{"id":43177,"date":"2016-02-26T00:00:59","date_gmt":"2016-02-26T00:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=43177"},"modified":"2016-04-19T01:54:50","modified_gmt":"2016-04-19T01:54:50","slug":"feature-anthrax-02-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-anthrax-02-16\/","title":{"rendered":"ANTHRAX – Breathing Thrash (February 2016) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANTHRAX – Breathing Thrash<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nFebruary 2016<\/span><\/p>\n

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Anthrax (l-r): Frank Bello, Scott Ian, Joey Belladonna, Charlie Benante and Jon Donais<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\nRhythm guitarist Scott Ian, bassist Frank Bello and drummer Charlie Benante began writing sessions for For All Kings<\/em> \u2013 the 11th full-length studio album from New York-based thrash metal outfit Anthrax \u2013 during early 2013, convening roughly every four to six weeks. The trio would meet one another for roughly three days at a time, arranging song fragments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just kept doing that all through 2013 and all through 2014,\u201d Scott Ian continues. \u201cSometimes it would be longer between the writing sessions because we\u2019d be out on a tour or something, but it was pretty consistent for about 18 months until we had somewhere around 16 things arranged musically. Of course we worked on vocals too and lyrics and what not throughout that whole time period, until we got to November 2014. The end of November 2014 is when we went into the studio to actually start recording it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A given member would author a riff, a riff which his fellow Anthrax members would subsequently jam alongside. \u201cThat\u2019s how the puzzle kind of comes together,\u201d the axeman submits. \u201cYou just start figuring out what comes next \u2013 what sounds right, what feels right. It just goes from there until you either get stuck and move onto something else, or sometimes the songs really just kind of come and within a few hours we\u2019ll have a whole arrangement. That doesn\u2019t mean that that\u2019s gonna be the final arrangement, but the creativity was coming pretty strong constantly and we were coming up with a lot of very strong skeletons of songs very quickly, which isn\u2019t usual for us. The vibe was just really good throughout the whole process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writing sessions in support of For All Kings<\/em> spawned leftover cuts. \u201cThere are two songs that we didn\u2019t finish,\u201d Scott informs. \u201cMusically they\u2019re done and recorded, but I never wrote lyrics to them. At some point we\u2019ll do something with those, but there\u2019s no plan at all. I\u2019m not thinking about it at all right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also omitted from For All Kings<\/em> is the track \u2018Soror Irruminator\u2019, which surfaced on March 2015 compilation Catch The Throne: Vol. II<\/em>, a compilation record issued to promote HBO<\/em> fantasy series Game Of Thrones<\/em>. \u201cIt was contractual, just for that record,\u201d the Anthrax co-founder divulges. \u201cIt\u2019s theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each respective songwriter possesses individual strengths. \u201cCharlie definitely comes up with the bulk of the riffs,\u201d Scott cites. \u201cI would say Frankie came up with a lot of the melody ideas and I\u2019m writing lyrics, but that doesn\u2019t mean that I\u2019m not coming up with riffs too and Frankie\u2019s also coming up with riffs. If you had to really break it down let\u2019s say to what we did most on this record and the last record as well though, that\u2019s kind of the groove that we\u2019ve gotten into. It seems to be working.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drummer Charlie Benante was largely absent during touring commitments for previous effort Worship Music<\/em><\/a> (September 2011), suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome in his left hand. \u201cA lot of that time in 2012 when we were on tour without him, he was at home working on material,\u201d the axe-slinger shares. \u201cThat was great because in a sense, he was getting a head start on the whole process. It worked out great.\u201d<\/p>\n

