| Dawn/The Metal Web!: We are rolling! Ok, you ready? Bobby "Blitz": Yeah, you got levels and everything? Dawn/The Metal Web!: I got levels and everything. Bobby "Blitz": God, bless you honey. (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: Your gonna sound great! Don’t worry about it! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": Good, I’ve had people doing interviews before where they go “Ah, can we do that again”? (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: No, no, no, you should know me by now, I’m not one of those (laughs). Ok, you ready? Bobby "Blitz": Yeah! Dawn/The Metal Web!: First I must start by saying, I think Killbox 13 is one of Overkill’s best albums to date. What has the response been to the new album thus far? Bobby"Blitz": ... Well, boy that’s a pretty bold statement (laughs). Out of thirteen records, we are getting a really good response out of this. It’s really hard for me to be unbiased about it because this is probably the closest thing I can liken to giving birth. It takes work. It takes time. It takes everybody’s input, individually and collectively. The smoke hasn’t really cleared yet. But the response we’re getting back on it is pretty positive. That it is let’s say, a blend of where we’ve been, with where we are. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … It’s great though, I’m telling ya. And I’m not just saying that, you know me. (laughs). I tell it like it is. Bobby "Blitz": … Yeah, well god bless your honesty, and truly. Because we don’t ever do this for reviews, we do it for ourselves because we realize it’s necessary to promote the stuff. But the idea about this band is that it makes music primarily for itself first and foremost and that’s where you get lets say, a real honest or a pure representation of what the music’s about. Killbox is a great result of those philosophies. Dawn/The Metal Web!: The album title “Killbox 13”. I know the “13” stems from this being your 13th release, but what's the concept behind "Killbox"? Bobby "Blitz": ... Well, it is the thirteenth, but it’s only really the thirteenth for people who followed the band. There was an EP called “Overkill” back in ’84… Dawn/The Metal Web!: ... Yeah, I know. I was going to bring that up, but you just cut me to it! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": ... I cut you to it, beat ya! (laughs) A Killbox is the computer screen in a cockpit of a fighter jet. It’s where they put that little red T when they’re doing it on the target. I suppose probably more so in hindsight then in foresight it has some type of political ramifications, but it really wasn’t the intention. The intention was much more so, looking for a good descriptive of the band. Let’s just say theoretically, hitting the mark with the record, with this thirteenth record. Is it a lucky record? Who cares? Is the thirteenth lucky? Who cares? Dawn/The Metal Web!: … It is a lucky record. Bobby "Blitz": … Yeah, but the ideas that it’s still Overkill, and that word it just screams Overkill, “Killbox”. The idea actually came to me when I was watching the Discovery channel on the ’91 Gulf War. There was a pilot talking about the Killbox and I said, “that’s got to be our word next”! (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … But you know what though, a lot of people don’t get that. They’re thinking “Over” the “Kill” part and then the box… Bobby Blitz": … Yeah Dawn/The Metal Web!: … and 13. I mean, I caught on to that. But, a lot of people didn’t. Bobby "Blitz": ... But that’s the thing. I mean, the band has never been so direct. I think we’re very direct in what type of music it is. But I think for sure there are underlying or double meaning things through the entire history of the band, whether it be lyrically or how represented, oh I don’t know, in print. Let’s put it that way. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Usually you have Colin Richardson in the studio to just mix the production. What made you decide to have him produce as well because you and DD always did the producing your selves as far as I knew? Bobby "Blitz": … Yeah, Colin’s bad ass! It’s about relationship for us. This is our thirteenth record. There’s got to be a huge amount of trust for us to bring somebody in to do it. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Yeah, I was surprised. Bobby "Blitz": ... Well, quite obviously the formula works for us prior to this. But were looking to notch it up a level or two. Colin’s been mixing with us since ’97. There’s a great element of trust there. He has fun doing it. He’s a friend to us… Dawn/The Metal Web!: … I think I’ve met him once, he really is a nice guy! Bobby" Blitz": … Really, really cool guy. Really mild mannered, but helluva sense of humor. But you know, can get actually that like lunatic fringe on, where he’s like standing on the console in the studio playing air guitar… Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Yeah, you said that (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … Yeah. I mean he’s really that intense. Well its also, if somebody tells me to re-do a track or DD to re-do a track, maybe you look at them and say “who the fuck are you”? Maybe that is ego to a certain degree. Or maybe its “hey, we know how to do this, so we don’t necessarily need your help”. So, it’s really about relationship and being able to take, let’s say the guidance or advice of somebody that you trust. And there’s a great amount of trust with Colin. He has great ears. He really knows where the drums/guitar go and where they work best. How to make one louder than the other without getting in the way of the first. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … The sound on this album is really immense, it’s great! Bobby "Blitz": … Yeah, he makes great Metal records. And that’s really what it’s about. And that was why Colin was brought into this. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … I’ll have to definitely refer him. (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … (laughs) Well, he deserves it. He’s one of those kinds of guys. He’s worked with Machine Head and Fear Factory and even some non-Metal bands in the past. But he’s really about production and really about a relationship between individual instruments to make one let’s say huge sound without sacrificing separation. That’s my generalization of Colin. Dawn/The Metal Web!: With past albums you did a lot of pre-production work at Gear and then would do the actually recording session elsewhere. So for this album, what made you decide to stay at Gear and do the complete recording for Killbox 13? Bobby "Blitz": ... Well, I was trying to give my partner some business here! (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … There you go. Well, I wasn’t gonna say it! (laughs) I wasn’t gonna say it, your saying it! (laughs) You’re letting the cat out of the bag! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … This is why I don’t like to type these interviews! (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … You let it out of the bag! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … Quite honestly, that’s what it was all about. We were the first project in there. He had a brand new studio set up and it seemed like the right thing to do for us… Dawn/The Metal Web!:… Nice studio, I’ve been there once. It’s really nice. Bobby "Blitz": … It wasn’t set up for mixing. We took the mix to a place called Sonalyst in Connecticut, which is the old Power Station. Dawn/The Metal Web!: ... That was with this album or the other one? Bobby "Blitz": … With this one. Yeah, we mixed up there too. It’s not really a bad thing to go somewhere else to mix because it really mixes up the tediousness of it. You’re not in the same room now for a forty-day period. Maybe you’re tracking for thirty and mixing for ten. At least in our case. So you go up to Connecticut and you’re living in a hotel for ten days. You’re in different environments. So, I think it kind of lends itself to let’s say, better results when you can actually move from one to the next. It really feels like you’re on the final phase of the project. Dawn/The Metal Web!: The writing process began for this album near the end of Bloodletting. So between writing, mixing and recording how long did this album take to conclude? Bobby "Blitz": ... Aha, there you go! Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Aha! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … I love telling this story but it really has nothing to do with Killbox, but it was the record prior, Bloodletting. We were mixing “Necroshine” and I was doing some vocals with an Engineer and I walked into the lounge of the studio we were using, and I said “DD, come in here and check this out” and he was going “what do you think of this riff”? (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … I said “dude, were done”. “No”, he goes “for the next one, what do you think of this riff”? And that’s kind of the way… Dawn/The Metal Web!: … But that’s what you need though. I mean, that’s like a breath of fresh air to have that. Bobby "Blitz": … Well, there’s always that kind of a blue-collar work ethic for us. It’s really we’re a lot more comfortable with our tools on then our tools off. It’s really not about who we are. It’s more about what we are. So, that’s the way we work and that’s the way Killbox was made. Soon after Bloodletting there was riffs showing up and they were being born. Whether it be Gear Rehearsal or in DD’s house or in Dave’s house or my basement. That’s the way it kind of starts with us. So, it kind of takes that whole process from when one record is finished until when the next record is completed. So this one was, let’s just say, two plus years in the making. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Ok! Bobby "Blitz": … Mm, hmm Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Look at him, “Mm, hmm”, you like that one! