Two great interviews are posted at Metal Asylum. One with Blackie Lawless from W.A.S.P. http://www.metalasylum.net/interviews/2010/i1001.php and Bobby Blitz from Overkill http://www.metalasylum.net/interviews/2010/i1002.php .
Enjoy.
here are a couple excerpts:
Overkill frontman Bobby Blitz spoke to Metal Asylum in New Jersey about the bands latest album Ironbound, longevity, plans for the tour and anniversary shows, and remastering their back catalogue.
1. In Overkills 25 years of making music the band never stopped making thrash metal, but "Ironbound" is your thrashiest release since say "Horrorscope" and "W.F.O.". Did you try to achieve what has happened on "Ironbound" on previous albums or would you say its a happenstance?
BOBBY: I would say its a happenstance but I think there is reasons. This is the first time in a long time we did a lot of touring, we did two European legs, one at the beginning of the "Immortalis" tour with a band called Mortal Sin, and we did one with Exodus. The American runs were with Warbringer and Epitherion, so it was kind of a thrash year for us concerning "Immortalis". So when you come off the road with Exodus your cut from the same cloth, same era, friendly but still competitive with each other, hahaha, you know, and you take that vibe in when you start assembling the record. Thats where that happenstance becomes, the X factor, because thats what we have done all that time prior, being around all that thrash music, and you cant help not be influenced by it when your recording an album.
2. Do you think "Killbox 13", "Relix IV", and "Immortalis" had to be made in order to get back even more to your roots on Ironbound?
BOBBY: Im a firm believer in that, that every step you make is necessary to get to your successes and I do think that those records have their successes but are not as cohesive as "Ironbound". "Killbox" to me is really a valuable part of real estate for Overkill, theres a lot of cohesion in it but not a real blend of all the elements that make up Overkill where "Ironbound" is from start to finish, with all its dynamics, it really is a hard hitter. "Killbox" maybe just wasnt as hard of a hitter. "Ironbound" is just up their flailing away. I think the unique qualities that give "Ironbound" its dynamics is Daves (Linsk) work, the guitar work is really out front and I think he is one of the best guitar players Overkill has had, in the top three. The guitar lines are a fabric through the whole album, its that feel that you cant really put your finger on and almost has a progressive feel at times. Everything from this surf rock n roll stuff to this intense orchestrated stuff, so if we are banging it up with these unusual arrangements but still thrashin up and this guitar line that weaves through the whole thing it becomes that extra dynamic that ties it all together.
3. Well now that you mention it, speaking of a progressive feel, when I first listened to Ironbound I immediately heard the albums "Under The Influences" because of its weird time/tempo changes, and "Years of Decay". Do you hear that as well?
BOBBY: Sure, I hear it. I suppose since thats part of our makeup its always possible to revisit that period without compromising your integrity, it gives you license to Im not going to say re use, but re invent, because even though this record has that feel which is a great thing, its not those records. And it doesnt have those formulas on it. So reinvention is the key word here really. Its necessary not to rehash things because then it becomes "what once was", you know. I think this record is different and Overkill in 2010 while still captures those moments from the earlier albums.
8. You have the 25th anniversary of the band this year. What type of setlist do you prepare for the live show and will it include any surprises?
BOBBY: You know I think a big part of our survival has been understanding opportunity and understanding the day. And not necessarily resting on laurels, Ive never considered us to have laurels and maybe thats probably a good way to look at it because you then compete in the day and I think competing in the day is more important than what we plan for an anniversary show. Now when we go on the U.S. tour in April, we are not planning a "Feel The Fire" event its gonna be an "Ironbound" event. But obviously later in the year we are gonna do a few one off events where we will celebrate our existence, and thats a testimony to those who bleed green and black (Overkills colors), but I think why people like this band, why I like this band, is because we really squeeze the day, and thats a hell of a lot more important than what we did yesterday, you know.
