Anthrax bassist Frank Bello recently stopped by Dean Delray‘s “Let There Be Talk” podcast to share updates on the band’s long-awaited new studio album. The thrash icons have been working at Dave Grohl‘s Studio 606 in Northridge, California, reuniting with producer Jay Ruston, who previously helmed their acclaimed records For All Kings (2016) and Worship Music (2011).
While the album is tentatively expected to arrive in May via Megaforce (North America) and Nuclear Blast (Europe), Bello emphasized the band’s enthusiasm for the new material and explained the rollout plan. When asked when exactly is new album gonna be released, he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth):
“Later this year. Very psyched. As fans, as we are, we are very psyched about this record. Later this year, it’ll be coming out. I think the way they do this now, the new cycle, is they put a single out and then they put another single out, and then the record comes out. I’m leaving it to the powers that be to do all that stuff. And we have new management, new agent, all that stuff. So, there’s a great plan going ahead. And you’re gonna be seeing us a lot.”
Bello also addressed the challenge of creating setlists for their recent Canadian tour alongside Megadeth and Exodus. He admitted that while the band wants to keep things fresh, omitting classic tracks like “Caught In A Mosh” or “Indians” often leads to fan backlash.
“You know what? It’s hard. And we were just talking about this. You have this catalog of these records, and then you literally — I mean, we asked fans on the web site, ‘What do you wanna hear?’ We can throw them in once in a while and stuff, but if you don’t play ‘Caught In A Mosh‘, ‘Indians‘, even ‘Got The Time‘, believe me, you hear it. And I don’t wanna make anybody unhappy that’s coming to see a show. So what I try to do is, we’ll try to bring in different songs and say, ‘Well, why don’t we just stick this [in there], maybe play it once in a while and get that song out here, put that one in for tonight?’ And it makes it more lively. And we’re trying. But the great thing about it — it’s a great problem to have, when you have this catalog and that people wanna hear all these songs, which is awesome. ‘Cause we don’t wanna upset people, but at the same time, you also have to give people what they want. I get it. The hits, whatever they’re called, you have to play them sometimes. But we like to mix it up. So, we have different songs for this cycle, for this tour. And we’ll see what happens.”
Earlier in October last year, while speaking in an interview with “Thomann’s Guitars & Basses” on Monday, Bello shared his excitement about album process.
“We all are very, very hungry, ’cause we’re in mixing right now. The new Anthrax record, I’m proud to say, I’m very psyched about this, that it’s mixing, and now we get to hear the whole thing of it,” Bello said. “And just to hear them really come to life now after all that, and, really, the parts are all done. Everything’s locked in. And to hear what they’re gonna sound like… as a fan of the band, it’s, like, ‘F**k yeah!’ You get hungry and you’re ready and you know you have the goods. So we’re pretty psyched.”
