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

30 + years after the band formed in New York City, Anthrax are once again on a roll. One of the “Big Four” of metal, alongside Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth, Anthrax are putting the finishing touches on their currently untitled follow-up to 2011’s Worship Music, an album that many saw as a return to the classic melodic thrash sound the band helped pioneer in the 80’s. Worship Music also featured the return of original vocalist Joey Belladonna, recording with the band for the first time since 1990’s classic Persistence of Time record.

With Belladonna once again on-board, and with new guitarist Jon Donai (Shadows Fall) in tow, Anthrax are currently in the midst of a 6-week tour opening for Danish metal band Volbeat, who now count ex-Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano as a member.

We spoke with Anthrax bassist Frank Bello by phone to get the scoop on the band’s upcoming record, their current tour with Volbeat, and why he’s never seen a single episode of Breaking Bad.

For all upcoming tour dates, visit http://www.anthrax.com.

How is the new Anthrax album coming along?

Well, I just finished my bass tracks, which is wonderful. The rhythm tracks are pretty much done. Joey’s killing it on vocals right now. Our lead guitar player Jon Donias, his leads are almost done, I think he has three or four songs to complete. But we’re chugging along. We wrote about 17 songs for this record, which is more than we’ve ever done. So there was a good amount to choose from. It just happened that way, we just kept going, because it just felt right. It’s going to be difficult to choose. There’s some really killer stuff, and it’s going to be hard to choose which ones to go forward with on the record, and which ones to keep back for something else. Just seeing them all come to life, and when we put the cherry on top with Joey’s vocals, man, you’re working towards this goal because you know what it can sound like, and when it all comes together there’s so much satisfaction. I’m a fan of this music, so it’s great when we write the songs, and when you hear it come to fruition – and these aren’t even the mixes, these are just the rough mixes. I’m pretty stoked. There’s a lot of energy.

A lot of people saw the last album, Worship Music, as a return to the classic Anthrax sound– is the new album going to follow that path?

You know, I just think we are in a groove. All I can do is be honest with you. I feel like we’ve taken that next step. Everybody has to promote their record when they have a new record out, but I can just speak as a fan. I’m very proud of what we’re doing right now. It’s a bit thrashier than the last record. That’s the best way I can describe it. There’s some songs that are a bit thrashy, but I think there’s a great mix of heaviness and melody, because we also have Joey Beladonna singing. The thing that I’ve always cherished about Anthrax is – I’m in the band but I’m still a fan – is that we have this heavy music, with this great melodic stuff on top with the vocals, so I think it’s a really nice balance. I’m really psyched to play this stuff, you know what I mean? I’m excited to play it on-stage, and just getting into it again. I’m looking forward to the new album cycle.

When you were getting Worship Music together, there was a lot of uncertainty about whether you were going to have Joey Belladonna on vocals or John Bush – what was it like going through that process?

Well, to be really honest, we didn’t really know what was going on, or what we were going to do going forward. The bottom line is, we knew we had a great record. And that’s all that really mattered. Again, we’ll go back to the fan thing – as fans of the music, you can feel it if you have something special. I feel like that on this again. Just having this band now, going forward – Joey’s been here since the beginning of the writing of the record. We’re a full-on band.

I feel like the band is in its fifth year right now, and we’re just riding along on a really good, straight highway, and we’re pushing 95, 100 miles an hour. And it’s great, because to go forward – I’m looking at the calendar as I speak to you, because once you’re in studio mode … I have to tell you this – in studio mode, it’s like you have the microscope out, you’re doing your bass lines and stuff like that, you’re writing and recording the record, and then all of a sudden, I’m looking at the calendar a couple of weeks ago, and I’m like, “The tour’s coming up!” So I’m getting out of the studio mode, it’s a rhythm, and playing live is a completely different thing. I’ve been in the gym, you’ve got to get your air up for the stage and all that stuff, and get in shape, quite honestly. It’s a different game, but it’s something that I cherish, and I know how fortunate and lucky I am to get to do it. So I want to do everything I can to make it the best I can, you know?

What’s the first day like when you start a new tour?

Well, you know, we’ve been doing it for a bit (laughs). But there’s one thing you do start with – put it this way – it’s the technical stuff you kind of worry about, to be honest. Like, I have a new bass tech on this tour – he’s a professional guy, but I’ve never worked with him. So we’ve been talking about everything we need to do over the phone and by e-mail, so just getting used to working with somebody new after working with somebody else for so long, because my old bass tech is doing something else, you want to make sure everything is right. Because at the end of the day man, you want to give 100%, because people are paying good money – and this isn’t me just saying this – people are paying their hard-earned money, and I just want to be right. I don’t want my bass to go out or something. But dude, when you walk out on the stage, that’s home for me. That’s the payoff right there.