Interview with Blackie:
1. Are all the songs on "Babylon" about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?
BLACKIE: Well only a couple, it was a nice starting point. Im always looking for something thats gonna get people thinking. You try not to make fast food for the ears, you try and get people to think about their lives a bit. Babylons Burning and Thunder Red are about the Horsemen, the original plan was to do a song about each horse but after I got through the first two you dont want to beat (haha) a dead horse, I just felt like I said everything I wanted to say in those two songs, you know. We were gonna do four different covers, with four different colors, and after I looked at it lyrically I didnt think I could say anymore than what I said already. After that I just did what I thought was socially observant about things I know about. One of the things I talk about a couple times on this record, was what fame does to the performer and the audience.
2. You talked about fame too in "The Crimson Idol", right?
BLACKIE: Yeeaahh but I think really after all these years "Crimson Idol" was about a kid who was a musician and gets famous and all this stuff and he finds out fame really isnt what he is looking for, but really "Crimson Idol" is about love. Its a real simple story and at the time when I did it I thought it was more complex than it was. But looking back on it you can see what it really boils down to, and Im not diminishing the value of the album because it is real powerful, part of the reason it worked is because its something everyone can relate to. Especially that whole idea of not getting what you want from your parents, or being loved in general, thats what struck a nerve in people. And at the time I was almost writing it as a footnote, but when I look back it was much bigger in the story than I gave it credit for.
14. Is there a W.A.S.P. album you would like to go back to and change something about it? How about "Still Not Black Enough", would you say thats like an overlooked album?
BLACKIE: I think every artist would tell you that about almost everything they ever did. But I think for the most part you have to see every album as chapters to a book, they are all one piece of work.
We actually rehearsed the song Still Not Black Enough for this tour and there was a pretty cool video too but if you see the pacing of this show you will see that song didnt fit. Scared To Death is a song I always wanted to play but to pull it off live you really need those female background vocals. Do I think that album "Still Not Black Enough" is overlooked?...yeah because it came out in the shadow of "Crimson Idol" and I knew nothing at the time was going to succeed. I knew nothing Im going to do that is going to rival what I just did, plus the whole grunge thing was really coming alive, it was a no win situation. Looking back I think a lot of people will tell you it is a far better record than whatever attention it had not gotten. But then again, anyone who has had a long career will tell you they have one of those records somewhere.
Enjoy.
here are a couple excerpts:
Overkill frontman Bobby Blitz spoke to Metal Asylum in New Jersey about the bands latest album Ironbound, longevity, plans for the tour and anniversary shows, and remastering their back catalogue.
1. In Overkills 25 years of making music the band never stopped making thrash metal, but "Ironbound" is your thrashiest release since say "Horrorscope" and "W.F.O.". Did you try to achieve what has happened on "Ironbound" on previous albums or would you say its a happenstance?
BOBBY: I would say its a happenstance but I think there is reasons. This is the first time in a long time we did a lot of touring, we did two European legs, one at the beginning of the "Immortalis" tour with a band called Mortal Sin, and we did one with Exodus. The American runs were with Warbringer and Epitherion, so it was kind of a thrash year for us concerning "Immortalis". So when you come off the road with Exodus your cut from the same cloth, same era, friendly but still competitive with each other, hahaha, you know, and you take that vibe in when you start assembling the record. Thats where that happenstance becomes, the X factor, because thats what we have done all that time prior, being around all that thrash music, and you cant help not be influenced by it when your recording an album.
2. Do you think "Killbox 13", "Relix IV", and "Immortalis" had to be made in order to get back even more to your roots on Ironbound?
BOBBY: Im a firm believer in that, that every step you make is necessary to get to your successes and I do think that those records have their successes but are not as cohesive as "Ironbound". "Killbox" to me is really a valuable part of real estate for Overkill, theres a lot of cohesion in it but not a real blend of all the elements that make up Overkill where "Ironbound" is from start to finish, with all its dynamics, it really is a hard hitter. "Killbox" maybe just wasnt as hard of a hitter. "Ironbound" is just up their flailing away. I think the unique qualities that give "Ironbound" its dynamics is Daves (Linsk) work, the guitar work is really out front and I think he is one of the best guitar players Overkill has had, in the top three. The guitar lines are a fabric through the whole album, its that feel that you cant really put your finger on and almost has a progressive feel at times. Everything from this surf rock n roll stuff to this intense orchestrated stuff, so if we are banging it up with these unusual arrangements but still thrashin up and this guitar line that weaves through the whole thing it becomes that extra dynamic that ties it all together.
