Drummer Jason Bittner has announced his departure from Overkill after a seven-and-a-half-year stint with the veteran thrash band.
Bittner shared the news via a statement, revealing that the split was amicable and that he will now focus on drumming for a reunited Shadows Fall and the new supergroup Category 7.
Bittner’s statement [via Metal Injection] reads as follows:
“On August 1, 2024, I played the Vagos Metal Fest in Portugal, and it was the last show I will play in the band Overkill. For a while now I have been juggling a few different bands along with Overkill, and I knew at some point something would have to give since I simply can’t be three places at once. Over the course of this last year, my schedule has reached that breaking point.
At this time Shadows Fall is working towards completion of our new material that will take us back out on the road sometime in 2025, as well as our fall shows we have booked for the rest of this year celebrating 20 years of The War Within.
Compounded on top of this is my new band, Metal Blade recording artists Category 7 whose album just hit the shelves last month and will start touring soon through 2025. All of this adds up to something having to ‘take a break’, so as of today I no longer play drums in Overkill so I can concentrate solely on the bands that I am a full member/owner of.
Now don’t worry – they currently have another great drummer already learning the material, and he will be ready to do battle for the upcoming tours. I would like to thank EVERYONE in the Overkill extended family for 7 1/2 years of laughs, killer shows, and fun around the globe.
All our crew members throughout my run, our agents Dolores Lokas and Mike Monterulo, my tech Animal for always having my back (Shake and Bake), as well as all of our crew past and present, the SKULLKRUSHERS (much love Jurgen), and all the fans who supported my tenure in the band, I love you all, thank you, and will miss you on the European and King Diamond tours… but I’ll see you out there with Shadows Fall and Category 7.”
Bittner had been a steady presence behind the kit for Overkill since joining the New Jersey thrash vets in 2017, embarking on numerous tours and performing on their two most recent albums, 2019’s The Wings of War and 2023’s Scorched. In recent years, Bittner became one of the busiest drummers in heavy metal, with his longtime band Shadows Fall returning after a six-year hiatus and the formation of the John Bush-fronted thrash project Category 7.
As for Overkill, the band appears to be already working with a new drummer — per Bittner’s statement — for their upcoming Fall 2024 North American tour supporting King Diamond (get tickets here).