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … Yeah, c'mon bay-be, c'mon bay-be! (laughs and says in an Elvis tone) Dawn/The Metal Web!: ... (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: There is so much diversity between each track on Killbox 13, was the writing done as a band in whole because you hear so many different influences within the tracks themselves? Bobby "Blitz": ... Well the writing was done individually. But, it’s always tightened up as a whole. (laughs) Tightened as a whole. The way it starts is through DD and ends through me. But the ideas is that between that beginning and that end, it goes through the rigorous routine of the band mulling it over, chopping it up, and rearranging it. It really goes through a process between beginning and end. So that’s really the best way to describe the song writing for us. It really kind of ends here in my basement when I’m putting the vocal lines to it. But prior to that, everybody’s kind of interpreting, adding to, and changing parts, maybe bringing new parts in. So, we did it both ways. We wrote it individually but then we also tightened the whole thing up or made it a record with all of us involved. Dawn/The Metal Web!: ... Ok, sounds cool! Bobby "Blitz": … Mm, hmm Dawn/The Metal Web!: … You did it again, “Mm, hmm”! You really liked that one! Speaking well today! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … Yeah, it gives me a second to think! (laughs) When people do that… Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Oh, I do that too! I always go, “uh, huh”, “cool”, “Mm, hmm”! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … When you hear people say the word “like”, “like, uh”, their thinking! (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … (laughs) But you got to scratch the head while you do it. Bobby "Blitz": … Right! (laughs) “Mm, hmm”! (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: Speaking of diversity within the album, you have the track “Until I Die” which opens with a haunting, eerie melodic piece and then you have “Crystal Clear” that’s guttural and dark. What frame of mind was the band in when writing these pieces, as they are a bit different from the rest of the album, but good? Bobby "Blitz": ... Well I think, you know, you talked about diversity in the last question. I think Overkill’s got many faces of writing. Let’s say five or six that we probably lean on. One, contemporary. One, kind of a little punky. One, go for the throat. One, that dragging it through the mud like “Crystal Clear” and that eerie-ish “Until I Die”. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Yeah, I like that piece that Dave wrote. Bobby "Blitz": … I attribute “Until I Die’s” success to Dave’s guitar lines in there. It got to the point where I was writing over the top of it and I said “it’s ridiculous, the guitar lines to good to deny, I might as well just follow the thing”. It kind of lead to the eeriness of the whole song. When your talking about the different faces, I think it’s really just focus on, of the different personalities that the band has and still makes those personalities Overkill by the time it’s done. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Yeah, that’s what I meant when I said “influences”. You can hear everyone within the band. Bobby "Blitz": … Sure. It’s kind of necessary for us to show that and I think “Killbox” is a really good representation of all those personalities. Whether it is something with contemporary value like “Devil by the Tail” or something that is aggressively forward like “Struck Down” or “Unholy”. But then there’s that through the mud, and then there’s that eerie ’Until I Die”. Then there’s kind of a hoppy, punkish “Damned”. Almost a ballad-esque or production number of “No Lights”. So, these are the different personalities. But I do think that when you put them all together, it says “Overkill”. When you make a record, it’s not really a collection of songs. It’s a record. And what I mean by that, is that in its entirety it contains a vibe. But individually, all those individual vibes, which are songs, are all different. Which is kind of what makes a successful /interesting record. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … And unique! There you go! Bobby "Blitz": ... Mm, hmm! (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Mm, hmm! With a Capital “U”! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": ... (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: Ok now were going to get to the other ones that you just mentioned. The songs “Damned”, “Struck Down”, “The Sound Of Dying”, and “The One” are just a few of my favorites. Can you give a little background on each song and thanks for putting Jersey back on the map by the way with "The Sound of Dying"? Bobby "Blitz": … Oh, you like that, huh? (laughs) Dawn: … I thought that was awesome! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … You know what was funny, I was writing that piece and you know what had come to mind was when we had done the DVD down in Asbury Park. There’s always something about that. I remember going to Asbury when I was a kid with my father. Great place to go and then it went into the crapper and then they always tried to bring it back a little bit. But it always has that “something just died here” feeling. Probably a testimony to Donald Trump’s madness in Atlantic City that he won’t let anybody else rebuild there. (laughs) So that they all go to Atlantic City, they don’t want to be gambling in Asbury. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … (laughs and agrees with Trump comment) Well first, what are those songs about because you can get like ten different things out of them? Bobby "Blitz": … That’s kind of the idea. It’s really supposed to be about what you perceive it to be is really the true meaning of the song. That was always part of the fun for me when I was a kid. That I could never figure out for instance, “what the fuck is Ozzy saying”? (laughs) What does this guy mean? (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … (laughs) Ah don’t harp on Ozzy! I love him! (laughs) Bobby"Blitz": … Dawn, I agree! Whenever you hear him in an interview, you can always relate it back to drugs or love. It had nothing else to do with anything else. (laughs) But I think in our case or in my case specifically, I like to write abstractly like such. What I did through the record, as I always do, is to kind of look into myself. It’s really about peeling away layers of the onion and finding out what makes me go. What are the defects? What are the things to celebrate? What are the hopes? What are the dreams and what are the fears? What I did as a guide for it was I wove the seven deadly sins through the entire record. The best case is using them as specifics. Like “Devil By The Tail” being envy, “Crystal Clear” being lust. “The One” is about pride. One of the biggest things about pride is that an individual or I find with myself that, sometimes I have so much of it that I’ll never ask for help. (laughs) Even when I need it! (laughs) Well like most people I think. I think that these are some of the things that get in the way. “Damned” is most certainly anger. “Struck Down” has anger, but it also has a certain amount of recovery in it. I do write about personal experiences or how I got through things. I don’t think that I’m much different with those hopes and dreams than you are or people who read your rag or listen to my tunes. So, it’s not usually a marketable difference. I think at the core were pretty much the same. So, if it’s aggressively angry. I feel that way sometimes in “Damned”. But the idea is that, if it’s vented, it becomes less of a dangerous characteristic that I have about myself. If I can use it within the song, I don't use it other places. So, for me it becomes a twist of therapy and that’s what I did. “The Sound Of Dying” is quite simply fear and facing fear. There’s not really one of the sins in there. But probably if you really wanted to look at it, there’s probably a ton of them in there. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Well, a song is what you get out of it too, for yourself or what you make out of it. Bobby "Blitz": … Well, and I think that’s half the fun. I really think that it’s half the fun is to be able to dig into it and say “what does this mean to me”? Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Right, exactly because it could mean something totally different to someone else. Bobby "Blitz": … Sure and I’ve had guys come up to me and their like no where even close to what my intentions were. (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … (laughs) Don’t you hate that though? I’ll have things posted on the site and someone will take it totally the opposite way. Bobby "Blitz": … When it’s just written literal like it is on your site and they take it the way they shouldn’t, maybe that’s just absolute misunderstanding. But I think in a case of a tune, if they’ve readjusted it in their head and they come up with something different, that actually becomes the right meaning then. So, it’s kind of cool to hear the different takes on them. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Just curious, what made you decide to push "Devil by the Tail" in particular as opposed to some of the other tracks before the album was released? Though it's a great song. Bobby "Blitz": ... I don’t know. It’s probably personal like... Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Is that your favorite off the album? Bobby "Blitz": … I don’t know if it’s my favorite but it’s definitely an impact tune. I think that and it’s not just me, we kind of mulled it over between all of us and that’s what everybody came up with. I think one of the things that this band has always been able to do or understand, was to, when we open the door, we don’t introduce ourselves, we hit you with a bat! And that’s how you get peoples attention. (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … (laughs) Well, that’s why out of all the interviews that I’ve done or people that I know, you make me more the nervous! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … (laughs) I make you nervous? I’m one of the nicest people your ever gonna meet. (laughs) But there’s something about, I suppose people that are very comfortable with where they are that could be more dangerous than people who are a little nervous. (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Hey! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz":… Not you! Not you! Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Yeah, right, right! Bobby "Blitz": … But the point is… Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Is I rule! You know! