More bands announced for the Brazilian Summer Breeze Festival 2024. This time we have the thrash masters OVERKILL, along with power metal classic band GAMMA RAY, and newer bands like BLACK STONE CHERRY and NESTOR.
OVERKILL
Promoting “Scorched” (2023), the 20th studio album of their career, Overkill, currently formed by Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth (vocals), Dave Linsk and Derek “The Skull” Tailer (guitars), D.D. Verni (bass) and Jason Bittner (drums) embody the essence of thrash metal. Taking their name from the title of a classic Motörhead album, Overkill have become one of the most iconic and enduring bands on the scene.
The story dates back to the early 1980s, when Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth (vocals), Robert Pisarek (guitar), D.D. Verni (bass) and Rat Skates (drums) came together in New Jersey. With this lineup, the debut “Feel the Fire” (1985) was released. “We were big fans of Motörhead, Venom, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, and Overkill came from mixing these elements with punk”, recalled bassist D.D. Verni to Roadie Crew magazine.
With Blitz leading the charge with his distinctive, shrill vocals, Udo Dirkschneider (ex-Accept) and Brian Johnson (AC/DC), and D.D. Verni masterfully commanding the well-tuned bass, the band quickly gained a reputation and the fan base increased with “Taking Over” (1987) and “Under the Influence” (1988). “We gradually grew, starting to play for a hundred people, then increasing to five hundred and then a thousand, two thousand…”, declared the bassist. “I believe ‘Taking Over’ showed us the way forward,” added Bobby Blitz.
Over the years, the band has gone through several lineup changes, with Blitz and D.D. Verni being the only constant members. However, they continued to release cult albums, such as “The Years of Decay” (1989) and “Horrorscope” (1991). “‘Horroscope’ captured all the musical elements that, until then, the band had to offer. It has our natural aggressiveness, some tempo changes, striking grooves and different moods”, pointed out the vocalist.
In the 1990s, many thrash bands faced challenges, but if Overkill lost its footing a little on the heavy “I Hear Black” (1993), it continued with integrity, experimenting here and there, adding more groove and having a sequence of releases of respect, starting with “W.F.O.” (1994). “The album gave a new energy and we enjoyed doing it because we were coming from one that we hadn't liked so much and so we were full of energy. It’s very aggressive”, analyzed D.D. Verni.
Then came “The Killing Kind” (1996), “From the Underground and Below” (1997), “Necroshine” (1999), “Coverkill” (1999) and “Bloodletting” (2000). “My favorite Overkill album is ‘From The Underground And Below’. I love this record, all the songs. It was the first one alongside Colin Richardson and, from beginning to end, I liked everything! ‘The Killing Kind’, on the other hand, I think is one that everyone forgets. I don’t know what happened to him”, said Verni.
From then on, from “Killbox 13” (2003) to “Scorched” (2023), there were nine more studio albums. “We don’t make an album thinking about whether it will work or not, we make it thinking about doing our best. Overkill's music has a diversity that we have accumulated over the years, from the influences we had when we were kids, such as punk rock, rock'n'roll, traditional metal, New Wave of British Heavy Metal and a lot of groove”, described Bobby “ Blitz.”
With a loyal fan base, the American group is part of the select category of unanimous bands when it comes to live performance. Their shows, which can be considered thrash metal “workshops”, are always energetic. About Brazil, where the group came for the first time in 2001 and will return in 2024 for Summer Breeze Open Air Brasil, the singer concluded: “We always had good times in Brazil! I remember Recife, São Paulo, Porto Alegre, Brasília and more. We always have fun with the public.”
GAMMA RAY
German band Gamma Ray was created in 1989 by legendary guitarist and vocalist Kai Hansen, one of the founders of Helloween, and is known for its significant contribution to power metal, influencing many other bands in the genre.
When he left Helloween, Hansen sought independence from managers and record companies, but soon received the opportunity to create a solo album. The project began with vocalist Ralf Scheepers (currently Primal Fear), a choice they had considered for Helloween in the past. Gradually, with albums such as “Heading For Tomorrow” (1990) and “Sigh No More” (1991), it became a solid band, practicing traditional power metal and heavy, characterized by powerful riffs, melodic vocals and lyrics often related to themes. of science fiction, fantasy and social issues.
With the release of “Land of the Free” (1995), Hansen, who once again took over the vocals, was once again able to feel as significant and impactful as in the Helloween days during the album phase of the “Keepers of the Seven Keys” series. . By the way, the album features Michael Kiske on “Time To Break Free”. The partnership resulted in debates about the feasibility of Kiske joining Gamma Ray, but it quickly became clear that their musical orientations were different and could generate friction, in addition to the intention to preserve artistic integrity, which led to the decision to abandon the proposal. .
Next came the no less revered “Somewhere Out in Space” (1997), “Power Plant” (1999), “No World Order” (2001) and “Majestic” (2005). Then, “Land Of The Free” was revisited and had a sequel in 2007. The inspiration for “Land of the Free II” came during a discussion about the direction of the next album the band was about to write after the “Majestic” tour. ”.
Overall, Gamma Ray's lyrics often explore themes such as outer space, time travel, legends and mythology, as well as social and environmental issues. However, the central theme of both parts of “Land of the Free” is freedom, as the band believes in the possibility of creating an environment where people can experience the feeling of freedom, even if it is for a brief period. This feeling helps in coexistence with society and in the ability to deal with challenges and situations that are difficult to bear.
After “Land of the Free II” came “To the Metal!” (2010) and “Empire of the Undead” (2014). Today formed by Kai Hansen, Frank Beck (vocals), Henjo Richter (guitar and keyboards), Dirk Schlächter (bass) and Michael Ehré (drums), Gamma Ray calls on its dedicated fan base in Brazil to perform at the Summer Breeze Open Air Brasil. Are you ready for classics like “Heaven Can Wait”, “Land Of The Free”, “New World Order”, “Rebellion in Dreamland”, “Armageddon”, “Heading for Tomorrow”, “Send Me A Sign” or even “ Somewhere Out In Space”?
NESTOR
Swedes Tobias Gustavsson (vocals), Jonny Wemmenstedt (guitar), Marcus Âblad (bass), Martin Johansson (keyboard) and Matthias Carlsson (drums) took the name Nestor from Captain Haddock's butler in the comic book The Adventures of Tintin. Although it was created in 1989, when the members were only between 14 and 16 years old, the Falköping band ended its activities early. However, the friendship between childhood friends prevailed and, more than 30 years later, Nestor returned and presented his debut album, “Kids In A Ghost Town”, in 2022.
Songs included in the debut, such as “On the Run”, “Perfect 10”, “Firesign” and the title track, “Kids In A Ghost Town”, have their own personal lyrical context, with a boy with great ambitions who lives in a small country town. “Tomorrow”, for example, was automatically seen by the vocalist as a song that could have a duet, as subconsciously he had posters from the 80s in mind. Today, with more than 275 thousand views on YouTube, the decision to have the renowned English singer Samantha Fox proved to be right.
With inspiration from 80s/90s music, as well as films and magazines, nostalgia is in fashion. The single “1989”, which clearly indicates the phase in which the group focuses its musicality, had 335 thousand views, becoming a huge Swedish hard rock sensation.
“Our mission is to protect the legacy of hard rock and reinvent the iconography of rock”, says the band, which has performed at major festivals in Europe such as the Sweden Rock Festival, the Monsters of Rock Cruise (USA) and today even has a cult following. own festival called Nestorfest, where he shared the stage with Alphaville, Lambretta, Nik Kershaw and Electric Boys. Nestor is ready to infect you with his retro energy on one of the stages at Summer Breeze Open Air Brasil.
BLACK STONE CHERRY
Originally from Edmonton, Kentucky (USA), the band Black Stone Cherry makes a sound inspired by hard, southern rock and typically American classic rock and the Lynyrd Skynyrd style. Chris Robertson (vocals and guitar), Ben Wells (guitar), Steve Jewell Jr. (bass) and John-Fred Young (drums) are currently promoting “Screamin’ at the Sky”, their eighth studio album.
Famous for mixing a pop sound with hard rock, the band has some successful albums, including their eponymous debut, released in 2006. Songs like “Lonely Train” and “Hell & High Water” were immediate hits on radio stations around the world and on digital platforms, and to this day tracks are present in concert setlists. The following albums – “Folklore and Superstition” (2008), “Between the Devil & the Deep Blues Sea” (2011), “Magic Mountain” (2014) and “Kentucky” (2016) – were very well received by critics and fans. “Kentucky,” which the band called “a return to their roots,” reached No. 40 on the Top 200 and No. 1 on the U.S. Hard Rock Albums chart.
The albums “Family Tree” (2018) and “The Human Condition” (2020) continued to enjoy the same success, bringing infectious and very well produced hard rock. Now, with a new album under their belt, Black Stone Cherry wants to show that they are one of the biggest southern rock bands in the world.
“I think we're more like a southern rock band. However, one of my favorite quotes about us goes back to when our first album came out. A journalist somewhere said, 'If Metallica and Lynyrd Skynyrd met in an alley, Black Stone Cherry would be the result.' I've always loved that quote. There are elements of both styles in our music. I think we became more of a southern rock band. The older we get, we just want to smile and play rock’n’roll,” Chris Robertson once told Roadie Crew magazine.
“Screamin’ At The Sky” marks a new phase for Black Stone Cherry, which will certainly bring this new moment to the Summer Breeze Open Air Brasil festival with a setlist full of incredible songs.
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