Anthrax Scare Resolved: Band Parts Ways With Vocalist, Sick Or Not
Posted by Dan Rodriguez on Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 5:16 pm
So, I’ve got a bit of a jinx-paranoia streak where I feel bad speculating on people’s health, so I’ve been holding off on this story. Thankfully, our bros at MetalSucks are just completely shameless and discussed the odd circumstances of Anthrax’s recent string of cancellations and speculation over vocalist Dan Nelson’s health:
Alright, so just to play catch-up: last week Anthrax canceled some European dates because new vocalist Dan Nelson was apparently ill. We didn’t report on that because, well, it’s not, like, exciting news or anything. People get sick. Sometimes those people are performers who consequently have to miss performances. It sucks for the fans but it happens. Whatever.
But now Blabbermouth has made an interesting observation, one which suggests that all might not be well in Anthrax-land:
In addition to deleting his “DanNAnthrax” Twitter profile on July 16, [Nelson] has posted the following messages on his “DanNelson76″ account:
July 16, 3:47 a.m.: “Funny, I don’t feel so lucky…Wonder what everyone is talking about??”July 16, 4:28 a.m.: “is done.”
July 17, 7:54 p.m.: “loves his family and friends more than ANYTHING.”
Now, while the rumors over Nelson’s ailment and its severity haven’t been addressed, we do know he’s out of the band regardless. Manager Izvor Zivkovic’s statement:
As announced last week, thrash legends ANTHRAX regretfully cancelled the first three dates on the second leg of their European tour due to new vocalist Dan Nelson’s unexpected illness. An additional seven European dates are also cancelled, those scheduled from July 22 to July 30.
ANTHRAX is thrilled to announce that they will play the August 1 Sonisphere festival in Knebworth, England, with their good friend John Bush [ANTHRAX's singer from 1992 to 2005] joining them for a very special one-off performance.
The members of ANTHRAX have confirmed the departure of vocalist Dan Nelson. In light of this development, ANTHRAX’s slot on the U.S. SLIPKNOT dates set for August and September, has also been cancelled. ANTHRAX is already actively considering lead singer candidates, and looks forward to hitting the road before the end of the year.
We’ll have more on this story as it develops. We send Nelson and his family our best wishes.
Tags: Anthrax, Dan Nelson
Related Posts
- Scott Ian Believes In Truthiness
- This Anthrax Story Just Got Extra Weird
- Does “American Carnage” Postponement Spell Doom For Hopes Of A US “Big Four” Tour?
- UPDATE: Slayer Postpones Upcoming Tours, ‘American Carnage’ On Hold
- Metallica Confirms Big Four Tour Plans
July 21st, 2009 at 10:47 PM
As a big fan of the band, this piece of news is heavy to take. Not only because I truly thought Dan Nelson was going to be a perfect fit for the band, but also because it now leaves the band up in the air. Sure, Anthrax is not calling it quits. But with an album already set to be released and for a band that needed to prove their lasting powers, this hurts themstrongly. Anthrax’s popularity was already low compared to their heyday,with scandal revolving around excluding John Bush for Joey Belladonna not helping them make their fan base happy. The new lineup needed to prove themselves worthy of recognition and come out strong. After over a year of finding and working with a new singer, Anthrax is back at square one. It’s a place that even popular bands hate to find themselves.