ANTHRAX INTERVIEW
April 14, 2005

Ed Martin for Prophecy21.com: How does it feel to be back with the originalline up after this long?
Frank Bello Bassist for Anthrax: Well, it feels as great as it can feel. We haven't literally played with each other musician wise. But it feels great in like a homey feeling way and there's a big buzz with it. People are really excited and that feels good. Just sitting down with them is just like normal to me, its just like home.

P21: Were there any worries that you had when you first started talkingabout the reunion?
FB: Oh yeah. First off you have the legalities of it all because of contracts and all that nonsense, making sure everybody is free and then after that it comes down to, "How is everybody after all this time?" It turns out though were all still the five same people that started.

P21: Are you looking forward to all the upcoming European dates?
FB: Ahh yeah! I'm nuts on it, those shows are gonna rock man. I haven't seen a hungrier band in a long time, its like a rejuvenation kind of thing. Everybody is feelin very very hungry to do this.

P21: Do you like touring in Europe?
FB: Yeah man, the shows in Europe will always be great. It's a different lifestyle over there, but over the years I've adapted to it and it works out well for us. It's a great time... lots of drinking!

P21: Do you think there's going to be a different vibe on the road since its been so long since u guys have toured together?
FB: Yeah, I mean that's to be expected, I think as you get older in life some people have just different personalities and that's fine. I welcome it, I like the whole thing. It'll be different , but the same, I'm not too worried about it, everyone's got their own things going.

P21: Do you guys have any plans yet to record a new album with this line up?
FB: No, not right now. We're doing everything day to day with this whole thing. We're not looking too far ahead, it doesn't make sense to do that cause we don't know this whole good just blow up tomorrow. So we don't really look too far ahead, we just wanna enjoy each day.

P21: Are you guys going to be filming the European tour?
FB: Yeah, we're doing this DVD so that the fans can see even when we first got back together, like the literal first meeting of us in 13 years with Joey and Dan, its pretty intense. So its gonna be a like along the road kind of thing and I think the fans are really gonna love that.

P21: How did you guys get hooked up with Slave to the Metal?
FB: Our manager Jonathan Cohen schooled us on the whole thing and it absolutely makes sense to stand behind this because its all about our troops and them having to get inoculations that they don't really want. I mean they have to do it and it shouldn't be pressed upon them to get something they don't want especially if its not safe and not proven. People should have the right to say no.

P21: After having played for so long is there still any one show that stands out in your mind as one of the best shows that you've ever played?
FB: Yeah, the one that always sticks out is the Castle Donnington Festival. Funny enough, we're gonna be doing the same festival this year with the same line up, its gonna be pretty intense with Anthrax playing that show again. I think it was '86 last time and it was insane, absolutely insane. It was raining most of the day and for some reason the clouds opened up when we came on and the sun shown through and then it was just a raging raging concert. It was like 90,000 people it was crazy.

P21: What are your feelings about some of the newer metal bands that are emerging these days?
FB: I personally think that the band Lamb of God is doing what we did a long time ago, which is great! They're trying something new, aggressive, and they're really going for it. They're one of my favorite newer groups and I'm also friends with those guys, I really like what they're doing. I mean with the newer metal everyone's trying different things, as long as you grow with this music, because I love this music and wanna see it grow. I don't care if its nu-metal or whatever as long as its metal we need to really try to reach out and expand this music and make it grow. Otherwise, if it gets stagnant its gonna die and I don't want that to happen.

P21: What bands have you been listening to lately?
FB: I've been listening to more Sabbath then anything right now. That's just what I love to this day. You can talk about nu-metal, power metal, whatever, but when you talk about metal its always gonna be Black Sabbath to me. So I've went back to my Sabbath records. I mean Geezer Butler for me, it's amazing... it just doesn't end.

P21: What piece of advice would you say is most important for a band trying to make it into the music industry in this day and age?
FB: Don't do it, go to school (laughs). Honestly, all I know is that its very hard in this industry. You have to prepared for a rough ride, its really really hard. The record labels right now are not developing groups. That's just whats going on right now, its sad to say and I don't even wanna say it like that,but I'm just being as honest as I could. They have no time or patience, they just want a hit and that's it. So all I can say is be true to yourself and write what comes from your heart and just keep playing and touring and get onto any show that you can. That's the only way because the record companies have to see a built in audience almost to make sure that you have a buss on you. They're not gonna just give you a chance you have to prove it to them.

