covers of their favorite songs at local clubs and bars. Verni and Skates went through the usual lineup shuffles common to all young bands while banging out an eclectic (for the time period) set of covers that included material by the Scorpions, the Ramones, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and the Dead Boys. Eventually the "classic" Overkill lineup consisting of Verni, Skates, vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and guitarist Bobby Gustafson came together circa 1982. By this time, the band had phased out most of their cover tunes in favor of aggressive Sabbath and Motorhead-inspired originals based around the themes of horror and death. A theatrical, Misfits-esque stage show accompanied their live presentation and made them a popular draw around tri-state area rock clubs.

Overkill released a five-song pro-packaged demo tape (POWER IN BLACK) in 1983, which sold like hotcakes at the band's live shows and through mail-order, leading to a four song EP on Azra/Metalstorm Records in 1984 and finally, a full length debut album. 1985's FEEL THE FIRE was released on Jonny Z's legendary MegaForce Records - the metal indie label that had also been the launching pad for Metallica, Raven and Anthrax. It was official, Overkill had arrived!

FEEL THE FIRE put Overkill on the map, but the best was yet to come. By the time their sophomore release, TAKING OVER, hit shelves in 1987, MegaForce Records had signed a distribution deal with Atlantic Records. The extra "push" from having a major label in their corner put Overkill on MTV with "In Union We Stand" and on the road across America and around the world. Skates left the band at the end of '87, citing road burnout, but Overkill quickly replaced him with Sid Falck and unleashed UNDER THE INFLUENCE in '88, a high point that included the signature tune "Welcome to the Gutter," another set-list mainstay.

1989's THE YEARS OF DECAY was the peak of Overkill's major-label period. With heavy metal at its mainstream height, the band's video for "Elimination" got major support from MTV's "Headbanger's Ball," and relentless touring paid off with sold out shows across the U.S. and abroad. As the 90s dawned, musical tastes changed, the entire music industry turned on a dime and Overkill's lean years began. Gustafson bailed after the DECAY tour and Overkill became a five piece, replacing him with two guitarists - Rob Cannavino and Merritt Gant. Still a major label band, this lineup released the fine HORRORSCOPE in 1991, the odd I HEAR BLACK (which marked the debut of drummer Tim Mallare) in '93, and W.F.O. for Atlantic in 1994, but since grunge was king at the time, Atlantic had placed them on a back burner and few were paying attention. When Atlantic finally cut them loose it was probably more of a relief than anything else.

Overkill found a receptive home at the metal-friendly indie label CMC Records in 1995 and released the live album WRECKING YOUR NECK. By this point Gant and Cannavino were already gone, replaced by the new guitar team of Sebastian Marino (ex-Anvil) and Joe Comeau (ex-Liege Lord). 1996's THE KILLING KIND, 97's stellar FROM THE UNDERGROUND AND BELOW, and 1999's excellent NECROSHINE spewed forth from this lineup, and while the band kept on chugging, they found that the wheel was starting to come around for old-school, traditional metal bands again. By this time Overkill had settled comfortably into their status as Elder Statesmen of the thrash scene, becoming regulars on the European metal festival circuit while still packing clubs on the home front. 1999's COVERKILL was a collection of the band members' favorite songs by KISS, Deep Purple, Judas Priest and many more, touching base with their cover-band roots and bringing them full circle.

A brief cancer scare for Blitz Ellsworth only temporarily sidelined the band during the making of NECROSHINE (thankfully he made a full recovery), then 2000's BLOODLETTING marked the exit of Comeau and Marino. Dave Linsk and Derek Tailer became the new guitar team in time for 2002's WRECKING EVERYTHING live CD and DVD (their debut for new label Spitfire Records). Prior to '03's KILLBOX 13, Blitz suffered a mild stroke while onstage in Germany, but obviously nothin' keeps this guy down for long, because he was back on his feet in record time. Ron Lipnicki (ex-Hades) took over the drum stool for 2005's excellent RELIXIV, and this is the lineup (Blitz, Verni, Tailer, Linsk and Lipnicki) that still stands tall today. Lamb of God's Randy Blythe made a guest appearance on "Skull and Bones" from 2007's IMMORTALIS, showing some respect for a band that was a major influence on him. 2010's awesome IRONBOUND featured the single/video "Bring Me the Night" and was Overkill's most successful album in years, even managing to crack the lower regions of the Billboard sales charts upon its release.

...which brings us to the present... where the band's faithful "Blood Metal Donors" are anxiously awaiting the release of THE ELECTRIC AGE, which shall be unleashed upon the Earth on March 27th in the U.S. (via E1 Records) and March 30th in Europe (via Nuclear Blast Records). There are only a few bands left for whom I will make an effort to find a record store on the first day of an album's release and Overkill is one of them. I haven't seen the band live since the mid-90s but having survived several Overkill shows prior to that point, I can vouch for their intensity and power on the concert stage. They'll be hitting the road to support the new album in April of this year, headlining the so-called "KillFest" tour supported by Belphegor, Blackguard, and Diamond Plate. If you've never experienced them live, you owe it to yourself to witness one of these shows and give some respect to the most consistent old-school band in the biz.

Mark your calendars, people. THE ELECTRIC AGE begins on March 27, 2012. Be there.

Power In Black (demo tape) 1983

Overkill (EP) - Azra/Metalstorm, 1984

Feel the Fire - MegaForce, 1985

Taking Over - MegaForce/Atlantic, 1987

F**K YOU! (EP) - MegaForce/Caroline, 1987

Under the Influence - MegaForce/Atlantic, 1988

The Years of Decay - MegaForce/Atlantic, 1989

Horrorscope - MegaForce/Atlantic, 1991

I Hear Black - Atlantic, 1993

W.F.O. - Atlantic, 1994

Wrecking Your Neck (live) - CMC, 1995

The Killing Kind - CMC, 1996

F**K YOU (And Then Some) - Megaforce, 1996

From the Underground and Below - CMC, 1997

Necroshine - CMC, 1999

Coverkill - CMC, 1999

Bloodletting - Metal-Is, 2000

Wrecking Everything (Live) - Spitfire, 2002

Killbox 13 - Spitfire, 2003

RELIXIV - Spitfire, 2005

Immortalis - Bodog Music, 2007

Ironbound - E1 Music, 2010

The Electric Age - E1 Music, 2012