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Overkill
Overkill are the first thrash band. They were
formed when a previous D.D. Verni/Rat Skates
(real names: Carlos Verni and Lee Kundrat)
project, a punk band called "The Lubricunts",
broke up in 1978. D.D. quickly wanted to form a
new band, so he put out an ad which was answered
by vocalist Bobby Ellsworth. He was also a bass
player at the time, but in the new band he would
concentrate solely on vocals. He brought with him
a guitarist from his old band (a punk/classic
rock cover band), whose name is forgotten. After
rejecting several names, including "Virgin
Killer", this new band finally settled on
"Overkill", naming themselves after a Motorhead
album.
Early covers (especially those done under the
Virgin Killer name in the very very early days)
were punk songs for the most part, including
selections by the Ramones, and The Dead Boys. By
1980, they had recruited two guitarists (names
forgotten over time) and the setlist included
songs by Motorhead ("Overkill", half of the Ace
of Spades album, and others), Judas Priest
("Tyrant" was their closer for a while), and
later Iron Maiden and Riot, as well as a
smattering of punk covers, which were played with
extra distortion, intensity, and concentration on
riffs, thus marking Overkill as the first thrash
band.
In 1981, Dan Spitz (later of Anthrax) left the
band and Rich Conte entered, along with Bobby G.
At this point, they started writing originals,
including "Grave Robbers" (later renamed to
"Raise the Dead"), "Overkill", and "Unleash the
Beast Within". This is the first thrash metal
original, predating James Hetfield and Hugh
Tanner's "Hit the Lights" by several months.
More originals would follow, including "Death
Rider" (1981) and "Rotten to the Core" (1982) -
somewhere around this time Rich left and Bobby
remained the sole guitarist. The band became a
staple at New York and New Jersey clubs around
1982, and D.D. gave Bobby the name "Blitz" due to
his over-the-top lifestyle. (It actually earned
Bobby an ejection from the band for a few days in
1983!) Around this time, the green logo was
adopted - it was specifically chosen to stand out
on a poster with lots of red logos of other bands
on the bill.
The lineup would stay consistent until 1987, when
"Rat" Skates left the band. It is rumoured that
he either became a truck driver, or died in a
bizarre gardening accident. In any case, he was
replaced by Mark Archibole for a few gigs, and
then on a permanent basis Sid Falck, previously
of Paul Di'anno's Battlezone. (Bobby Blitz once
said that the only former member he misses is
co-founder Rat Skates.) Then, in 1990, Bobby G
left and was replaced by Rob Cannavino and
Merritt Gant (Faith or Fear).
This lineup lasted until 1992, when Tim Mallare
came in on drums. Rob and Merritt both left the
band in 1995 (Rob became a motorcycle racer, and
Merritt formed several other bands), being
replaced by Joe Comeau (Liege Lord) and Sebastian
Marino. Joe left in 1999 to become the vocalist
for Annihilator, and the Coverkill album was
recorded with new guitarist Dave Linsk. Sebastian
left to spend more time with family, so Linsk
played all the guitar parts on 2000's
Bloodletting album, and Derek Tailor joined for
the subsequent tour, and was also featured on the
band's latest album, Killbox 13.
Official band website: www.wreckingcrew.com
Reference: www.metal-archives.com - which also has their full discography and lineup history.
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