Jason Bittner Quit Overkill Because He Was “Giving More of Myself Than I Was Getting in Return”
Last August, Shadows Fall drummer Jason Bittner announced his decision to step away from legendary New Jersey thrash metal outfit Overkill. At the time, it was pretty easy to see why the guy would make such a move, since Shadows Fall had reformed just a couple years prior and he was getting involved with the metal supergroup Category 7. Now, in a recent interview, he’s given another reason for his departure — he felt like he wasn’t growing as a musician.
Those sentiments were shared during a recent appearance on All Access Live! With Kevin Rankin. During his appearance (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), the 55-year-old musician said he’d decided it was time to move on after playing on the band’s two most recent labums, The Wings of War and Scorched.
”I’m not gonna talk anything negative about my old situations or anything like that. People leave bands for their own reasons. Let’s just say I was stagnant in my old situation. I was not happy with where I was in a business sense with Overkill. I was basically giving more of myself than I was getting in return. And after almost eight years, I had pretty much had enough of that. And when I knew that there wasn’t even any negotiation aspect to anything, I’m, like, ‘Okay, well, it’s time to start thinking about myself.’”
He later added in the interview, referencing to his time in Overkill, that he’s never once gotten an increase in pay during his several years in the lineup.
“When you go to a job, when you start a job, do you ever go to a job — I don’t care what job it is; it could be McDonald’s — do you ever go to a job and never get a raise after eight years? This is not a hypothetical situation. This is a true story.”
That sounds like a difficult situation to find yourself in regardless of your profession. Either way, he’s moved on to his other projects. Shadows Fall has gone on to release new music and go on tour in the months since Bittner’s departure from Overkill, while Category 7 has also released their debut album and gone on tour to support it.
