Overkill at the Capitol Theatre -- November 9.
Saturday, November 9, 8 p.m.
Capitol Theatre, 330 West Third Street, Davenport IA
With the musicians having thus far released 20 studio albums, three live albums, two compilation albums, three EPs, and one box set over the course of more than four decades, the thrash-metal rockers of Overkill headline a November 9 concert at Davenport's Capitol Theatre, Metal Injection describing last year's Scorched as "a violently spiky and virtually flawless cherry on top of a 43-year-long career."
Formed in New Jersey in 1980, Overkill has gone through many lineup changes over the years, leaving bassist D.D. Verni and lead vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth as the only remaining original members. The band's current lineup includes Verni, Ellsworth, Dave Linsk on lead guitar, Derek Tailer on rhythm guitar, and Jeramie Kling as a touring drummer. Along with Nuclear Assault and Anthrax, the latter of whom would feature one-time Overkill lead guitarist Dan Spitz, the band is one of the most successful East Coast thrash metal bands, and they are often called "the Motörhead of thrash metal" based on their unique playing style, which was influenced by punk rock and the new wave of British heavy metal. Overkill has a notable mascot named "Chaly" (a skeletal bat with a skull-like face, horns, bony wings and green eyes) who has appeared on many of their album covers.
Overkill was one of the first thrash metal bands to be signed to a major label (having signed to Atlantic Records in 1986), and rose to popularity as part of the genre's movement of the mid-to-late 1980s, along with the "Big Four" (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax) as well as Exodus and Testament. The outfit achieved its first mainstream success with its second studio album and Atlantic debut, 1987's Taking Over, which peaked at number 191 on the Billboard 200. The band's next five studio albums –1988's Under the Influence, 1989's The Years of Decay, 1991's Horrorscope, 1993's I Hear Black, and 1994's W.F.O. – were also successful on the Billboard charts, with the latter two entering the top 10 on the Top Heatseekers chart.
Following their split from Atlantic in 1995, Overkill went through some label changes, but continued to enjoy underground success, particularly in Europe and Japan. The band experienced a resurgence of popularity in the U.S. during the 2010s, with three of their studio albums released that decade – 2012's The Electric Age, 2014's White Devil Armory, and 2017's The Grinding Wheel – all reaching the top 100 on the charts. To date, Overkill has sold more than 16 million records worldwide, and was also estimated to have sold more than 625,000 records in the U.S. since the beginning of the SoundScan era.
Overkill headlines their Davenport engagement on November 9 with additional sets by Night Demon and Frontal Assault, admission to the 7 p.m. concert starts at $25, and more information and tickets are available by visiting FirstFleetConcerts.com/first-fleet-venues/capitol-theatre.
