Overkill Kicks Off 25^th Anniversary

Overkill is heading to Europe this week to kick off the Killfest 2010 tour, marking their 25^th anniversary as a band. The U.S. leg of Killfest will commence on April 1, and the group will unleash their 16^th studio album, Ironbound, on February 9. Looking back, singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth, who is known for his signature high-pitch wail, says he "never could have guessed" that his New Jersey thrash band would make it this far.

"I've never been so long sighted, it's more about 'the day' for me," Blitz told FMQB. "That's probably some of the reason for our longevity - that 'day to day' curse. If you take the day as it comes, squeeze the living shit out of it with regard to performance and momentum, I think it gives you more and more opportunity. The trick is to take the attitude and philosophy of today into tomorrow. Then the days turn in to years."

For the Killfest 2010 tour, Overkill is bringing out both younger and veteran bands to support them. The lineup includes Vader, God Dethroned, Warbringer, Evile and Woe of Tyrants – a list that Blitz says proves the genre is alive and thriving.  

"I do feel that much of the newfound interest [in the Metal scene] is due to the revival through some of the newer/younger bands," he explained. "The value has transcended generations. It's amazing! A thrash fan can now span two completely different generations of thrash, with similar goals... the old guard and the new."

Meanwhile, the aptly-titled Ironbound gives a nod to Overkill's unwavering commitment to their music. The album was mixed by Pain/Hypocrisy mainman Peter Tägtgren and the band recently filmed a video for the high-speed single "Bring Me The Night."

"I do think there are factors that give Ironbound a thrash 'em, bash 'em quality, a seeming reinvention of our past with a contemporary presentation, such as Peter Tägtgren's mix," said Blitz. "When we started assembling this release in April '09 we were fresh from the road. If that tour energy can be transferred to the studio, then you have the ultimate X factor. In the case of Ironbound, it is. That is the element that can never be feigned."

After the Killfest tour, Overkill will play the summer festival circuit in Europe and then make second runs through the U.S., Europe and Asia. They also plan to do a celebration of the 25^th anniversary of their first album, 1985's Feel The Fire, later in the year. Overkill certainly has no plans of slowing down any time soon, as their love of the music and the Metal genre as a whole inspires them to keep going.

"I think way back when before Al Gore invented the Internet, a lot of us viewed this as revolutionary, something to believe in, and a life-long commitment," Blitz mused. "It was the product of social/political issues, coupled with the angst-driven cry of youth. A true expression of desire vs. action and the means through community to make it happen. I don't think that has ever left me. It's quite a unique situation to be 'heard'... to have a voice above a crowd that is supported by the crowd. The fact that there is still interest in the scene and in Overkill after all these years confirms the value of it as a whole. To be part of that is like a drug, and I'm addicted!

With Fear Factory's new album, Mechanize, already climbing to the top of the FMQB Metal Detector chart, the band has unveiled the video for the song "Fear Campaign." The clip made its debut yesterday on Roxwel.com and can also be viewed on the band's MySpace page. It will make its broadcast premiere on Monday, February 8 when the group hosts Headbanger's Ball. “Fear Campaign” was directed by the team of Ian McFarland and Mike Pecci for Boston-based Killswitch Productions, and the idea for the video was to illustrate fear in its many forms.

"Our goal was to make a video that was inspired by cool stock footage '90s music videos, so to avoid using stock footage of the atrocities of the world, we decided to shrink those things down to single images and objects that can be identified and associated with different issues within our society," the directors told FMQB. "Some of the images are pretty literal and a few leave some room for interpretation. Hopefully people can come to their own conclusions about how the images relates to the lyrics." McFarland added that singer Burton C. Bell had some very specific visuals in mind, and he wanted to bombard the audience with rapid images synced to his lyrics. "Burton really wanted to figure out a way to play a role in the video that represented some sort of authority figure representing the word fear, and that’s where the Cop/Priest character came into play," he explained.

McFarland was shocked that MTV accepted the video as is with no edits required, because, "There is everything from guns, to ammo, to needles, to drugs, to weapons, to skinned goats heads, to a hostage scene. I don’t understand MTV and their stance on what should be censored and what should not."

McFarland and Pecci also have directed videos for Meshuggah, Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All, All That Remains and God Forbid, and the directing team said it was an honor to add Fear Factory to that list. "Not trying to sound like fan boys, but we’ve been into the band since we were kids. They decided to go with us because they liked our past work and we had developed a relationship," they said. "Burton is a true collaborator. It’s great working with an artist who’s comfortable with a little give and take. He was critically honest, and the video is better for it. Not only that, but he was willing to put in the extra mile, physically and emotionally, and it paid off. Holding back two 90 lb. Belgian Malinois dogs for two hours is exhausting, never mind being choked out against a wall while singing the song 15 times!"

 Metal Filings...

Slayer and Megadeth have set new routing for the American Carnage tour, which had to be postponed due to Tom Araya's back surgery. The tour will commence with the rescheduled Canadian Carnage East dates in Quebec City on Friday, July 23. Slayer will then head to Europe for a run of festival dates, returning for the American Carnage leg starting in Albany, NY on August 11. It will wrap on September 4 in Portland, OR and Testament will be the opening act on all shows. Tickets purchased for the American Carnage shows when they first went on sale will be honored for the rescheduled dates. As for Araya's recovery, "The doctors said that Tom's surgery went very smoothly and was a resounding success," Slayer manager Rick Sales said. "He's home now, doing really well, and he said the numbness in his fingers had already diminished considerably."… As I Lay Dying has dubbed their upcoming, fifth full-length album The Powerless Rise. The band is currently finishing up recording in San Diego with producer Adam D. (Killswitch Engage), and fans can expect The Powerless Rise to be released this spring with plans for a headline tour slated around the same time… Dimmu Borgir guitarist Silenoz recently spoke to the U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine about the progress of the band's next album. "The words that come to mind, if we should even try and attempt at describing it at this point, would be something like: grand, huge, epic and primal," he said of the new music. As for why it has taken so long to record a new album, Silenoz explained, "Because we want the next album to be a better and stronger one. We're more critical of each process and we take the time it needs. Quality is, at the end of the day, in the eye of the beholder, but once we start rushing things, like trying to write music while on tour to speed things up – forget about it. We've tried it before and it didn't work. We focus 110 percent on one thing at a time."… Floridian extreme metallers Order Of Ennead will film a new video this month for "The Concept of Our Existence," the opening track off their upcoming sophomore release, An Examination Of Being. Order Of Ennead recently finished recording the album with producer Mark Lewis (Trivium, Chimaira) and it is due for release on April 20 via Earache Records… Armored Saint has unveiled the first single from their first new album since 2001, La Raza. The song, called "Left Hook From Right Field," can be streamed on the band's MySpace page. La Raza will be released on March 16… Australia’s Karnivool will tour the U.S. in support of their new album, Sound Awake, which comes out on February 16. The band will tour Stateside starting on March 17 at Austin's SXSW and running through April 14 in Denver… Abscess has announced the release date for its latest effort, Dawn of Inhumanity, which is due on March 9 via Peaceville Records. The album includes special guest vocal appearances from the Darkthrone duo. Abscess drummer/vocalist Chris Reifert stated, “Bursting through the boundaries of brutality, Abscess surpasses all previous efforts and presents a death metal masterpiece filled with insanity, violence and mind blowing savagery!”