Former Anthrax and current Armored Saint vocalist John Bush recently reflected on his successful December 2025 “Celebrating The Songs Of Anthrax” solo dates. During a conversation with Jimmy Kay of Canada’s “The Metal Voice“, the singer discussed the impact of those performances and addressed the possibility of a multi-singer Anthrax tour in the future.
Backed by his Category 7 bandmates Phil Demmel (guitar), Mike Orlando (guitar), and Jason Bittner (drums), along with Armored Saint bassist Joey Vera (filling in for Jack Gibson), John Bush performed material spanning his entire tenure with the band. The setlists highlighted tracks from Sound Of White Noise, Stomp 442, Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, and We’ve Come For You All.
“Yeah, it was awesome. The shows were amazing. All three of ’em were great. It was a lot of fun. I got pretty favorable reviews from people,” John Bush shared (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “It was cool for me to hear those songs live as well as to hear all those guys in [Category 7] play them so well. And I think for the fans, a lot of those people probably felt like they may never hear those songs live again. And so there was a lot of emotion in the crowd from hearing those tunes. It was really, really cool. So it was all a big giant plus, and I’m glad I finally did it. And I wanna do more. It’s just gotta fit in with my schedule. I am playing Milwaukee Metal Fest with it, and so is Armored Saint the day before, so that should be fun. But there’s a lot of territories I would like to play with. It just has to coincide with my life right now. I’m kind of focused on Saint, and we have a new record coming out. So, I’m kind of distracted, but, yeah, we’ll see.”
He also addressed the physical demands of singing the material and why he doesn’t feel rushed to book extensive dates immediately.
“It’s old material, so it’s not going anywhere — let’s face it. And I don’t think there’s an urgency to have to do it, because I waited so long to do it. So, I think if there’s any urgency connected to it, it’s mostly just because the songs are demanding, so they’re not easy to do. And, unfortunately, with every passing minute. I’m getting older. So it’s more about just being able to do it. And if I’m able to do it physically, then I don’t really have to feel like I have to do it or else I can’t.”
From a business perspective, the singer confirmed the short run of shows was financially viable, largely aided by merchandise sales.
“It was worth it. It was worth it, for sure. I mean, this isn’t just some big cash cow that I’m making a bunch of money on. I didn’t wanna lose money, of course. It paid for itself. And I think that was the key thing. And I sold a lot of records. I actually contacted Megaforce and [ordered copies of the Anthrax albums to sell at the gigs]… I sold all the vinyl — all of it. ‘Cause Megaforce re-released those records. So I sold all the vinyl, I didn’t sell all the CDs, but I ended up buying them anyway. And I have ’em because I signed them. Eventually I’ll sign ’em [and] I’ll sell ’em somewhere. But, yeah, it was pretty amazing that I actually sold all the records,” he explained.
When asked about staging a celebration tour alongside current Anthrax singer Joey Belladonna and original vocalist Neil Turbin, similar to the successful multi-era format utilized by Helloween, the frontman was open to the concept but acknowledged potential hurdles.
“I think it was really cool what Helloween did with all that. I think it’s a very creative, and it was something that I think I would like to do that. I think that probably the person that would have to be convinced would be Joey, quite frankly. And I understand whatever his perspective is on it, whether he doesn’t or does wanna do it. It’s up to him, really. And the band, of course. But I think everybody would have to feel like ‘I’m in’. Or not. And if you’re not, then don’t do it by any means.”
Over the past 45 years, Anthrax has employed a rotating cast of vocalists, while guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante have remained the consistent core. Neil Turbin recorded the 1984 debut Fistful Of Metal before Joey Belladonna stepped in to record undisputed classics like 1987’s Among The Living. John Bush fronted the group from 1992 until 2005. After a brief reunion with Joey Belladonna and a short stint with Dan Nelson, John Bush returned temporarily before Joey Belladonna permanently reclaimed the position in 2010.
