New Jersey thrash metal veterans OVERKILL have released the first trailer for their upcoming 19th studio album, "The Wings Of War", which will arrive on February 22 via Nuclear Blast. In the second episode of the multi-part documentary series titled "Welcome To The Garden State", the OVERKILL members detail their early influences and how it has helped shape the genre and their sound. "The Wings Of War" was recorded at Gear Recording Studio in New Jersey, SKH Studio in Florida and Jrod Productions with engineering handled by bassist D.D. Verni and guitarist Dave Linsk. The album was produced by the band while Chris "Zeuss" Harris took care of the mixing and mastering. Travis Smith (NEVERMORE, OPETH, SOILWORK, DEATH) was again enlisted to create the artwork for the album. "The Wings Of War" marks OVERKILL's recording debut with drummer Jason Bittner (SHADOWS FALL, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM), who joined the band in 2017. "The Wings Of War" track listing: 01. Last Man Standing 02. Believe In The Fight 03. Head Of A Pin 04. Bat Shit Crazy 05. Distortion 06. A Mother's Prayer 07. Welcome To The Garden State 08. Where Few Dare To Walk 09. Out On The Road-Kill 10. Hole In My Soul Ellsworth said: "It was a blast making 'The Wings Of War'! It is something old feeling new again, as our chemistry was altered by the addition of Jason Bittner. I was curious from the get-go, how would it pan out? I think what we accomplished here is a new, upgraded OVERKILL that embraced the new chemistry, while taking our roots into the present. The new formula produced not only more raw power, but more places to go with melody, a win, win. The key is being not only interested in the change, but part of it. I'll tell you what, it's still fun as hell making OVERKILL records." Earlier this year, Ellsworth told Brian Aberback of Patch.com about the musical direction of OVERKILL's new material: "What I notice about it is that there are parts of it that delve into really classic heavy metal that are spawned off the riff. There's kind of a brutal metal riff and then there's a heavy metal riff. The brutal riff being more in the modern sense of OVERKILL but the classic riff goes back into the feel of 'Feel The Fire', 'Taking Over', 'The Years Of Decay' kind of influence. "I think what we're doing is staying with that classic riff but adding the brutality after," he continued. "So it has the vibe of classic heavy metal with that spawned aggression off of it. Obviously, we're not going to be progressive or off the tracks with where we're going. It's OVERKILL. But the internal end of that is really exciting because we notice every little different nuance in it." Asked what Jason has brought to the band, Ellsworth said: "He's put a lot of work into the album and his excitement has spread to all of us. He's the first person in this band who's deeply, technically trained. That's one of the most exciting things about this project. This guy is pretty close to a virtuoso when hitting the skins." OVERKILL is: Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth - Vocals D.D. Verni - Bass Dave Linsk - Lead Guitar Derek Tailer - Rhythm Guitar Jason Bittner - Drums
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