Screaming Ferret Wreckords

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Overkill vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth steps out of the his realm as front man for Overkill, to unveil a new side that has quite the buzz stirring in the music industry The Cursed also features former Hades guitarist Dan Lorenzo, former Non Fiction drummer Mike Cristi, and former Non Fiction and Murder 1 bassist Job The Raver. The Cursed is not quite heavy metal, but instead deeply rooted in the Aerosmith, AC/DC vein. The Cursed upcoming release is slated for June 26th on Screaming Ferret Wreckords.

The vision of The Cursed came together in 2005, as guitarist Dan Lorenzo explains; "I've known Blitz for a long time. In 1993 he took my old band Non-Fiction out on tour in America and Europe. I hit it off with him and DD Verni more than the other guys. Savatage were on that tour too in Europe. Great guys. Blitz, DD and myself bonded over The Knicks. DD is a sarcastic prick like I am! Blitz is a fucking stand up comedian. A true character. He probably thinks I'm a bit quirky, but we get along great on a personal level. Plus him and Peter from Pigmy Love Circus were the only two people over thirty who understood my first solo CD. I had Bobby sing a couple lines on my 2nd solo CD, Nice Being Alone. Then I started to bother him, 'Let's do a project together... we'll call it Blitz'. He said we should do a "band" project, not a Blitz solo project. He came to my home in December of 2005. We sat in my loft and he was blown away."

The eleven tracks on the CD feature a rhythmic, heavy groove inspired by Ellsworth's evil, down and dirty vocal style. "Room Full Of Sinners" has that dirty bad boy vibe and crunchy guitar riffs, that would have made this release a perfect debut in 1989. "Bobby takes his thrash vocal style to a new level, that is kind of reminiscent of Aerosmith's Steven Tyler.

Opening track "Sweeter" sets the vibe for the entire CD, as Bobby "Blitz" sets his quest for breaking the record of his career for singing lyrics about women. As he screams, "Sweet, sweet, sweeter than your mother is coming down on ya, do you like it like that?", the stage is set for this interesting sound adventure.

Bobby enthuses, "For the first time in my life, I was able to write lyrics about the softer sex. I don't think I have written a song about a woman in Overkill. I found out The Cursed have written eight songs on my perspective on the way I feel in different ways and what I have witnessed. So it really becomes in all senses, fresh material for me. The lyrical content, the subject matter, the approach to the singing, the type of songs that I am singing, too are much more melodic and just a hell of a lot of fun. It still has that dirty, don't play it for your mother kind of feel, behind the presentation of the record. The Cursed has been a lot of fun for me."

Next up the song that song that was chosen for airplay is, "Evil, in the Bag." This song has a definite 80's style with a guitar groove that resembles the early Faster Pussycat, Dangerous Toys days. It is probably the most radio friendly track, on the release with Bobby singing in true Steven Tyler style.

The Overkill singer experiments quite a bit with his different vocal styles that also remind me a lot of Bon Scott on tracks "Best Of The Worst", and Bruce Dickinson on "One Time".

One of the interesting surprises on Room Full Of Sinners is the track, "Serpentine Slither". The song takes you back to the swing era featuring Bobby "Blitz" crooning like Sinatra and is also kind of a Spinal Tap parody, reminiscent of Overkill’s," Old School" song. Bring on the dancing girls and tuxedos, and start pouring the drinks, as the infectious bass groove and Bobby crooning like Frank Sinatra heavily dominates this song. Well, Bobby is from Jersey, so you just knew that his impression of Sinatra had to be revealed at one point in his career. Then just when you thought you were back in the swing era, "Blitz" steps into his Overkill thrash persona, as the band whips into their heavy guitar vibe.

Room Full Of Sinners ends with, "Generate Her". The track features a blues riff intro, as Bobby whispers, "I have you down on my side, I have you licking my pride".

The Cursed recently performed their first and last show at The Highline Ballroom on May 20. I really hope the band decides to change their mind, and do a summer tour. The interest that has been surrounding this release has been very exciting. In the past Bobby has stated that Overkill is his number one priority. As Overkill is currently in the studio working on their upcoming release and Fall Tour. But I really feel that The Cursed should look into at least doing a few more shows upon the release of Room Full Of Sinners. They might be onto something here. It would be silly to put not his work into a project and not explore a possible short run of dates.

For more info on The Cursed check out www.the-cursed.net.

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