How do you feel about the music distribution model these days? Are you into the streaming sites, or do you prefer to have a physical copy still?

I like both, quite honestly. I like physical – you’ve got to remember where I came from – I grew up through the 70’s and stuff, getting albums. I still do that, I go through my albums … even CD’s I miss at this point. They’re still cool because you have something to look at, to put on and read credits on album sleeves, and stuff like that. There’s something cool about that, that I hope is not gone forever, you know? Because that got me more into the music, it gave a story to the music. As you’re listening to the record, you put it on and look through it; it was part of the experience. So I hope that doesn’t disappear, because I think future generations should have that, it’s part of this great thing of music that we have in our lives.

Continued on page 2 below.

Speaking of the 70’s, how did you guys pick the covers for 2013’s Anthems EP? Were those songs you grew up on?

Absolutely, those were the influences. You can hear all of our influences on that Anthems EP. Think about all the bands that are on that thing – we grew up with them, just jamming all their songs all the time, so to jam a Rush song is a no-brainer to me. That was part of my bass training for god’s sake. Working on Geddy Lee, I still love him, I still think he’s one of the best ever. It’s paying tribute to them also, like, these are the guys that got us to be who we are.

Anthrax were coming up in New York in the 80’s when all sorts of genres were really exploding, metal, punk, hip hop – what was it like to be a band then? Were you inspired by all of these new styles of music?

Yeah, honestly we were. I was, because it was always here. Growing up in New York, there was always something coming out, every week there was something different. And there was a lot of hip hop back then that was heavy. And of course, we got into punk and hardcore stuff, I mean, it’s all good. I never shut myself out of music, it doesn’t make sense to me, because I love all music – you can’t be single-minded with music. You’ve got to have open ears, and that’ll influence you to do your own thing, and I think it’s really important to have open ears, you know?

Were the New York scenes very separate back then? Or was there a lot of crossover with people going to different types of shows?

Well, it started opening up, and getting bigger. And again, you cross music, so it’s cool man. I don’t think it can hurt anybody – something will come out of that blending. It’s going to influence somebody to write a great song, that’s the way I look at it man. It all mixes up, and somebody’s going to take this mixture and make a great song out of it, some great writer that maybe we don’t even know. It’s a positive thing really.

You’ve got this Volbeat tour coming up, how did that come together?

Obviously [Volbeat guitarist] Rob Caggiano played with Anthrax, but we’ve been friends with Michael and the Volbeat guys forever. I mean, they’re great dudes, and we get along pretty well. Actually, really well (laughs). We’ve had a few drinks in our day. So, to say the least, I think it’s going to be one of the most fun tours we’ve had, and I just love their band. They love our band; it’s a really nice thing. We’ve gone up and jammed with them a lot of times already, they’re just good people. The great thing about a fun tour like this, you look forward to it, because you know all the characters involved, there’s a lot of good, fun people on the tour. Great musicians, and let’s face it, it’s going to be a fun tour to see. I’ll be watching every night. We have Crobot opening up, so I think it’s a nice package man.

Musically, Anthrax and Volbeat are two very different bands, does that make it more interesting for you?

Absolutely. Dude, why not? I just think, push the envelope. And Volbeat’s a heavy band, their riffs are great, so it’s a nice little mixture. And look, it’ll expose us to another crowd too. That’s the way I look at it. Volbeat has a great, big fan base. So maybe, normally the people that wouldn’t go to an Anthrax show can get turned on by Anthrax and see them for the first time. So, it’s a really positive thing. I’m looking forward to meeting those people, and hopefully they’ll check out an Anthrax record one day, and that’s the whole point of doing this.

I was watching your Chile on Hell video recently, which looked like a really crazy set – what was playing that show like?

Dude, imagine the way you felt, and imagine being there live, just magnify it ten times over. So, you tip your hat, that was a great crowd, just amazing fans over there. Worldwide, we’ve been really fortunate with great fans. It’s just great to have that all on film. Even after seeing it dude, we played the show and even after we saw the first edit, I was like, “Oh my god!” It caught the vibe that we have, you know?

That show looks like it was just on the brink of anarchy.

Yeah, and it was just one big experience that I think really was captured well with Chile on Hell.  I was really psyched that people got a taste of what goes on, it was awesome.

We were in Thailand a few years back and got to catch an Anthrax show in Bangkok, and people were losing their minds there as well.

See, that’s the great thing about specifically metal and this heavy music thing, is the camaraderie. People generally get along; it’s like a cool thing that metalheads get along well. And we can be anywhere, it doesn’t matter. Because I used to be like that too when I used to go to a lot of shows, it was a bonding kind of vibe, you know?

Continued on page 3 below.

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.