“You go tell that mother fucker Corey said to come out of the van and sign your stuff!” That was just one of the many quotable quotes I heard while hanging out before the God Forbid/Overkill show a few weeks ago. It was uttered by God Forbid drummer Corey Pierce. To anyone acquainted with Mr. Pierce’s sense of humor, his saying this will likely come as no surprise.
Pairing these bands may seem odd but there can be no doubt, both bands bring with them a great deal of energy and that’s what the faithful came to experience on this night. Overkill has been around forever and has been a large, if largely undervalued part of the thrash movement that propelled bands like Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer to prominence. Overkill has everything those bands have, with the possible exception of a gargantuan publicity machine behind them. Nevertheless, when lead screamer Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth leaps into the air, landing squarely atop his monitor, nearly knocking it off the stage and rips into “Come and Get It” from the band’s killer new release, The Electric Age, there is no question of credibility. And the intensity just keeps rising as the band rages through a number of classics from its extensive catalog.
The energy never dips, which many will attribute to drummer Ron Lipnicki. Relatively young to the band, Lipnicki has brought a certain vitality with him. As a result, the band is performing with more ferocity than ever. Upon meeting Mr. Lipnicki before the show, he exhibited a great deal of enthusiasm and humor. As a fan, I couldn’t ask for more. In fact, the same can be said for all the members of Overkill. For a bunch of guys who have been at it for as long as they have, they seemed genuinely excited about playing the show. This made the payoff of finally seeing them live that much sweeter. Overkill lived up to its reputation and then some!