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.

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.

Ironbound will be released on February 9th, 2010 on E1 Music.

Discography