Last week, rumors were swirling the internet that Anthrax was once again reuniting with singer Joey Belladonna for the “Big Four” European Festival performances. As of this morning, two things are clear: 1. It’s no longer a rumor, and 2. They couldn’t get John Bush back despite their best efforts.
It has been confirmed that Joey Belladonna is now back in Anthrax. He will be making his first appearance with the band since 2006 on June 16 Sonisphere Festival in Poland. “I had been in touch with Charlie and Frank, then I got a call from their manager who said that everyone wanted me back in the band. I thought, ‘are you guys for real? You want me up there, fronting the band like it was before?’ I was thrilled. We’ve already started to reconnect with the old ways of having conversations. Everything is easy going and feels really good,” says Joey Belladonna.
However, unlike their most recent shows with John Bush, Anthrax has bigger plans with the returning frontman. Immediately following the summer appearances, Belladonna will hop into the studio with Anthrax to re-record their “new” album. That’s right, Anthrax is officially re-recording Worship Music, with Joey Belladonna. “We’ve got an unusual luxury of hindsight. We finished an album a year ago, we’ve lived with those 12 songs since then, and we can look back on them and see what we really love and what we can make even better, especially with Joey back in the fold,” revealed guitarist Scott Ian.
Check out all of the statements made by Anthrax at Blabbermouth.net.
While I am kind of sad that chances of Bush’s return are now dead, I can’t exactly hate on Anthrax for reuniting with Belladonna. Sure they come off as a bit hypocritical since all they could talk about in interviews was how much they wanted Bush back. However, Bush was making it clear that he wasn’t interested in re-recording and permanently touring again. Time was certainly ticking for Anthrax (ticking in their heads!), not only because they were sitting on new material for over a year but also since the singer switch-a-roo was putting a strain on the band’s credibility. So trying to find a new singer was out of the question, especially since Dan Nelson didn’t work out too well. It may seem sad that the band is playing it safe, but at least they can now move forward. Let’s just hope for Anthrax’s sake that their second reunion with Belladonna lasts longer.
The real loser in this? Joey Belladonna. I mean, sure, he gets to go back on tour and in the studio with the band that made him famous, and a band that were at their most popular when he was in them. But they already brought him back once, only to get rid of him again – with two different singers. He’s like the unpopular kid at school, getting picked for the kickball team only because there’s an odd number of people. Or an unpopular girl waiting to get asked to the prom, not getting asked, then getting asked by some dude in the AV club at the last second because the homecoming queen already had a date. What we’re trying to say is he’s probably got some self-esteem issues, and the only way it could be worse for him is if they renamed Worship Music and titled it Third Choice.
UPDATE: Blabbermouth.net just revealed a video clip that makes Mr. Ian look a bit like a douche. Back in January, Scott Ian and his wife Pearl taped an episode of VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show (the episode aired on March 13). On that episode, the Anthrax guitarist took part in a segment called “The Throwdown”, where he and the hosts discussed whether John Bush or Joey Belladonna was the better singer in Anthrax. Well not only did Ian without hesitation say Bush, but also claimed that Anthrax “didn’t need a bird, we needed a lion.” And to think, we thought Belladonna couldn’t be made to feel any lesser. Take a look after the jump to see the video of the piece (the segment starts at the 40 second mark).
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Scott Ian is sticking to his story and insists that Anthrax vocalist Dan Nelson was not fired, but quit the band after informing Anthrax that he was seriously ill.
While the Fear Factory drama has remained fairly entertaining, I’m already tired of this Anthrax story. Here’s the exerpt from Ian’s exclusive interview with Metal Hammer:
We stand by every word in our official statement. Because all we’ve done is make public exactly what Dan told us. He certainly was not fired – he quit the band, and we accepted his resignation. As for those comments about being fit to go on the road, and that we pulled the tour for other reasons…since Charlie (Benante, drums) join us in 1983, we’ve only ever cancelled one gig. That was in Düsseldorf in 1987, when Charlie was running a really high fever, and we had to send him to London for treatment. When we didn’t make it onto the plane to go to Sweden recently, to start our European run of dates, it went against every molecule in my body, and the same goes for the rest of the band.
As a band, we learnt [sic] a long time ago that in these situations, it’s always best to tell the truth, If you lie, then it comes back to bite you in the ass. That’s why we were careful at every step to put things exactly the way Dan had told them to us. Why has he changed his story now? I can only assume it’s to save his own skin, and to avoid being seen as the bad guy. I can’t say that I blame him. But we have absolutely been completely truthful.
I’m going to give this story a couple more updates before I willfully ignore it. Unless something really crazy happens, like Dan Nelson declaring he’s secretly pregnant with Exodus’ baby.
Yesterday’s story of the departure of Anthrax Vocalist Dan Nelson following a battle with a mystery “serious illness” was both sensible and/or shady, depending on how you look at it. Something was just off about the whole thing, and now it’s just plain bizarre. Nelson has released a statement denying any illness, claiming
On the advice of counsel, I have remained silent to the statements issued by Anthrax in recent days and now must address these issues to my loyal fans and others. I want to set the record straight.
I was never seriously ill or sick at all, as reported in Anthrax’s July 17 press release. This extremely inflammatory statement hurt me tremendously. This statement misled fans, friends and family members into believing that I was seriously ill when I was not. I was not aware such a statement was being issued and it came as a total shock to me, as I’m sure it did to all of you. It was the other band members’ decision to cancel the tour dates, not mine. I was ready, willing and able to do my job.
After issuing the press release, the other band members decided, on their own accord, that I had ‘resigned’ from the band. I never resigned from the band.
Even in view of this action and stance taken by the band, as late as earlier today I made it clear that I was ready willing and able to continue to fulfill my obligations. After that offer was made, the most recent press release was issued which announced my ‘confirmed’ departure from the band. I was not aware of the contents of this release until after it was issued, nor was I aware that Anthrax was canceling the European and Slipknot tours.
I regret any disappointment and confusion this situation has caused.
Meanwhile, close friend of the band, notorious 80′s apologist and VH1 host/radio jock Eddie Trunk provided some insight and let us know we’re dummies for believing something we’re apparently not supposed to take seriously, like, you know…an official press release:
It’s also pretty obvious to any dummy that he was not sick as the press release stated. If he was legit sick, you don’t lose your gig. There were issues, and no doubt much more will come out about this story in coming weeks.
Obviously, I have a long history and friendship with the guys in Anthrax and I wish them well dealing with this crazy situation. As for Dan, he was great in the one show I saw and maybe there is a better opportunity for him down the line.
Like I said, there will no doubt be all kinds of rumor and speculation about what really went down, but it was not working off stage and singer #4 in Anthrax is a very brief footnote now in the band’s crazy history. But Anthrax has dealt with all kinds of stuff and they will no doubt come back strong.
Also, the new album is being pushed back to an undetermined date, no doubt to re-cut the vocals with whoever gets the gig. This is just plain weird. I can’t recall ever hearing of a band publicly faking an illness to kick someone out. We’re sure this isn’t the last we’ll hear of this, so keep checking back.
Posted by Zach Shaw on Mon, May 10, 2010 at 10:22 am
Among The Reuniting, Caught In A PR Mess