Metal Anarchy

During a recent appearance on the Pod Scum podcast, Bobby Gustafson (ex-Overkill) offered an update on his Painward project. According to him, the band “might have something out by the end of the year in ’26.”

Gustafson said the following:

“Last year I did a little EP for SATANS TAINT, and that was just for fun. So I’m gonna kind of get rid of that. And I’ve been writing songs ever since [I left] VIO-LENCE, which was three years ago now. So I’ve got songs together. [I’m] just trying to find the right guys. I’ve been working with [guitarist] Dave Orman from NASTY SAVAGE. I’ve been with him the longest. And lately, I guess I’m hooking up with [ex-OVERKILL and FLOTSAM AND JETSAM and current SHADOWS FALL and CATEGORY 7 drummer] Jason Bittner. He seems like a great guy. I just reached out to him. I never knew him before, and I reached out to him after the whole thing I saw where he left OVERKILL as well. And I just wanted to make sure that he was getting what he should be. And we just became friends. We kept talking. I have four songs I sent him. He’s got one song he did drums to. When he finishes up with the CATEGORY 7/John Bush thing, he’s gonna come back and work on the other songs and try and get the rest of everything together.”

He continued:

“I’ve got a couple of bass players floating around. I did a lot of pre-production with my usual drummer, Jim McCourt. He helped out getting the songs together. But we’re gonna try and search out a singer, I guess, once we get this demo. But these songs, they’ve been written for a while, and they’re still strong. I still like them all. But I’m continuing to write, just in case something magical happens.”

He also added the following when asked about the possibility of a 2026 release:

“Yeah, I’m hoping, because I really wanted it to be ’25, but this year’s gone. It all depends on Jason and his availability. I’ve got the songs. He hasn’t heard everything yet, so I’m gonna try and sit down with him and say, ‘Hey, these are all the songs I have. If you’re cool with these 10, or if there’s one you don’t like, we’ll grab another one.’ I’ve just got a whole list of songs, and that’s kind of new for me, ’cause I used to just write, ’cause we had no time back in the day. I wrote what went on the albums, and that was it. There really wasn’t much extra. But now I’m writing a lot and now, and I’m picking the best from them. So as soon as he can get finished up with that stuff, get into these songs with me, we can try and get a singer from those four songs. If it’s quick enough, early enough in the year, we might have something out by the end of the year in ’26.”

[via Blabbermouth]