OVERKILL bassist D.D. Verni has provided an update on the band’s upcoming studio album, suggesting that the follow-up to 2023’s Scorched will likely arrive in early 2027, though timelines within the camp appear to be shifting slightly.
In a new interview with Drew Stone of The New York Hardcore Chronicles Live!, Verni also addressed why he is currently sitting out OVERKILL’s run on the “Thrash Of The Titans” tour alongside TESTAMENT and DESTRUCTION. He explained that ongoing arm and shoulder issues, combined with the nature of the tour, led to the decision to take a step back for the time being.
“Ah, well, there’s a few different reasons for that, but I would say probably the main one at this point is that I just need to kind of rest this arm some,” Verni responded (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “And we’re just support on this [tour]. This isn’t our tour; this is a TESTAMENT tour. We’re just kind of tagging along. I had another surgery done a little while ago, and just at this point, for something like this, I’m, like, ‘All right, maybe it’s best I just sit this one out.’ So our friend Christian [Olde Wolbers, ex-FEAR FACTORY] is filling in. And it’s just rolling on.”
Verni went on to describe the extent of the injuries, revealing that he has dealt with recurring rotator cuff and biceps tears in both shoulders despite multiple surgeries and rehabilitation efforts.
“I had the surgery once, I did all the P.T. [physical therapy]. They told me I was good. I went out on the road, and I completely ripped it off again,” he explained. “And I came back and I had to do it all over again. [I had] rotator cuff and a bicep tear — on both shoulders. It’s just old-guy s**t. But now if I blow it off again, if it tears off again, it’s shoulder replacement, and I’m really trying to avoid that. But you know what’s f**ked up, though? It’s only playing bass. I can’t play sitting down anymore at all. I can play standing up, but if I sit with my arm kind of locked like that, I can’t play it. I can’t even get through a single song. But I can on a guitar. I don’t know. It’s something about the way I hold the pick and the amount [of weight and pressure] I’m putting on a specific spot. But that’s the way it goes right now. I gotta get strong and get it back to place so I don’t have to f**king worry about that s**t anymore.”
Despite the setbacks, Verni confirmed he remains fully active within OVERKILL and is heavily involved in the band’s next record, which he says is already largely written and demoed.
“Oh, yeah. I’m writing right now. I have most of the new OVERKILL record done, demoed up, for the most part ready to go,” he said. “I just did a couple of new things yesterday. I thought it was ready to go. Then I had a couple other things that I wanted to add. So, for the most part it’s all done. I gave it to Blitz [OVERKILL singer Bobby Ellsworth], I guess, a while ago, and he’s been noodling around with it. So over the next — I don’t know — six months or so, probably we’ll jump in the studio somewhere along the way. And I would think we’re probably looking at a release early next year, February, March, something like that. We got a couple of calls about some tours and some things then. So we’ll see.”
However, OVERKILL vocalist Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth offered a slightly different timeframe in a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, indicating that the band could be aiming for a late 2026 release instead.
“I think we’re always working on new music,” Ellsworth said. “That’s been the motif since all the way back in the [early OVERKILL] days. You’re always kind of in a writing mode. You’re keeping your eyes open, you’re in a writing mode, or at least my end of it. But we look to record it maybe at the end of [our upcoming U.S.] tour [with TESTAMENT and DESTRUCTION]. It’s pretty much done musically. I have to add a few melody lines and a few harmonies and melodies and a few lyrics here and there. But we’re looking at a ’27 tour [and] maybe a late ’26 release.”
While fans might be eager to hear new tracks live, Blitz confirmed that OVERKILL will stick to their existing material during the upcoming tour: “No, we’re not. We’re just gonna get out there on the road and stretch our legs again. It’s gonna feel good. [OVERKILL bassist] D.D.‘s [Verni] been going through a rehab for a long period of time with his shoulders and stuff, so it’s kept everybody from going out and doing this stuff. I think he’s gone through three operations at this point — it’s, like, two on the right and one on the left, and all three of them are rotator cuff injuries. I’m just looking to get out there and sing again.”
This upcoming release will be the first full-length album featuring Jeramie Kling, who joined OVERKILL as the group’s new drummer in August 2024. Kling replaced Jason Bittner, who departed earlier that month.
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