When it comes to killer metal, you know you can’t go wrong with a band like Anthrax. When it comes to humble, down-to-earth guys who deliver said killer metal, you also can’t go wrong with Frank Bello. This powerhouse bassist keeps it real, and it helps that he’s the real deal. From touring and writing to longevity in the industry to craft beers, Frank gave us the tremendous honor of shedding a little light on what really fuels the fires of Anthrax.
You guys must be trying to set a record for longest time out on tour. You guys have been touring this record for quite a while, right?
Yeah, that’s what we do. The only way to really get people to hear your record nowadays is to tour and let them see it and all that good stuff. And, hopefully, they’ll go buy your record if there’s such a thing anymore. But that’s what we do. We have always been a touring band. We have a week off after this, then we go off to Japan. I think we might actually have… what I’m hearing… we go right to Europe after that, and then we’ll have a month off in August, which is a very rare thing which I need. I think we all need for our families, cuz we all have families. So we just want to see the kids and hang out and be dads, ya know?
For sure. You guys have been on tour for a year and a half now?
Yeah, yeah. The record came out a little over a year ago now, and we were touring well before that. Way before the album came out. So, yeah, this is what we do, and thankfully it’s always good when people want to see your band. The crowds have been coming. Even on this KillThrax tour we’ve been doing, this has been a great tour for everybody. People have been showing up, packing the houses every night. It’s a great bill; everybody’s loving it. So, it all works.
Well, Anthrax and Killswitch is kind of an interesting pairing, right?
Yeah. We’ve been friends with these guys for a long time anyway, so it all works “friend-wise.” We’re seeing that the crowds have been having a really good time with it. Some people that haven’t seen Anthrax before that are Killswitch fans are giving an open ear to it. And same thing for Killswitch, so it’s really working out well for everybody. You have The Devil Wears Prada which is awesome, and you have Code Orange which is awesome also, so it’s a really good package.
For all Kings has pretty much been a tremendous success. Did you guys expect that kind of a positive response?
Well, you always hope for… At the end of the day, we know by this time in our lives, is that all we can do is leave it all out there. Everything we have, make sure it’s… we gotta come at it from a fan’s point of view. We’re fans of this music. So, you don’t want to bum yourself out. You want to really write the best stuff you could… that really gets the fire going. Ya know, that sets the fire in your belly. It’s gotta meet that, and believe me, with Anthrax – the way we write – if it doesn’t meet that fire, it gets thrown out. That’s why it takes a little bit of time to write an Anthrax record. We digest it, live with it, and it’s gotta be … it’s never written in two weeks, believe me.
This record has kind-of been a “rebirth” for you guys. Do you guys feel the same way?
I do! I feel the whole thing… “The resurgence”, people are calling it. Which is great for me… all of us here. We’ve never left, but there’s… since the “Big Four,” it’s been non-stop. The last two records, it’s been insane. So, we just … it’s a really fun thing to watch the rise again and all that stuff, so we’re having a blast with it seeing the younger generation along with our fans. There’s a whole new generation coming that maybe have never seen Anthrax before. And with the “Big Four”, maybe they got to see us or they heard the name, but they never got to see it. We’re finding a whole bunch more people coming in which is awesome.
If one of the other camps approach you and say, “Hey, let’s do that Big Four thing again,” do you think that’s something you’d want to do?
I can quite comfortably say that everybody involved would love to do it. I’m friends with Slayer, with Megadeth, they’re all my good buddies, so I can confidently say we’d have fun. It was one of the best experiences ever since we’ve all been doing this. It was just a great vibe. And let’s face it, it was great for the fans.
For sure! It’s great getting all this new blood listening to the thrash metal from back in the day.
This music… the fans rule. Bottom line, they’re great, and they’re loyal. All we can do is write the best possible music we can do, and thankfully, it’s been a great run. We’re just having a really good time right now.
On this KillThrax tour, you guys are trading spots as closers. Does that affect the setlist, or do you guys play the same setlist regardless?
No, both bands get an hour fifteen every night; it’s co-headline. It’s great. It’s just a lot of fun. Ya know, Joey goes out and sings a song with them (Killswitch) at the end of the night with them, those guys. So, it’s a very comfortable, friendly, cool vibe on this tour.
Speaking of Joey, for this album, For All Kings, you had to write the melodies for his vocal range, right?
Well, it’s always been that kind of a thing as far as that stuff goes, but writing… me, Charlie, and Scott get in a room and bang out songs, but yeah, the melodies, it’s always been like that.
On this KillThrax tour, is there any kind of competitiveness to out-do each other?
Never. Never, ya know what the fun thing is? We just want everybody to have a good show. We’ve all been through the middle, and at this stage, all I want is to get everybody, truthfully, because I know how important everybody’s dollars are to go see a show and how important it is because I’m a fan. And I want everybody to have a great show for the fans. I know, it sounds like a line, but it’s not. Everybody deserves a good show, and that’s the truth.
Do you prefer closing, or do you prefer letting Killswitch close?
Ya know, some days you just want to get in the shower earlier, but it doesn’t matter really. I sometimes like not closing just for that reason. You can eat dinner, all that stuff. When you close, it’s two hours later. It goes back and forth. This has been a great run. There’s two and a half weeks left of this run, and I’m just enjoying it.
You had a few songs when writing For All Kings that didn’t make the cut. Are you planning to get back to writing once you get off the road?
I could see eventually it’ll come to that point, but like you said, we’ve been non-stop. I think Anthrax, we’re booked until next year. I’m hearing that they’re booking January right now, so for me… I hear Australia in March. I can’t say any definitive writing yet, but everybody’s got their riffs. Everybody’s got their music. Eventually, we’ll get together and we’ll know it’s time. We don’t want to rush anything especially when we’ve got so much more touring to do. I’m sure it’ll get out there. I’m sure we’ll all have our stuff and we … when we get home and comfortable. It’s not always easy writing on the road. But everybody’s got their riffs, MP3s and all that stuff. It’s fun just to do that, and we’ll get together and work something up.
Anthrax – Suzerain (Lyric Video)
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In all the years, you guys have been recording and touring… over 35 years man! What’s the one thing that you’d like to see the band accomplish?
Uhm, God, we’ve been very lucky and fortunate with everything. I don’t think I ever want to feel accomplished. It’s a hunger that drives us, that burns in our bellies. I still think there’s a lot more to give. That’s the way it is. I don’t think you ever stay complacent. You have to stay hungry. You think… Yeah, we’ve played Yankee Stadium, we’ve done a lot of great things in our life. But I still don’t feel like we’re satisfied and that’s a great place to be in. So, I don’t think you should ever lay down on anything.
We’re out wherever there’s an audience. At the end of the day, we’re entertainers. People want to come to the show and forget about their problems for a couple of hours. That’s what I want to do. That’s what we’re here for. We write songs… we’re lucky enough to write songs and people come to see us play. And I want to give everybody their dollar’s worth. I think it’s really important.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen on this tour so far? I mean, I’m sure it all kinda blends together…
(laughing) Ya know, it’s funny man, I mean we’re like … remember this man, we came back… we did 6 weeks of Europe, then we had ten days off. Literally ten days off, then right back on six weeks on this, so it’s been a plethora of crazy things. But ya know, at this point, you laugh a lot. Cuz, life is great, the way I look at it, it’s the best TV show out there.
In all the shows I go to, I don’t know if I’ve seen anybody mosh as hard as they do at an Anthrax show.
Yeah, we get some fun going. It’s all about the energy. I don’t think that a band… a band doesn’t do it all by itself. It’s the fans that come in, the audience, and you get that energy together. The audience and the band and that energy and that’s when the fun stuff happens.
You guys also have a couple of side projects going, especially, a new beer.
Yeah, we do. The Anthrax pale ale, Wardance. We’re very happy with it. Have you tried it?
I haven’t been able to find it yet out here on the West Coast.
Yeah. That’s going to take a little bit of time to get going as you know when bands put out beers. But, I can happily say that everybody who’s tried that beer always wants another. You can’t just drink one. I think that’s really important. Cuz, it’s taken a long time to get to this place where we’re at, and believe me, we like our beer. And it took a while and a lot of sending ‘em back until we were satisfied with the taste. We are very very proud to put our name on it.
