Anthrax: A Metal Soap Opera 2007-02-05 by Jom | 4 Comments | [Over the past couple weeks, I have been chronicling the to-and-fro mudslinging and miscommunication that has been occurring with former Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna and current guitarist and drummer Scott Ian and Charlie Benante. This article is going to be somewhat of a cumulative article detailing this metal soap opera. It's going to be long, despite me cutting down and summarizing an insanely long amount of interviews and chats, so if reading ain't your bag, then hit the back button of your browser. -Jom]
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http://www.sputnikmusic.com/news.php?newsid=2455
The story begins with the decision to re-unite "old-era" Anthrax for a 25th anniversary reunion tour, coupled with the current line-up. However, in the first 'episode,' Ian posted online at the band's fan club site that Anthrax was "offered a direct support slot on a major tour this spring and Joey decided he did not want to move forward. The reunion is over . . . If we were meant to make a reunion record we would've. Some things look easy on paper but the reality is that they are impossible and what works for one band doesn't work for others. Maybe we could've forced something and cashed in on a new record but that's not the way we operate. My reality is I feel we have some unfinished business with the ["new-era"] We've Come for You All lineup and I will do my best to finish it."
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http://www.sputnikmusic.com/news.php?newsid=2505
The news resonated throughout the Internet, which led to Benante speaking out, saying that he doesn't want to "air dirty laundry over the Internet," and then proceeding to allude to Belladonna having "issues" that have not been handled:
"I really don't want to air our dirty laundry all over the Internet. I know what happens when people get a hold of something like this, they make a mockery of it and take away the human element . . . certain people have 'issues,' had 'em in the '80s/'90s and still have them to this day. I think it's true that some people are best at what they do worst . . . the core of this band will blow it up once again and you won't remember what happened before this. My goal is to make the best music we can make, but we want to do it with people that WANT TO DO IT![/i]
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http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=65888
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=66417
Joey Belladonna, the subject of criticism by Ian and Benante, then had a short and then an insanely long interview, so here are the highlights:
- He said that Anthrax "is not his group" and what Ian and Benante say goes. "I don't care what they say at this point. You have to remember — it's their band, it's their call. They make the call. I don't care how they wanna phrase it. It's been like that since day one. And if it doesn't go their way, then that's the way they make the decisions, you know."
- He "would have loved to make a new record" with Anthrax.
- He "found out" about Ian's statement of the reunion being over on the Internet, as did guitarist Danny Spitz. "I had a friend of mine call me. He said, 'Did you read that thing on Blabbermouth? Scott said it's over.' I was like, 'Wow! Really? Where'd you see that?'"
- He is clueless as to what "problems" Ian referred to in his posting and where Benante got "hours and hours of phone calls."
- He speculates that him wanting to know all the details of the reunion tour annoyed Ian and Benante. "When it's not your band, you need to know a lot. You need to know what you're doing. You just don't do it blindfolded."
- He claimed he never said that he wanted to quit. "Scott wrote that - you never heard it from my mouth that I didn't wanna move forward."
- He was aware of the speculation that "new-era" vocalist John Bush may not return to Anthrax, but was otherwise apathetic.
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http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=66443
In what is likely the final chapter of this metal soap opera, Ian and Benante logged into the Anthrax fan club and aired their side of the story in what was, again, an extremely long chat. Here are some transcriptions:
Charlie: I had this idea to do a special anniversary tour, [featuring both] John [Bush] and Joey [Belladonna]. I thought it would be an amazing thing for everyone to see.
Scott: I concur.
Charlie: John [Bush, "new-era vocalist"] decided that he didn't want to be a part of it.
Scott: Understandable.
Charlie: He felt he would be overshadowed by Joey coming back.
Scott: He felt he didn't need to take a backseat to the reunion-with-Joey excitement.
Charlie: We all understood. Well, now with John not into it, we all felt that we could go and do some shows. I knew this was going to be hard for John, and believe me, it was hard for us as well. WE LOVE JOHN.
Scott: His life was already changing with the birth of [his daughter] Jezebel.
Charlie: John has always been one of us, from day one. Maybe Scott can continue.
Scott: Once we left to do the reunion, we were on a different path. No matter how hard we tried to keep him [John] in the mix, it was strange. Like cheating on your wife.
Charlie: It was really hard seeing these reunion bashers and all. I tried staying in touch with John, but I could tell he was hurt and didn't want any part of it.
Charlie: Now here's where it's going to get weird.
Scott: After the Rob Zombie tour, I believe we had the first conversations with him about making a [new] record. Even though during that tour Joey was already acting like he didn't want to be there. He didn't want to go to Japan and I had to talk him into it.
Charlie: Joey is a very nice person, but he has demons, as we all do in some way or another.
Scott: I don't know why he changed so drastically. I thought moving forward and making a record was all he wanted to do, but once we started trying to communicate with him, it all fell apart.
Charlie: I spent hours on the phone with him. When it got to hour three, I wanted to jump into the phone and strangle him.
Scott: Long story short, we were offered the Sabbath (with Dio) dates back in December. We were so excited. We figured this would really make Joey happy because he loves Dio. Go ahead, Charlie.
Charlie: But Joey felt he couldn't continue unless he had some info.
Scott: We couldn't believe he wouldn't do the Sabbath dates.
Charlie: It all comes down to dollars and cents with him. THAT'S THE FUCKING TRUTH.
Scott: And he was and would've gotten an equal piece of everything.
Charlie: EVERYTHING. I hate when I read that Scott and Charlie did this or Scott and Charlie did that. Fucking bullshit.
Scott: He thinks he has been cheated even after his own business manager told him that everything was right with the books.
Charlie: Children can't run things, it takes leaders.
Scott: After hearing that 10 times, I took it as a personal offense. I tried to talk to him and he wouldn't answer my attempts.
Charlie: I told him that he'd be letting down a lot of people... didn't make a difference.
Scott: You don't accuse someone of stealing and then disappear. We tried. We bent over backwards and all we got was a bunch of vague, nonsensical answers.
Charlie: Joey has a good heart. I think his issues just get in the way of his decisions.
Scott: Joey is 45 years old. Grow up and be a man. Take responsibility for your life. It's sad that it ended the way it did, but it was out of our hands. End of story.
Charlie: Basically.
Scott: Moving forward...
Charlie: Exactly. We're not fighting. We're going to start writing a record.
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Whether or not "new-era" vocalist John Bush, who felt cast aside and overshadowed by a re-entering Belladonna, returns to make a new album with Anthrax remains to be seen, despite Ian's claim that he feels that Anthrax has "some unfinished business with the We've Come for You All lineup." At any rate, Ian and Benante are getting ready to write a new record. As for Belladonna, he is touring with solo dates.
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Tagged: Anthrax
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Interesting. I like John Bush as a vocalist and I think he fits the music a little better than some of Anthrax's previous vocalists. I hope he gets over this and joins back up.
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Fitting title.
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This soap opera is just bringing down any credibility of their music over their rather good career in my opinion. Sounds like they are going to take the Gene Simmons route and start up a reality tv show.
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This is all really unfortunate, but yeah if John Bush doesn't come back that'd blow.
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