After a decade-long wait, the thrash metal icons in Anthrax are finally closing in on the release of their next studio album. Bassist Frank Bello has confirmed that the long-anticipated follow-up to 2016’s For All Kings is tentatively scheduled to arrive this May.
The new record, which will be released via Megaforce in North America and Nuclear Blast in Europe, was crafted with the help of familiar collaborators. The band once again teamed up with producer Jay Ruston, who has become a staple of their modern era, having helmed both Worship Music (2011) and For All Kings. Sessions for the album took place at Dave Grohl‘s famed Studio 606 in Northridge, California.
Speaking in a recent interview with Dan Coniglio of “Long & McQuade,” Bello expressed high confidence in the material, teasing that fans of the band’s recent output will not be disappointed.
“The record will come out in May. I’m very proud. It’s so heavy,” Bello said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “Some parts are really hard to play — really hard to play, which I’m happy to say, ’cause I like the challenge of it all. Joey‘s [Belladonna, Anthrax singer] vocals — I don’t understand how the guy could sing like that, but he still is killing it. And I’m very psyched.”
He continued: “If you like the last two records we’ve come out with and the past stuff, I think everybody’s gonna be happy, ’cause as fans, we’re very stoked. And it’s been a while, guys, so thank you for waiting. It’s been 10 years [since the release of the last album]. So we made sure it’s worthwhile.”
Bello admitted that the pandemic significantly slowed their progress, noting that the band refused to write remotely due to technical limitations like latency. Instead, they waited until they could gather in person.
“We had to get over the COVID thing, like everybody else. We couldn’t be one of those bands that were doing it over video, ’cause the latency, number one… Say we were jamming on something, it would come out a half a second later. It’s, like, ‘Oh,’ and you lose the vibe. So we would just send files to each other and stuff like that. And then we got together when it was safe to get together, when they told us it was safe.”
Once reunited, the core writing trio—Bello, drummer Charlie Benante, and guitarist Scott Ian—got back to work in their traditional fashion.
“So the three of us — Charlie [Benante, drums], Scott [Ian, bass] and I — got together, as we’ve done all our lives, and started exchanging ideas. And from the files we’ve had, [we went through it and said], ‘What’s good? Is that good? Does that work here? Back and forth. And then you go home again and see what works. Then we start putting melodies to it, and then we put lyrics… It’s really like making a cake. It really is that. So it starts with the foundation of the three of us getting the music together. Music [comes first] and then melodies, usually. Scott and I usually go back and forth with that a lot. Charlie comes up with a lot of great music ideas, but we all came out with a lot of music ideas in this. And then the melodies. Scott and I would work on that a lot. And it’s an open thing. Everybody can come in with ideas. That’s the idea. And then the lyrics would come on top.”
Bello emphasized that the band was ruthless during the editing process to ensure quality, even if it meant cutting parts they personally loved.
“And to get it through us, to make sure, as fans, and we’ve been doing this for a while — we cut out a lot of stuff: ‘No’. ‘Yes’. ‘No’. ‘Yes’. ‘Cause you want the best, like everything else. Like mom and my grandmother said, it’s gotta be the best. Work ethic. Editing is really tough, and it’s hard. Sometimes you lose parts that you love, but if it’s not good for the song. It’s all about the song, man. At the end of the day, that’s all we’re about. It’s about the song. And still to this day. Period.”
When asked about the difficulty of letting go of ideas, Bello agreed that checking one’s ego is essential for the greater good of the track.
“I’m still brokenhearted,” he joked. “And it’s true. I think every songwriter will tell you that. Especially when you’re in a band, when you’re just not writing the stuff by yourself. When you’re collaborating, you have to be open and get ready for that. If that’s not working, you can’t force feed it in, ’cause it’s gonna screw up the song and not make it as potent as it can be. You gotta say, ‘All right, I gotta get rid of that ego thing and [be, like], ‘Okay. You’re right.’ And learn to say ‘you’re right’ and ‘I agree’. And then when you really feel strongly about something, you gotta remember that other side of it and you gotta really fight your way through. And sometimes that works too. So it’s a balance.”
