New Jersey thrashers, Overkill, recently released their 18th studio album, The Grinding Wheel, via Nuclear Blast Records. Frontman Bobby "Blitz” Ellsworth recently spoke with Metal Assault about the record and all things Overkill.

Bobby: "I think in the Overkill school, saying that you don’t give a shit really frees you up. When somebody says, 'You realize that’s seven-and-a-half minutes?' I don’t give a shit, it sounds right (laughs). I think that works, because if it’s right, it’s right. There’s a great feeling when we’re doing a record that we have nothing to lose. That’s what makes it dangerous and gives it a sense of reality that encompasses the whole project. So, going in there and thinking with regards to time and length only takes that sense away from you. What we were doing was writing good songs and trying to separate them based on the emotions we felt while doing so. When there was a punky feeling, we pushed it onto a song like ‘Goddamn Trouble’. When there was a heavy groove coming, we pushed it. When it was straight-out thrash, we wrote ‘Our Finest Hour’. ‘The Grinding Wheel’ (the title song) is where we pushed the epic vibe. So, there was separation between all the songs, and then a larger separation. Now at the end of the day, stamping the Overkill brand on it, we made something that has diversity."

Metal Assault: And the fact that you’ve been able to put out an album every two years also must free you up and put less pressure on you, because it’s not like you’re putting out an album for the first time in 7-8 years where everything depends on it, and what if people don’t like it, and that kind of thing.

Bobby: "Yeah, this works for us. This is what gives us visibility. We’re not on everyone’s lips until we’re touring, or we’re on a festival, or we’re releasing a record. We understand that. There’s never been an identity crisis here with regard to what our popularity is, or who we are. So, I think when we work on our schedule, it’s better when we’re working than when we’re not. It keeps our visibility up, and at the same time keeps us on a schedule where we can actually do something to improve ourselves, even 18 records down the road."

Read the complete interview here.

Various formats of The Grinding Wheel can be ordered here. The album is also available digitally on either iTunes or Amazon (widget below).

Overkill’s 2017 North American trek with Egyptian themed technical death metal champions and labelmates, Nile (pictured below) kicked-off on February 14th at The Trocadero in Philadelphia.

Joining Overkill and Nile for select shows are melancholic progressive metallers Amorphils and melodic doom/death merchants Swallow The Sun.

Tour dates:

February
25 - City National Grove - Anaheim, CA
26 - Club Red - Tempe, AZ
27 - Sunshine Theater - Albuquerque, NM
28 - Trees - Dallas, TX

March
1 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX
2 - Alamo City Music Hall - San Antonio, TX
3 - Southport Music Hall - New Orleans, LA
4 - The Ritz Ybor - Ybor City, FL
5 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA
6 - The Fillmore - Charlotte, NC  **
7 - The NorVa - Norfolk, VA **
8 - Howard Theatre - Washington, DC **
9 - Upstate Concert Hall - Clifton Park, NY **
10 - Palladium - Worcester, MA
11 - Starland Ballroom - Sayerville, NJ **

** with Amorphis, Swallow The Sun