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … (laughs) Yeah, I’ve seen the Website! My ex-wife made me take you off as my goddamn wallpaper! (laughs) My screen saver. (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … (laughs) You’re too much! Bobby "Blitz": … But I think that we’ve always understood that. “Necroshine” for instance. “Deny the Cross” from “Taking Over”. These are songs that come out of the cage like a hungry lion. And “Devil by the Tail” kind of has that vibe to it also. Dawn/The Metal Web!: “Struck Down”, your gonna laugh, would this be DD’s favorite? I say this because of his bass runs…(laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … That Harris-esque thing in there! (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … It’s great though! He sounded really pristine in that song! He really, really did great! Bobby "Blitz": … Well, contrary to popular belief, DD can really play! (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … (laughs) Awww, of course he can play! Awww, poor guy! (laughs) He’s awesome! Bobby "Blitz": … (laughs) That song has got an old school vibe to it. One of the things that I like about the song s that really have that old school vibe, is that when Dave and DD get together it becomes almost reinvented. It’s not retro as much as it is reinvented. That you have a feeling you’ve been there before, but still to you it appears kind of new. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … They compliment each other well! Bobby "Blitz": … They compliment each other fantastically! Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Really well! When I seen you guys play live last, I was like, Whoa! Bobby "Blitz": … Well, Dave’s an animal! DD’s is just about as solid as they come! And Derek and Tim are about as solid as they come. But Dave’s an animal and he can run all over that solid background or backbone that Tim and DD create. But “Struck Down” specifically, that bass run in there is so Harris-esque. It’s so “Maiden” from 1981. And that’s another thing about this band, I don’t think we’ve ever really denied the fact that we have influences. I mean, we didn’t create this shit and we know that. It’s quite obvious that were apart of it and we’ve taken it in other directions. It’s not that every song (laughs) for instance is Maiden-esque. But the other idea is that to deny where you came from is really to deny yourself. So, I think in our case its celebrated many times and one of those celebrations would be “Stuck Down” and I think that even people would listen to “Crystal Clear” and say “jeez, it’s Sabbath-esque. Well, to a degree it is. But that’s what people perceive Sabbath to be and quite obviously this is a band that grew up on that kind of stuff. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … But what’s good about this album though, is you have something for everyone. If someone’s really not into the real heavier end of stuff, new fans might dig “Until I Die”. You got something for everyone. So that’s great! Bobby "Blitz": … Or “No Lights”. Yeah. It’s something we’ve always had and I think that to deny that would be the wrong thing. I remember somebody asking me in an interview once saying, “as unique as you are, your biggest enemy is your uniqueness. You’re not by no means a hard rock band. Your one of the heaviest bands I’ve ever seen live. But by no means, are you on that Slayer end of doing things. But I’ve seen you as heavy as them. People can’t categorize you". I said, “well, maybe that’s a good thing” because it’s really about how I’m gonna look back at this after so many years and say, Was I satisfied? And I can say I’ve at least had the opportunity to open many different doors as opposed to just one. So, it kind of works out in the degree of self-satisfaction and hey, Overkill is Overkill. It’s kind of nice to have that uniqueness about us too. Dawn/The Metal Web!: “I Rise” another great track musically and lyrically. To me, that’s song is typical Overkill. It’s in your face; it’s there! Tim’s double bass is flawless. Bobby "Blitz": ... These are the best drum tracks I’ve ever heard Tim do. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … He’s got feet of steel! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … One of the things that I’ve always recognized about this guy was that he was always the MVP on every record. This record I attribute all of its, let’s say, the interest that people have in the record to Dave’s guitar work. But Tim is always the most improved guy. That’s really kind of hard to do with some of the stuff that he’s done in the past. The work he’s done on “Necroshine” and “Bloodletting”. The point is, is that this is even better than that. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … I ran into someone the other night, not to get off the subject that played with Dave in Anger and Anger. Bobby "Blitz": … They opened for us a few times at The Birch Hill, NJ. That’s how we kind of got our first look at Dave. We had known that Mark Weiss, the noted photographer, was managing them. When we were looking for a guitar player, Mark said, “I got the guy. He’s from Anger and Anger” and we said, "we saw that guy, we want him down here". I remember when Dave walked into the audition. It was just awesome. He’s this big dude and Jersey all over him. He’s got the construction boots. Their not tied. He’s got a flannel shirt on and Harley shirt underneath. I walked up to him and I said, “so, you got the shirt or you got the bike that goes with it”? He goes, “smart ass”! I said, “he gets the job”! “He don’t even have to play”! (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … (laughs) Nah, I’d never mess with him. He’s a big dude! Bobby "Blitz": … (laughs) Yeah, he’s a good egg though. Dave’s a great lover of what he does and it quite obviously shows. