Interview With Overcharge

ITALIAN ‘FUEL INJECTED METALPUNK MACHINE’ OVERCHARGE have recently unleashed their third studio album ‘Metal Punx’, the long-awaited follow-up to 2016’s highly acclaimed ‘Speedsick’. I took the opportunity to ask Josh (Guitar/Vocals) and Marcio (bass/vocals) a few questions about the scene in Italy past and present, the new album, and how Covid19 has affected their plans.

What were Overcharge's main influences when starting out?
JOSH: In the beginning Overcharge were formed by me on guitars, Panzer on drums and Fabio, the first singer and bassist: it was the ‘Accelerate’ era 2012/2015. We were all coming out from Death/Thrash metal projects but in the meantime the ‘Motörhead fever’ was getting higher and higher in every single lick, approach or lyric, totally spontaneous and viral. While Fabio was a crusty-freak from a long time before, Panzer and I started to know something about squats and anarcho-punk circuit around 2007, when many Heroes of this scene toured through those kind of places in Milano and Varese area. Hence, we dug for the first time into bands like INEPSY, Visions of War or Tragedy in some no longer active squats like Dauntaun, Telos, Bulk or Cavalcavia. I guess, after a lot of years searching for the purest and fastest 80s old school thrash sound, we realized our taste switched into the so called Motörcrust sound. What more to be said? "HATE FASCISM- DRINK HARD- LOVE ROCKNROLL"

Varese has a reputation for being a Right-wing city. How has this affected you as a band? How is the scene there?
JOSH: As soon as we started to be roped in the squat-life, we felt that something different was happening in this monotone middle-class bedroom suburb around us. I’m talking about the Telos Squat in Saronno, for sure the best and most active occupation ever around here. Our involvement was automatic, thinking about the situation and about the plenty of nazi crews or Lega shitlickers which proliferated. Now, after years from that occupation, we have a new collective called ‘Olona Wasteland Punx’ named after the hyper-industrialized valley between Milano and Varese. In the last year, we established our new place that isn't a squat although everything is done autonomously and self-managed.
MARCIO: Our area is renowned for its wealth rate and uncontrolled growth: this translates into lethal dose of concrete, pollution and a stressed population stuffed with indifference, egotism and distorted right-wing doctrine. We are proud to act in some opposite way and day by day, event after event, there’s a huge support within our new collective, as old comrades and new-school freaks are both involving in: even if the path is long and challenging, the first steps are done.

Do you prefer bands with an old school sound, or more modern ones?
MARCIO: good question, considering I am a junkie of lo-fi/primitive/garage/noise!!!! Basically, your approach on gear and settings doesn’t matter to me. Music and art are forms of communication built up with many different elements and choices. The point is clear right on: 18 hours per day improving your skills on a audio workstation don’t make you the best digital-hardcore artist, not any less an amazing and expensive vintage 1970s valve amplifier doesn’t make you a brilliant stoner-psych axeman.

How would you compare the new wave of thrash metal to what was around in the 80s?
JOSH: It’s a bit hard to give an answer. I guess, the 80s thrash metal wave was the original one and people who play in that style in the recent years is obviously in search of an old-school sound as the golden years took through. In my opinion, the winner now is the one who manages to do a blasting thrash record with his personal sound. One of the top releases I’ve lately heard is ‘Nightmare Logic’ from POWER TRIP. WTF, they are winners! Ahaha!
MARCIO: Actually, I like the sound of some new bands totally engaged in this ‘revival’, such as MUNICIPAL WASTE, IRON REAGAN, HAVOK... but nothing more, nothing that makes me pee like an excited dog. For the underground addicted, I suggest our Russian pals TANATOR! Check’em out.

Overcharge has been called both speed metal and metalpunk. How would you define those genres?

MARCIO: Not so different from the original meaning back then, in my opinion. Pioneers like VENOM just released these verses below even after 35 years of honourable career, reaching the target as always: “Dogs of mayhem don't give a damn / Scream aloud fucked up and drunk / We're the long haired punks”. The main difference is that a multitude of bands, styles, proposals and crossovers had come to infest our ears during this long time and, unless you are a strictly-puritan ‘Defender of the Faith’, you have fed your brain with this fast, loud and noisy shit! As in an old Hammer Film, we could give a kidney for a monstrous creature with Philthy Animal’s double-kick patterns, guitar skills by Dr. Know, the wall of sound forged in Sweden in the 90s and ‎Blind Marky Felchtone on the front side! Tag it if you dare!

