Despite what others have been blabbering about, the May 1st show in NYC is NOT a 25th Anniversary event. “It’s business as usual,” says curly haired OVERKILL frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth. “It’s a great package and it’s cool that it has been bumped up to the Nokia Theater. We’re taking VADER with us, WARBRINGER, GOD DETHRONED and EVILE. It’s a nice thrash nightmare. That’s what makes it special. OK, it’s 25 years since Feel The Fire (debut), so we’ve had (commemorative show) in mind. That will be the next step for this year. We’re discussing it with the right people to make it correct. It’s not just me and DD (Verni, bass) and that’s where the discussion ends. The discussion has gone beyond that, to others who were involved at that time and they understand we don’t want to tour this. It’s more about celebrating it here, there, capture it live on film and say, ‘OK, that chapter’s closed.’ I’m not going to be around for the second 25 years of Feel The Fire (cackles).”

“We’re booked from February 6th through the festivals, based on the strength of Ironbound. In the follow-up runs in the US and Europe, let’s celebrate the fact we’ve been around this about of time. Every time I go back to what was, versus what is, what is is always more important to me. It’s great that what was makes what is, but the reality is, Ironbound is more important. Feel The Fire was a great start, don’t get me wrong, and we’ve carried a certain amount of weight for that time. If I had mindset that that was all it’s about in 2010, there really is no Ironbound then, only a rehash of Feel The Fire and say, ‘We’re re-discovering our roots.’ To me, that would be admitting defeat. To me, this says, ‘The fire still burns, the flag still waves. Regardless of how many bullet holes are in that flag, it still waves!”

Undoubtedly, when he began, Ellsworth had no idea he’d still be fronting OverKill in 2010. Yet as the physical demands increase with age and the industry changes (making it more difficult for artists to thrive, financially), does he and/or DD ever look down the road, contemplating the termination of the band, maybe moving behind the scenes (both have produced, a guaranteed income)?

“We have to take what’s on the front burner first, and that’s Ironbound, for us. We don’t look at it as a ‘comeback,’ because we were always here, while others weren’t. This is just a continuation of career. On a physical level, the attitude I take offstage, in my personal life, is very similar to onstage. It’s high energy, the engines and after burners are going all the time. I just kick it into a higher level when it comes to the stage. This is an adrenaline drug for me, the drug that prevents you from doing drugs. There is no higher high. Throughout a 25-year history of performing live, I feel I’ve never ripped anyone off for a ticket price (by phoning it in), ever. Like us or hate us, we always gave the best we could. The physical element (stamina, etc.) never came into it. When it comes to the money pot, you know we’re slippery like fish! We understand there’s other ways to do thing, think outside the box…I was putting flyers on cars in 1984, to say when the next OverKill show was, but now we have people to get involved with MySpace and Facebook, keep the website updated. We turn a blind eye to the (illegal) downloads and realize what it takes to promote ourselves in 2010. I don’t really think in terms of ‘When will this end,’ but moreso the flavour of the day. With the response we’re getting on this record, I’d be a fool to say, ‘In the future, I’ll be doing this,’ when I’d rather just squeeze the shit out of today.”

Given their NJ/NYC locale and status as original bassist/vocalist, some have compared Blitz and Verni to KISS, the Paul and Gene of thrash, if you will. (Even sarcastically inferring that the new ‘Green & Black’ tune is about the band: eager to make the green and loving being in the black, financially). Which one of you is the more stubbornly committed to the end? Will you have to talk him into one last round, or will he be trying to persuade you? “Wow! Somewhere in Jersey there’s a short Italian man smiling right now (cackles). When I think of KISS, I think of the movie Spaceballs, when the little green Yoda character (with Mel Brook’s voice) comes in, ‘It’s all about merchandising! We’ve got the Spaceballs place-mat…’ OverKill’s motivation is different. I’m proud we’ve written our own rules. Could there have been more opportunities, maybe. Could there have been less? Certainly. We’re not a business and we’ve been able to have, not necessarily a career, but a life’s work. There’s stubbornness here, tenacity. We compliment each other, his technological end and recording, with my promotion. It make a complete unit.” He deadpans, “DD and I are working on a live record called No Sleep Til Social Security! In the back of my head, I think what keeps me going is that I’m chasing Lemmy.”

Ironbound is set for a North American release via E1/Koch the first week of February, with a performance video for ‘Bring Me The Night’ (to be shot this weekend, January 9th) out by the start of the tour. “Actually it was E1 who pushed for it. Nuclear Blast put it in the contract: X dollars for video, but E1 have more outlets and on the strength of the record, they said, ‘We’re willing to go two and a half times that money, to make sure it’s right.’ I was really impressed with that.”

(Top two photos courtesy of Hakon Grav)