3. Well now that you mention it, speaking of a progressive feel, when I first listened to Ironbound I immediately heard the albums "Under The Influences" because of its weird time/tempo changes, and "Years of Decay". Do you hear that as well?
BOBBY: Sure, I hear it. I suppose since thats part of our makeup its always possible to revisit that period without compromising your integrity, it gives you license to Im not going to say re use, but re invent, because even though this record has that feel which is a great thing, its not those records. And it doesnt have those formulas on it. So reinvention is the key word here really. Its necessary not to rehash things because then it becomes "what once was", you know. I think this record is different and Overkill in 2010 while still captures those moments from the earlier albums.
8. You have the 25th anniversary of the band this year. What type of setlist do you prepare for the live show and will it include any surprises?
BOBBY: You know I think a big part of our survival has been understanding opportunity and understanding the day. And not necessarily resting on laurels, Ive never considered us to have laurels and maybe thats probably a good way to look at it because you then compete in the day and I think competing in the day is more important than what we plan for an anniversary show. Now when we go on the U.S. tour in April, we are not planning a "Feel The Fire" event its gonna be an "Ironbound" event. But obviously later in the year we are gonna do a few one off events where we will celebrate our existence, and thats a testimony to those who bleed green and black (Overkills colors), but I think why people like this band, why I like this band, is because we really squeeze the day, and thats a hell of a lot more important than what we did yesterday, you know.
Interview with Blackie:
1. Are all the songs on "Babylon" about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?
BLACKIE: Well only a couple, it was a nice starting point. Im always looking for something thats gonna get people thinking. You try not to make fast food for the ears, you try and get people to think about their lives a bit. Babylons Burning and Thunder Red are about the Horsemen, the original plan was to do a song about each horse but after I got through the first two you dont want to beat (haha) a dead horse, I just felt like I said everything I wanted to say in those two songs, you know. We were gonna do four different covers, with four different colors, and after I looked at it lyrically I didnt think I could say anymore than what I said already. After that I just did what I thought was socially observant about things I know about. One of the things I talk about a couple times on this record, was what fame does to the performer and the audience.
2. You talked about fame too in "The Crimson Idol", right?
BLACKIE: Yeeaahh but I think really after all these years "Crimson Idol" was about a kid who was a musician and gets famous and all this stuff and he finds out fame really isnt what he is looking for, but really "Crimson Idol" is about love. Its a real simple story and at the time when I did it I thought it was more complex than it was. But looking back on it you can see what it really boils down to, and Im not diminishing the value of the album because it is real powerful, part of the reason it worked is because its something everyone can relate to. Especially that whole idea of not getting what you want from your parents, or being loved in general, thats what struck a nerve in people. And at the time I was almost writing it as a footnote, but when I look back it was much bigger in the story than I gave it credit for.
14. Is there a W.A.S.P. album you would like to go back to and change something about it? How about "Still Not Black Enough", would you say thats like an overlooked album?
BLACKIE: I think every artist would tell you that about almost everything they ever did. But I think for the most part you have to see every album as chapters to a book, they are all one piece of work.
We actually rehearsed the song Still Not Black Enough for this tour and there was a pretty cool video too but if you see the pacing of this show you will see that song didnt fit. Scared To Death is a song I always wanted to play but to pull it off live you really need those female background vocals. Do I think that album "Still Not Black Enough" is overlooked?...yeah because it came out in the shadow of "Crimson Idol" and I knew nothing at the time was going to succeed. I knew nothing Im going to do that is going to rival what I just did, plus the whole grunge thing was really coming alive, it was a no win situation. Looking back I think a lot of people will tell you it is a far better record than whatever attention it had not gotten. But then again, anyone who has had a long career will tell you they have one of those records somewhere.