What do you think attracts fans to Overcharge’s music, and why do they come to your gigs?
JOSH: The power-trio! The “it reminds me on Motörhead” thing, that turns pretty different once you’re a few more seconds into it. The fact we are at the same time raw but powerful, always frenzy and crusty but with good taste and decent songs. The ‘Live-appeal’ is our law, it’s something we really do need.
MARCIO: Sweat, genuineness, attitude, positive vibrations, solid sound. A beer always in one hand and a friend’s arm in the other, yelling together “Louder than words / speed is the law / we're brothers or nothing / wash down some more”.

What was the best experience you've ever had with OVERCHARGE?
MARCIO: First time in Sardinia, all the people were so warm and friendly: we had one full leisure day before the show, joining bars, clubs, anarchist places. Josh was so drunk and, already on stage, several guys from the audience helped him to tune his guitar after 15 minutes of failed attempts. The second time in Russia, we travelled 5 hours squeezed in a city-car with a small dog named Pupetz horny as fuck. After the show, we spent the night on a train together with a troublesome wrestler-sized punk on dope who never, ever stopped yelling things like “This is shit, people are idiots, I hate all this corrupted system”. All night. Rude!
JOSH: And don’t forget the return trip! A guy on mushrooms offered us a lift to the closest station: the car was a Lada Niva without seats: we got in 2 in front, 3 in the back and a friend of his in the trunk. He started a rally, at 4 a.m., crossed twice police with blue-lights-on and drove up a narrow road the wrong-way. Do you really think you are built for speed and danger is your business?
On the other hand, we are lucky that the most of OVERCHARGE concerts have been a blast, thanks to the loyalty and total commitment of organizers, crews and punx.


Which current Italian bands would you recommend?
JOSH: I need to recommend all this brothers of ours: MOTRON, HOBOS, CANCER SPREADING, TERROR FIRMER, STASIS, if you’re looking for some kicks in the teeth! While ZËNE, THE RADSTERS, METHEDRINE, NOWHITERAG are better if you’re into furious RNR parties with compulsive need for stage-diving!

How has Corona and lockdown affected the band?
MARCIO: Like a tsunami, like something that turned all plans upside-down. ‘Metalpunx’ LP was released on 20th March, also known as ‘The Judgement Day’!!!!! We had many things scheduled, such as release-party gigs with Lautstürmer, a couple of tours, festivals and everything tumbled. Of course we are lucky all our relatives and friends are safe as well as our jobs have gone on, but I think you could understand our feelings: a mix of rage, powerload, hopefulness and impending doom! But we never give up.
JOSH: We were neither allowed to meet each other nor practice together since the end of February. But In the last days we arranged an acoustic home-session covering MOTORHEAD’s ‘Whorehouse Blues’: it was just a cool wasting game. The video is available through our social pages, only if you got the blues!

How does your new album compare with 'Accelerate' and 'Speedsick'?
MARCIO: In my opinion, it’s the natural evolution, we got our own background always clear, especially with some more metal and catchy choices which are closer to ‘Accelerate’. I really love the sequence of the tracks, that represents 100% our idea of a live setlist. We entered the studio with all intentions solid and well defined. ‘Metalpunx’ represents Overcharge now and this makes us fully satisfied. About the inspiration in this period, we covered and arranged a plenty of bands a bit far from our routine, like PETER AND THE TEST TUBE BABIES, ZEKE, ROSE TATTOO and JUDAS PRIEST, with the aim to strengthen our songwriting. Never undervalue this aspect!
JOSH: It’s the first album fully composed with the new line-up, from zero. The songs were written and arranged to explode on stage, definitively. I easily remember at least 2 new songs we practiced a lot, we also played once live and then discarded. It was not just a process of ‘making a new album’ but the total effort for carving in stone the OVERCHARGE style, sound and vision.

Any further comments?
MARCIO: Don’t waste any time. Push yourself to learn from both opportunities and bad luck. Things happen randomly, be always prepared for the upcoming thermonuclear pandemonium. Keep some beers cold and Overcharge ready in your audio system.
JOSH: Follow us via Facebook, Bandcamp, Youtube, Instagram or find us directly at the bar. Racists, supremacists, super-machos, clowns, punk-cops and homophobic metaldicks are not welcome.

 

Thanks to Josh and Marcio (Overcharge) and Teo Overload.

COPYRIGHT METAL PUNK INFERNO 2020