Interview: Anthrax bassist Frank Bello on the band’s “thrashy” upcoming LP

You guys just had a song on the Game of Thrones mix-tape, are you a big fan of the show?

Yeah, my problem is that there’s so many things on at once, there’s so many great shows on at this time. I have a lot of things on my DVR as it is, but I’m leaving for tour, I have to get it all in (laughs). Game of Thrones, we did that song, [“Soror Irrumator”] we’re probably going to do that song live. D B Weiss, one of the head guys on Game of Thrones asked us to do it, he’s an Anthrax fan – he came and asked us to do a song. And of course, we were totally stoked. As soon as they asked us, we knew exactly which song we were going to give them, it totally made sense as soon as we heard it. Scott wrote some great lyrics to the storyline, so it’s a good thing to start what I call “the cycle.” That’s a good representation. And from there, it’ll be fun to hear when people hear the rest of the songs – I’m not over-hyping the record, I’m just really proud of it.

What else is filling up your DVR, is there anything else you’re really excited about right now?

(Sighs) Oh dude, there’s so much stuff. And you know what’s crazy, I haven’t even touched it because I’m really busy in the studio, so I have this whole thing that I wonder if I’m going to get done before I leave. You know, because I also have a family (laughs). You have to pick and choose your battle, you know? So I’ve been staying up a little later. But I’ve been recapping Game of Thrones because it’s coming up, I don’t know if you watch the show Mad Men…

I do, but I’m a bit behind on it.

Ok, I won’t tell you anything, and I don’t know how many metal people are Mad Men fans, but I hope they stay with Don Draper’s storyline, other than his family’s line. And I don’t know if you’ll understand that. But I want to see Don Draper go through Don Draper times, not his family, because I found that a little boring. But it’s a good show though man. Just so you know, and I’m saving this – I’ve never seen one episode – and I know this is ridiculous – of Breaking Bad.

Get some DVD’s for the bus!

Oh, it’s going to happen. I want a couple of days, which I don’t have right now. Because I know some of the storylines, and it looks awesome. It’s like saving a piece of candy that you know is great. I think that’s going to be a Europe thing, I’m just going to bring all the DVD’s, or I’m just going to get ‘em all on iTunes and just bulk it out when I’m bored.

And you’re back out on the Motörhead boat cruise this year?

Yeah man, we just signed onto that. You know, that’s going to be pretty crazy, to say the least. Anytime you get us and Slayer together, and Motörhead, that boat will be … and it’s not even to be funny, but that will be a rocking boat, it’s going to be a loud boat, man. That’s a good time right there. I recommend people to see that, that’s going to be a pretty heavy bill. I’ll probably be at every show on that boat.

What was your experience like on the cruise the first time?

Well, it was pretty busy. It’s funny, because I brought my family out, and I felt bad because I didn’t have a lot of time to spend with my family, because I was playing two shows with Anthrax, and then we had the Metal Allegiance thing too, and there was press and stuff like that, so I kind of felt bad that my family was out. We had some good family time, but there wasn’t a lot. But, I mean, look, I was working, so what are you going to do? Still a blast though, still a blast.

What should people look out for from you and Anthrax in the coming months?

Well, we’ll do this Volbeat tour, which is a good long tour, it’s 6 weeks. I call this the beginning of the cycle, because we’ll be tightening up the record – right after the Volbeat tour is done we go right back into the finishing of the record. On the side thing, I have this side project with Dave Ellefson [Megadeth] called Altitudes & Attitudes, we have a record coming out and we’re just finishing up with that. It’s just something Dave and I have fun with really. It’s just hard rock, it’s not metal at all. We have a great time with it.

Anthrax with Volbeat and Crobot, May 15th at CEPSUM (2100 Édouard-Montpetit). Tickets are $49.50 + fees, available here.