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … He’s a great guitar player! Bobby "Blitz": … Fantastic! A fuckin’ animal! Dawn/The Metal Web!: … He really is and you don’t hear that much about him! Bobby "Blitz": … I think this is really Dave’s coming out party, “Killbox”. People are gonna be able to recognize that Dave has actually brought the guitar back to the standard and we can’t attribute that to DD or myself, or Tim, or Derek. It’s about Dave, Dave’s ideas, and Dave’s finger work on this whole record. He’s made every song better than it was without him. That’s an awesome testimony to a great guitar player. It’s not about I have two minutes to shine or to show everybody how good I am, it’s about making the song better and he did it across the board with this record. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Tim also, how long has he been playing, he’s an amazing musician? Bobby "Blitz": ... Tim has been with us since 1991. People always think of Tim as a new guy. He’s been here. DD and myself have been here the longest. DD’s actually been in the band longer than I have. (laughs) Even though I was there when the first note was played. They threw me out for like eight months. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … I remember you guys with Rat! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … (laughs) Yeah, with Rat Skates, they threw me out of the band! Dawn/The Metal Web!: … (laughs) A long time ago! He used to come and give me flyers and stuff. You guys were always promoting back then. Bobby "Blitz": … That was the name of the game back then. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Things were a lot different back then to, Bobby. Bobby "Blitz": … Going to Rock-n-Roll Heaven. Making sure that anybody who had a radio show knew we existed. I even remember going to L’amour East. We use to give the Parente’s who owned both L’amour’s packages because we wanted a gig there. They probably had ten packages from us. I was standing next to George Parente, who later managed us. I go, “Mr. Parente, Bobby Blitz from Overkill, did you get my package? Yeah, yeah, I think so. I think so. Well here I have another one for you just in case you misplaced that one. Yeah, yeah thanks a lot. Mr. Parente, do you think we can get a gig here at the club? He looks at me, he goes, look let me tell you something honestly, you suck”! (laughs) I said, “yeah, I know but do you think we can get a gig”? (laughs) It’s funny; a few days later these guys were managing us and did for a ten-year period. Things change. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Things were a lot different back then. It was a lot easier in my eyes, back then to get a booking then it is for the bands now. It was a different time though to. Bobby "Blitz": … It was a different time. There were more places to play. It was necessary that there was local bands that were almost like house bands. We came out of something that was, the only way you could get a gig when we first started was, you had to be a cover band. The idea for us was we didn’t want to be. We wanted to be an original band. We played covers so we could get gigs and we started sliding our own material in. And everything turned. This music became a lot more popular based on its originality, then playing other peoples music or these bands rather. So, the cool thing was, guys like George and Mike at L’amour’s were there at the turning point, at the revolution. Where it turned over from us playing Judas Priest covers or other bands doing that, to doing your own stuff. They were right there to seize it and to give bands like us the opportunity. But it really was about self-promotion and really jamming it down people’s throats. Selling your demos and giving ‘em away. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … People use to fly to the clubs back then. It’s a lot different now. (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … Dawn, we’re older. I hate to say this but we’re older, that’s just the way it is. There’s people that still do stuff like this and some of these clubs exist. The resurgence of L’amour and you can go see a good gig down at BB Kings in Manhattan right now. This is great. But there was time in the late 80’s and the early 90’s where there was in this area specifically, there was probably half a dozen great clubs. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Yeah, Studio One. L’amour was the hot one. Bobby "Blitz": … Go to the Limelight down in the city. I remember shows at the Ritz. The “old” Ritz. Awesome! Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Ok! Now I’m going to take us out of my living room! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … Conversational, I’m telling you, it’s the best interviews in the world, is conversational of where it goes. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Yeah, but I have to have this stuff all typed out now for me! