Mark Morton at The Examiner recently spoke with OVERKILL frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth about the band's new album, The Electric Age. An excerpt is available below:

Examiner: How do you continue to be excited about a new album release after doing it for so many years? It’s basically become your job, hasn’t it?

Bobby: "I never actually looked at it as a job or a career; I actually perceive it as 'for life.' There was always that feeling, even back when all of this started that it would be a 'for life' kind of thing, and I suppose some of us have taken it to that extreme, myself and DD Verni included. And with new opportunities, especially in a scene that is healthy, committed by both the bands and the fans, there is definitely something special here. This is not a disposable entity, like pop. This is something that, when someone gets involved in it, be it a band or a fan, you get that lifelong feeling, and it’s always there. And it gets reinvigorated at the end of every tour when we make that decision to go back into the studio and begin the cycle again."

Examiner: And I think it speaks to the viability of the artform and the devotion of the fanbase that here in 2012, when people are not really buying as much music as they used to, an Overkill album is still able to crack into the Billboard Top 100.

Bobby: "It is something that has always been said about the scene; that the metalheads have always supported it regardless of the downloading and piracy issues. They are the ones that have kept us alive. And I think when you look at that, you begin to see what the value of this is all about. And I’m not talking about monetary value, I’m talking about the value that it has to people. And that value transcends generations! It’s not unusual for us to see three generations of fans at a show. Obviously, this is not the masses; it is a minority among music fans – but they’re the committed minority! And I think that is why we seem to continue to grow thirty years later."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Overkill have entered the charts with their newest thrash bomb, The Electric Age, in the following positions:

Germany: #34

Switzerland: #62

Austria: #73

Commented singer Bobby Blitz: "Danke, Europa! The Electric Age has arrived! More good spots in the charts, thanks to YOU! See you at the festivals this summer and on tour in October.“

The Electric Age debuted on the Billboard 200 at #73 with approximately 6,700 units sold. To compare, the band's last release Ironbound sold roughly 4,500 copies first week and debuted at #192 making The Electric Ag" the highest charting first week album since their 1994 record W.F.O.

As previously reported, Overkill have released their new video for the single 'Electric Rattlesnake'. Directed by veteran Kevin J. Custer, the video is the first we've seen since the band released the 'Bring Me The Night' video in 2010.

Ellsworth: "Damn, this one BITES hard! Kevin Custer did it again! So plug us in yeah, set us free, this is a thrashing vid the way it’s supposed to be! Here we go kids , 'Electric Rattlesnake'!"

In support of their new album, Overkill will head out on the Electric Age Tour. Supporting will be GOD FORBID, DIAMOND PLATE and SUDIKARA. Dates will stretch coast to coast and run through April and May.

Dates include:

April

20 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero Theater
21 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
22 - Syracuse, NY - Lost Horizon
23 - Columbus, OH - Screamin WIllie's
24 - Detroit, MI - Blondie's
25 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
26 - Kansas City, MO - Beaumont Club
27 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
28 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
30 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon

May

1 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
2 - San Francisco, CA - The Grand Ballroom at the Regency Center
3 - Los Angeles, CA - Club Nokia
5 - Austin, TX - Emo's East
6 - Dallas, TX - Trees
8 - Orlando, FL - The Club at Firestone
9 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room
10 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
11 - West Springfield, VA - Jaxx Nightclub
12 - New York, NY - Best Buy Theater

European Killfest 2012 dates include:

October

4 - Hannover, Germany - Musikzentrum
5 - Osnabrück, Germany - Rosenhof
6 - Den Haag, Netherlands - Paard Van Troje
7 - London, England - O2 Islington Academy
8 - Sheffield, England - Corporation
10 - Milano, Italy - Alcatraz
11 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
12 - Geiselwind, Germany - Musichall
13 - Straubing, Germany - Metal Invasion Festival
14 - Katowice, Poland - Mega Club
15 - Prague, Czech Republic - Meet Factory
16 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage
17 - Karlsruhe, Germany - Substage
18 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix
19 - Andernach, Germany - JUZ
20 - Bochum, Germany - Zeche
21 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle