Read the longest (and best) Overkill interview ever, catch them on tour with Kreator

by Doug Moore (with interview by Turk Durmac)

We mentioned several months back that NY thrash legends Overkill would spend the fall touring with equally time-tested Teutonic thrashers Kreator and youngbloods Warbringer. Their tour is wrapping up this week with two dates at Stage 48 on 11/23 and 11/24. Appropriately, Overkill will headline both of these home-turf shows. Tickets, including a two-day pass for the truly obsessed, are available.

We’ve got an interview with frontman and noted cancer survivor Bobby Blitz over at Invisible Oranges, and goddamn is it a doozy. Guest contributor Turk Durmac talked to Blitz about every single album of Overkill’s 33-year career, including their as-yet-untitled 2014 effort. Here are a few excerpts:

On blowing his voice as a young singer:

In the early days, my father used to accuse me of doing this for free beer and girls, and to some degree that was true — it was just a cool thing to do. On Feel the Fire, I approached my vocals wide-eyed, just wanting to tear it up. Not over-thinking anything, just standing behind the mic. I remember in those days, I’d push so hard that I’d lose my voice. You know, I’m in my early twenties and I should be losing my voice, but I’d scream so loud or sing so hard that I did. But that was the approach: action versus reaction. Action was the tape I was hearing in the headphones and the Reaction was the vocal I was laying down, trying to match that energy.

On the mid-tour collapse of Megadeth’s first lineup:

They were coming off the rails and they were a really exciting band because they were coming off the rails. There was something really charming about that explosiveness. You know, I remember standing in Philedelphia and Dave saying to the audience, “You’ve just witnessed the last performance of Megadeth.” And this was 1987! I think there was a great camaraderie between the bands. Even with Dave and Junior, there still is. They’re great guys and great friends. I still think of that tour fondly, one of my favorites.

On being forced to re-audition for Megaforce Records:

I was so insulted. We were getting the Horrorscope stuff together and Megaforce said, “We’re not sure we want to keep the band.” They wanted us to audition for them. And I said, “You’re kidding.” We had some people in our corner, for sure, but we had to stand in front of fifteen Megaforce people and play the Horrorscope record on a stage in Brooklyn — that’s not well known, but now it is. I was so insulted, but the amount of energy I had for that record…I remember standing next to D.D., who’s always calm and collected, and I said, “I’m gonna shove my fist so far up Johnny Z.’s ass…” (laughs) It worked out pretty well.

Read the whole monster over at Invisible Oranges. The remaining dates of the Overkill/Kreator tour and a stream of Overkill’s most recent record are below.

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Overkill & Kreator tour
11/21/13 Diamond Pub & Billiards – Louisville, KY *KREATOR headlines*
11/22/13 Empire – W. Springfield, VA *Overkill headlines*
11/23/13 Stage 48 – New York City, NY *Overkill headlines*
11/24/13 Stage 48 – New York City, NY *Overkill headlines*
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