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … This is gonna be a four star interview! People are gonna write into you and say, “that was the best, that guy is a jerk-off, but that was the best interview ever”! (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … No they won't say that. Believe or not, half of your fans are mine! Half of my traffic comes from you! And I know my traffic comes to you, we have a give and take… (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … (laughs) Absolutely. Good trade off. You got to love instantaneous information! Dawn/The Metal Web!: Back to the interview, do you feel that this is Overkill’s best work to date and what song or songs do you feel best represent Overkill and are the strongest on the album? Bobby "Blitz": … I can’t really be, I’m bias. The smoke hasn’t cleared yet. To be objective is almost an impossibility. One of the things you can liken close to giving birth for a guy. You kind of toil over it and you put a lot into to it. Everybody does and you kind of work as a team. I don’t ever have a clear view of a record until a year later. I can tell you I’m really satisfied with it. I’m really satisfied with the vibe. But I have to kind of keep it separate from the other releases in my head because we haven’t even done it live yet. We haven’t been out there and banged it out on the stages. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Well, you got “Damned” out and the audience went crazy! Bobby "Blitz": … We had “Damned” out. Which is unique for a new song I think. But I do think this record’s gonna have impact. Where it stands, it’s really hard to say because there’s so many different chapters of Overkill. I don’t like to lessen or demean any of them. There’s that first chapter which goes through “The Years of Decay” and the second chapter, which goes all the way up until the first live record. And now we’re somewhere in the third chapter of this band. I think for the third chapter of this band, that this record is probably gonna have the most value. But I do feel that there’s highlights in the past that equal if not, surpass. Dawn/The MetalWeb!: … All the stuff was good. This album has quite a buzz. I talk to people in the industry all the time and you guys have a buzz going, trust me. Bobby "Blitz": … We’re feeling that. I suppose if you’re in the industry for twenty years there’s a certain amount of respect that goes with that. I’m doing interviews for “Bloodletting” 2 1/2 years ago and some people will say, “hey, it’s great to talk to you. It’s a great record” and we just kind of move on. But I’m feeling that people really want to talk about this record. There’s something that, for some reason gives them the opportunity to feel like they’ve been there again, but still feel like it’s fresh. That’s where I think the value in “Killbox” is. It’s a multi dimensional record that just screams “Overkill”. So, if that’s what you’re looking for, that’s what’s on this. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Obviously, the bands main preference is Metal. But what other styles of music are you into? I never asked you that. Do you like Blues or anything? Bobby "Blitz": … Let me look at my CD player here. There’s The Who in there. I’m a big Stones freak. I love ‘em. I don’t know if I love them. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Do you? Bobby "Blitz": … It’s kind of like watching a car wreck for me. I have this morbid curiosity. I’m always kind of waiting for Keith to fall over. (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Yeah, he looks bad lately. (laughs) It makes you feel better don’t it? (laughs) Well, we’re not as old as him. Bobby "Blitz": … (laughs) Stand next to him, I look like a young pup! (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … There you go! We’ll have to invite him over! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … But I do like a lot of the old rock-n-roll stuff. I’ve always been kind of a George Thorogood fan. When it comes to the “out there” stuff, I’ve always liked Jethro Tull. And the farthest departure from Metal is, I’m a pretty avid Harry Connick Jr. fan. I have a little Frank Sinatra. I got a ton of Elvis around here in case I like to dress up like the King! Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Cool! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … And stand on the coffee table and give my wife the farewell performance from Hono-lulu! (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: ...You're too much! (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: With this album people will hear all the things they’d expect to hear vocally and more. There’s an interesting combination between older and newer vocal styles that you are using. How did you decide which ones work best? By the way the vocals were outstanding. Bobby "Blitz": … Well this was a go for it for me. I had an incident last year where I was kind of knocked down by a personal event that happened. I’ve been knocked down before. It’s not really a big issue to me to be knocked down because it’s just about getting up again. Knocked down isn’t important. Important is getting up after you’ve been knocked down. It’s really simple. I did some pre-production with these guys since I had that stroke. But there was no live show’s and there was no full-blown, all out singing. The last time I did that, the fucking room went black. I said, “jeez, what the hells gonna happen here”? I’m standing in the room with Colin and we’re cracking a few jokes and he goes, “well, how you feeling”? I said, “let me just lay this out on the table. This