P21: What would you say is the biggest change in the music world since you guys last toured with this lineup?
FB: The biggest change is how it is all so, "Throw it up against the wall see if it sticks, if it does it'll be big." Radio and MTV its one and the same and it dominates and that's sad. I like the fact that a group like, again I'll use, Lamb of God can come around and be hard and just go for it and do the right thing that should be done. It can be done, but it's hard and its got to be truthful.

P21: What was it that got you started in metal?
FB: The energy. The aggression. You know, I still have a lot of angst in me and I think that's what got me goin there, it made me look that way. I just saw that I could let out some aggression by doing this and I think that that's what happens to most metal fans they have some aggression in them. This music's what drives me and I thank God man I'm lucky that I got into this. Who knows what woulda happened without this.

P21: What do you think you'd be doing if you weren't playing in a metal band?
FB: That's a good question. Jail. I could say that pretty easily. No, I would do something with the arts, I'm a performer, I love performing. I love acting in like the theatre and stuff like that. So, I probably would've done something like that. I still do that on the side, but music is first of course.

P21: What would you say is the best show that you've ever been to that you didn't play at?
FB: God, that's a good question, hmm... there's so many of 'em. I mean Kiss, the Destroyer tour probably. That was great. man would I have loved to be on that stage opening for that show.

P21: Are there any bands that you haven't toured with yet that you'd like to?
FB: Yeah, they're a few. The original Van Halen (laughs) I know how that bill would be, but David Lee Roth has got to be there. Kiss we've done already, but it would be cool to go out with the original Kiss. Really all the stuff that I've grown up on that's always kinda cool. It would just be cool to be surrounded by that kind of stuff.

P21: How do you feel that the murder of Dimebag Darrel has changed things?
FB: For me personally and my band, to tell you the truth, that was a big thing, God rest his soul, we were very very close with Dimebag, he was one of ours and hes played on a few Anthrax records. For us, Charlie will tell you this, it really made us realize how valuable life is and we don't know if we're gonna be here tomorrow so it's like one of those things. That's part of the reason why this reunion came about, we don't know if we're gonna be here tomorrow, if everyone in the band is gonna be alive to do this as this unit, as this original line up. That's why we we're just like that's it this is the time.

P21: How do you usually kill time on the road?
FB: Reading, I read a lot of plays and books and stuff like that. I bring a guitar out a lot of music, I get in my own little world really.

P21: What kind of books do you usually read out on the road?
FB: It sounds kind of boring, but a lot of plays, stuff like that. I just love theatre, a lot of weird stuff like that, like old plays.

P21: What would you say is the best movie that you've seen recently?
FB: My friend just lent me this Scorcese film fest thing, its got all the classics. Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, all those greats. Again, theres not really musch new stuff that's driving me crazy. The movie business is a lot like the music business right now, there's a lot of rehashed nonsense. They cant come up with new ideas so I tend not to go to movies. So that Scorcese thing was cool, I'll go ahead and say Raging Bull.

P21: What would you say is the craziest thing you've seen while out on the road?
FB: Okay, this is a little bit disgusting, but you're gonna laugh about it. We're in Europe and we've got a double decker tour bus and its about 3 in the morning and we stop at this rest stop and all the bathrooms are closed. One of the crew guys had a really bad stomach and he had to take a shit really bad, like really bad. So he gets off and when he finds out the bathrooms are locked he starts freaking out in the parking lot and we're watching from the upper half of the bus looking down the window at him and we start laughing because we see him and hes just freaking. Out of nowhere he just pulls his pants down right in the open next to the next tour bus that was with us. We're all watching from the top of the bus and he doesn't know and hes just going for it right there in the open. He squats and splat its all over the place, that stuff was gross, and we're all watching just laughing our asses off. Don't you know it that the other band that's the second bus over from us one of those guys has to shit and comes outside to do the same thing. He comes across and slips in the pile of our crew guys shit on his way over. That was fucking hilarious man. He slips and falls on his ass right into his shit. It was disgusting, but it was fuckin funny. That was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen in my life.

P21: Thanks man, is there anything that you want to add?
FB: No man just thanks. That was a lot of fun, good questions.