OVERKILL frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth is featured in a new interview with MetalAsylum.net. An excerpt is available below.

Q: Would you say the Ironbound album and tour have been your most successful in recent years?

Bobby: "Yeah I would say so, I think Ironbound was accepted on a high level. I think you and I talked when it first came out and now I’m a lot more comfortable with the record now and we added a few songs to the live setlist. Plus it's just really a healthy scene now for thrash metal because there are these good package tours going around and the bands are releasing strong albums. Like for example we have FORBIDDEN out with us now and their new album Omega Wave is really good. So that’s where I think Ironbound comes into play as being part of the success because of other quality bands and albums."

Q: So when was the last time Overkill had this level of success and attention?

Bobby: "Well, I think the scene is healthier now, it’s hard to say. Around the time of Horrorscope and the pre-grunge era it was different and we had a lot of success and there was more attention to thrash bands because many were on major labels, ourselves, METALLICA (who obviously were the biggest), MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, SLAYER...but in the 90s the scene kinda went back underground. It never went away and we always made records regardless of what was happening around us, and there were some great albums over that period of time but they didn’t have the notoriety because of 'popularity.' But there is something to say about the underground because there is a purity that comes with it, and even now even with the attention the bands are getting on a larger scale it’s still underground which is very nurturing."

Q: Has it been a plus to be part of a thrash package for the "Ironbound" tour?

Bobby: "Yeah, this is our third one and it’s the only way to fly as far as I’m concerned. You have to give people value for their money. We toured with EXODUS, HEATHEN and DESTRUCTION is coming up in Europe, you offer the fans the bloodbath, hahahaha, and that’s the idea. Plus, we are all cut from the same cloth and my feeling is it raises the level of competition, maybe because I’m a Jersey guy and there’s the attitude you wanna win, but it’s just great to have another good band on the road because it brings my game up. I think it’s a great thing to keep up because if you offer it to people, and then take it away its wrong (laughs)."

Click here for the complete interview.

An Overkill/Forbidden photo gallery courtesy of Rich Catino from Metalasylum.net can be found here.

Check out fan-filmed footage below: