# List of Overkill band members

Overkill is an American thrash metal band from Old Bridge Township, New Jersey. Formed in 1980, the group was co-founded by bassist Carlo "D.D." Verni and drummer Lee "Rat Skates" Kundrat, with vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and guitarist Robert "Riff Thunder" Pisarek joining afterwards. The current lineup of Overkill features Verni and Ellsworth alongside lead guitarist Dave Linsk (since 1999) and rhythm guitarist Derek Tailer (since 2001).

## History

Overkill was formed in 1980 by D.D. Verni and Rat Skates, with Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and Robert Pisarek joining afterwards. During 1981, Dan Spitz and Anthony Ammendola took over on guitars. In 1982, Spitz and Ammendola were replaced by Rich Conte and Mike Sherry, before Bobby Gustafson took over as the band's sole guitarist before the end of the year. After the band released its first two albums Feel the Fire and Taking Over, Skates left in December 1987. He was replaced by Robert "Sid" Falck, formerly of Paul Di'Anno's Battlezone. The new lineup issued Under the Influence in 1988 and The Years of Decay in 1989, before Gustafson parted ways after an argument with Verni regarding an upcoming show he wanted to play. To replace the guitarist, Overkill returned to a five-piece lineup with the additions of Rob Cannavino and Merritt Gant.
During the promotional tour for Horrorscope in 1992, Falck left the band to pursue other musical styles and was replaced by former M.O.D. drummer Tim Mallare. The new incarnation released I Hear Black, W.F.O. and live album Wrecking Your Neck, before Cannavino and Gant were replaced by Sebastian Marino and Joe Comeau. Marino recorded The Killing Kind, From the Underground and Below and Necroshine, before leaving in March 1999. He was replaced by Dave Linsk, who debuted on the covers album Coverkill. After a European tour in early 2000, Comeau left Overkill to join headliner Annihilator as its new lead vocalist, but returned after the remaining four-piece recorded Bloodletting that summer. By early 2001, Comeau had left again and been replaced on tour by Derek Tailer.
After releasing Wrecking Everything, Killbox 13 and ReliXIV, Overkill changed drummers in May 2005 when Mallare was replaced by Ron Lipnicki. The new lineup remained stable for over ten years, before the band's road crew member Eddy Garcia temporarily replaced Lipnicki on tour from April 2016, after he was "forced to stay home due to undisclosed family issues". By May 2017, Lipnicki had been replaced on a permanent basis by Flotsam and Jetsam drummer Jason Bittner. The new lineup released The Wings of War in 2019. Bittner departed in August 2024 due to scheduling issues. His touring replacement so far, As of November 2024, has been Jeramie Kling (ex-Venom Inc.).

## Members
### Current

| Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
| D.D. Verni | 1980–present | bassbacking vocals | all Overkill releases |
| Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth | 1980–present | lead vocals | all Overkill releases |
| Dave Linsk | 1999–present | lead guitarbacking vocals | all Overkill releases from Coverkill (1999) onwards |
| Derek Tailer | 2001–present | rhythm guitarbacking vocals | all Overkill releases from Wrecking Everything: An Evening in Asbury Park (2002) onwards |

### Former

| Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
| Lee "Rat Skates" Kundrat | 1980–1987 | drums | all Overkill releases from Power in Black (1983) to Fuck You (1987) |
| Robert "Riff Thunder" Pisarek | 1980–1981 | lead and rhythm guitars | none |
| Anthony Ammendola | 1981 | rhythm guitar | none |
| Dan Spitz | 1981 | lead guitar | none |
| Rich Conte | 1981–1982 | lead guitar | none |
| Mike Sherry | 1981–1982 | lead and rhythm guitars | none |
| Joe | 1982 | lead and rhythm guitars | none |
| Bobby Gustafson | 1982–1990 | lead and rhythm guitarsbacking vocals | all Overkill releases from Power in Black (1983) to The Years of Decay (1989) |
| Robert "Sid" Falck | 1987–1992 | drums | all Overkill releases from Under the Influence (1988) to Horrorscope (1991)Coverkill (1999) |
| Rob Cannavino | 1990–1995 | lead and rhythm guitarsbacking vocals | Horrorscope (1991)I Hear Black (1993)W.F.O. (1994)Wrecking Your Neck (1995)Coverkill (1999) |
| Merritt Gant | 1991–1995 | lead and rhythm guitarsbacking vocals | Horrorscope (1991)I Hear Black (1993)W.F.O. (1994)Wrecking Your Neck (1995)Coverkill (1999) |
| Tim Mallare | 1992–2005 | drums | all Overkill releases from I Hear Black (1993) to ReliXIV (2005) |
| Joe Comeau | 1995–20002000–2002 | rhythm guitarbacking vocals | all Overkill releases from The Killing Kind (1996) to Coverkill (1999) |
| Sebastian Marino | 1995–1999 (died 2023) | lead guitar | all Overkill releases from The Killing Kind (1996) to Coverkill (1999) |
| Ron Lipnicki | 2005–2017 | drums | all Overkill releases from Immortalis (2007) to The Grinding Wheel (2017)The Wings of War (2019) |
| Jason Bittner | 2017–2024 | drums | The Wings of War (2019) to Scorched (2023) |

### Touring

| Name | Years active | Instruments | Details |
| Eddy Garcia | 20122016–2017 | drums | Garcia temporarily replaced Lipnicki on the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise in 2012, and later from April 2016. |
| Waldemar Sorychta | 2016 | lead guitar | Sorychta stepped in for lead guitarist Linsk on a European tour in late 2016 for undisclosed reasons. |
| Phil Demmel | 2021–2023 | lead guitar | Demmel played one show with Overkill in place of Linsk in November 2021, due to scheduling conflicts. He continued to do so their 2022 spring tour with Prong. |
| David Ellefson | 2024 | bassbacking vocals | Ellefson played bass for the band on their "Scorching Latin America 2024" tour while Verni was recovering from shoulder surgery. |
| Jeramie Kling | 2024–present | drums | Kling joined the band, starting with a European tour. |
| Christian "Speesy" Giesler | 2024 | bassbacking vocals | Giesler joined the band for a European tour. |
| Christian Olde Wolbers | 2024 | bassbacking vocals | Wolbers joined the band for a North American tour. |

## Lineups

| Period | Members | Releases |
| 1980–1981 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Rat Skates – drums Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Riff Thunder – guitars | none |
| 1981 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Rat Skates – drums Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Dan Spitz – lead guitar Anthony Ammendola – rhythm guitar | none |
| 1981–1982 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Rat Skates – drums Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Rich Conte – guitars Mike Sherry – guitars | none |
| Late 1982 – December 1987 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Rat Skates – drums Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Joe – guitars (1982) Bobby Gustafson – guitars, backing vocals | Power in Black (1983) Rotten to the Core (1984) Feel the Fire (1985) Metal Hammer Roadshow 1 (1986) Taking Over (1987) Fuck You (1987) Live to the Core (1992) |
| December 1987 – late 1990 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Bobby Gustafson – guitars, backing vocals Sid Falck – drums | Under the Influence (1988) The Years of Decay (1989) Sexy Flexi (1990) |
| Late 1990 – March 1991 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Sid Falck – drums Rob Cannavino – guitars, backing vocals | none |
| March 1991 – summer 1992 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Sid Falck – drums Rob Cannavino – guitars, backing vocals Merritt Gant – guitars, backing vocals | Horrorscope (1991) |
| Summer 1992 – summer 1995 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Rob Cannavino – guitars, backing vocals Merritt Gant – guitars, backing vocals Tim Mallare – drums | I Hear Black (1993) W.F.O. (1994) Wrecking Your Neck (1995) |
| Summer 1995 – March 1999 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Tim Mallare – drums Sebastian Marino – lead guitar Joe Comeau – rhythm guitar, backing vocals | The Killing Kind (1996) From the Underground and Below (1997) Necroshine (1999) Coverkill (1999) – three tracks |
| Spring 1999 – spring 2000 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Tim Mallare – drums Joe Comeau – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Dave Linsk – lead guitar, backing vocals | Coverkill (1999) – remaining tracks |
| Mid – late 2000 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Tim Mallare – drums Dave Linsk – guitars, backing vocals | Bloodletting (2000) |
| Late 2000 – early 2001 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Tim Mallare – drums Dave Linsk – lead guitar, backing vocals Joe Comeau – rhythm guitar, backing vocals | none |
| Early 2001 – May 2005 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Tim Mallare – drums Dave Linsk – lead guitar, backing vocals Derek Tailer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals | Wrecking Everything (2002) Killbox 13 (2003) ReliXIV (2005) |
| May 2005 – May 2017 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Dave Linsk – lead guitar, backing vocals Derek Tailer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Ron Lipnicki – drums | Immortalis (2007) Live at Wacken Open Air 2007 (2008) Ironbound (2010) The Electric Age (2013) Live from Oz (2013) White Devil Armory (2014) The Grinding Wheel (2017) |
| April 2016 – May 2017 (temporary touring lineup) | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Dave Linsk – lead guitar, backing vocals Derek Tailer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Eddy Garcia – drums (substitute) | Live in Overhausen (2018) |
| May 2017 – August 2024 | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Dave Linsk – lead guitar, backing vocals Derek Tailer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Jason Bittner – drums | The Wings of War (2019) Scorched (2023) |
| August 2024 – present (temporary touring lineup) | D.D. Verni – bass, backing vocals Bobby Blitz – lead vocals Dave Linsk – lead guitar, backing vocals Derek Tailer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Jeramie Kling – drums | none to date |