is really the first time since that happened to me”. He goes, “I figured that. What do you want to do”? I said, “well, I guess we’re gonna go for it”. The point is that I went for it and I probably over did it. Not physically, vocally! (laughs) I was doing “Damned”. I was screaming at the top of my lungs and he finishes it, he takes this break and he’s thinking. And I’m thinking, “what could this guy be thinking”? I said, “well, spit it out”! He goes, “it was fucking fantastic! I don’t think you have a god-damn thing to worry about”. So the point is, is that probably I ran with the ball once I had that. There’s a lot of high ended “older school” me on this record than there has been. They’re just about as clear as they’ve ever been. There’s aggressive and it’s top endy and raspy as they’ve ever been. I just kind of ran with it vocally. What happened, happened. There wasn’t a huge amount of forethought that went into, what am I gonna do when it comes to this song. We’re just gonna put it on ten and go. Now naturally I worked out a lot of the other stuff like in “The Sound of Dying”, the lower voices that were gonna be in there in the center section or the tone of the voice. All that was worked out in pre-production and when I was writing the songs in my own little studio here. But when it came to the “balls out” shit, it was just, he said, ”you ready”? I said, yeah and then the next thing we knew the song was done. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … It’s like where did it come from? (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": … It was cool to kind of re-find it. Not that it was gonna stop me from doing the record, but I wasn’t sure if it was there. So, it was great find and a great positive achievement for me. Especially on day one doing that. When I’m standing behind the mike on my day one, to realize that this is not gonna be hard. This is gonna be just the way it always was. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … It sounded great! Bobby "Blitz": … Yeah, it was cool. It was cool to do. Appreciate it. Dawn/The Metal Web!: Dave and Derek laid some great guitar tracks for Killbox 13. What do you feel they bring to the table as guitarists that differ from past members? Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Uh, oh! (laughs) Dum de dum dum! Bobby "Blitz": … Mm, hmm! (laughs) There’s been so many! Ok, were gonna name names here. Every line-up in Overkill as far as guitar players have had their strong and weak points. And I truly believe that. I think “Cannevino” and “Gant” were excellent live guys! I think “Bobby Gustafson” didn’t have the chops for instance that Dave has when it comes to interpreting a lead or diversity. I think “Marino” and “Comeau” were really, really solid rhythm players and that was probably the most rhythmic chapter of Overkill when they were in there. And these are really, really strong points. But let’s say, through “Marino” and “Comeau” the lead kind of went away for us. So, when it came down to Derek and Dave laying tracks, we already knew that these guys were both animals live. It wasn’t an issue. Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Right, their not just studio players. They pull it off! Bobby "Blitz": … Exactly! They can play. If you can play in the studio but unless you can play it live means you can’t play. That’s my opinion anyway. Dave’s worked with us in the past but this was the first time that Dave had the opportunity to work for a long period on stuff. Derek’s first record. When they got together the proof is in the pudding. It’s tight as a bug’s ass and that’s based on those guys locking up together. So, it worked out really, really well and I think it’s probably the strongest point I’ve seen them to this date, was their studio work. And that’s to take nothing away from them live. And I don’t want to say, “Oh, this is the best one we’ve ever had”! The guys we’ve had have contributed great things to this band. But I do believe that these guys are the full package when it comes to the studio/stage. Dawn/The MetalWeb!: What about drummers? That’s not even on my list! That just popped out of my head! See that! (laughs) Bobby "Blitz": ... What about drummers? Dawn/The Metal Web!: … Tim I think is the best that you’ve had. That’s in my opinion. Bobby "Blitz": … Tim is the most solid that we’ve ever had. There’s no two ways about that. Sid Falck was quite a unique drummer, quite innovative. Overkill’s meat and potatoes. Overkill’s in a whole bunch of spices and all sorts of other stuff. We are what we are. We’re big, thick, solid chunk of grade A beef. (laughs) Dawn/The Metal Web!: … (laughs) Ok! Bobby "Blitz": … (laughs) This is the way I perceive it anyway. Tim’s style and what his diversity is are ideal for what Overkill is. Sid was a great drummer! Could never take that away from Sid. But I think Tim fits let’s say, the job better when it comes to what were trying to accomplish with the music. INTERVIEW CONTINUED... HOME |
| w/BOBBY "BLITZ" |
| DAWN & BOBBY HAD A BLAST AS YOU'LL SEE FROM THE ENCLOSED. THEY'VE ALWAYS HAD A RAPPORT THAT MAKES FOR GREAT CHEMISTRY WHEN THEY GET TOGETHER. BUT BEYOND THE LAUGHS, THERE'S INFORMATIVE INFO ON OVERKILL SO BE SURE TO READ IT ALL! |
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