The extent of Charlie\u2019s issues with carpal tunnel syndrome in his right hand is unclear. \u201cI\u2019m not a doctor,\u201d Scott chuckles. \u201cI know that he can tour for a couple of weeks at a time, and that\u2019s it. He can\u2019t come out on a tour for six weeks because his hand just won\u2019t work that long, so he\u2019s been doing three weeks at a time or something like that. Four tops, maybe, but that\u2019s pushing it. The last thing we want to do is obviously make it worse, and then have him not be able to come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Carpal tunnel syndrome issues notwithstanding, Charlie, Scott and company didn\u2019t plot a specific musical direction for For All Kings<\/em>. \u201cWe don\u2019t talk about music, we don\u2019t make plans, and we don\u2019t have meetings,\u201d the lyricist laughs. \u201cWe just get in a room and write music that seriously just wants to make us bang our heads. That\u2019s all we\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Scott described For All Kings<\/em> as the \u2018most metal\u2019 record Anthrax has recorded in a long time. \u201cThat\u2019s it,\u201d he summarises. \u201cIt\u2019s just a statement. It\u2019s just how I feel about it, but I can\u2019t expand upon it, no. It just feels like the most metal record we\u2019ve ever made, to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Predecessor Worship Music<\/em> was arguably quite a \u2018metal\u2019 record itself, however. \u201cSure,\u201d the composer agrees. \u201cI just think these songs are more metal (laughs). I can\u2019t tell you why. Music isn\u2019t something I talk about; it\u2019s something I feel, it\u2019s something I hear. Not just my music, but the music that I listen to. I don\u2019t analyse Iron Maiden, I don\u2019t analyse AC\/DC. I don\u2019t analyse anything I listen to. I just feel it, I enjoy it and it moves me, and that\u2019s why I enjoy music. It\u2019s not something I talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albeit quite \u2018metal\u2019 an affair, For All Kings<\/em> nevertheless boasts ample melody. \u201cYeah, for sure,\u201d Scott seconds.<\/p>\n

A majestic title for the \u2018metal\u2019 long-player, For All Kings<\/em>\u2019 moniker was devised by Charlie. \u201cThe meaning behind it was basically a tribute to what came before \u2013 music that we loved growing up,\u201d the guitarist discloses. \u201cThat was his meaning behind it. My meaning for the lyrics for the song, for \u2018For All Kings\u2019, is different. It\u2019s about growing up, and taking responsibility for yourself. Not being a king, but being a man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such a thread of conversation naturally leads to the subject of For All Kings<\/em>\u2019 lyrical content being broached, much to Scott\u2019s disdain. \u201cI really hate that question,\u201d he laments, laughing. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing worse to me than talking about music and talking about the songs. I think they\u2019re pretty self-explanatory, but when it comes down to it, I\u2019m just talking about myself. Anything on the record is coming from a place of… Every lyric, every word is coming from an emotion that\u2019s either angry, or happy, or sad. Anything that was so strong and moved me so much that I was able to take that feeling and somehow write a lyric out of it. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, writing lyrics is not a natural thing. I don\u2019t speak in rhymes. I don\u2019t break into song like a musical when I\u2019m walking down the street. It\u2019s not something I do, yet at the same time I write lyrics. Really, it has to be something that is really moving me in a very powerful way and a profound way for me to be able to take it and make it work in the context of the lyrics. So, it\u2019s all about me and my feelings about the world, and that\u2019s about as really as in-depth as I want to talk about it. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d rather people just listen to the record and listen to the words, and see what they get out of it rather than me define everything. That ruins it for me, personally. To bring it back to Maiden again, when I sit and listen to a Maiden record, I don\u2019t wanna know where Bruce (Dickinson, vocals) was coming from. It\u2019s about how it makes me feel, you know what I mean (laughs)? Maybe other people wanna know everything and they can find an interview where it\u2019s all in there, but for me, I would rather people get their own emotions from it. You don\u2019t have to delve too deep into the lyrics to see what I\u2019m talking about in songs, though. It\u2019s the last four years of me living on this planet basically, and a lot of the crap that makes me angry (laughs). It\u2019s not like it\u2019s a secret, or I\u2019m burying things in metaphor. It\u2019s there for people to get into.\u201d<\/p>\n

Compared to 30 years ago, the performer authors lyrics from a different perspective nowadays. \u201cOh, for sure,\u201d he concurs. \u201cAbsolutely, yeah. Thirty years ago, I didn\u2019t know anything, so I wrote songs about what I knew about. I knew about comics, I knew about Stephen King books, and I knew a little bit about history, so I wrote what I knew. I wrote about the same thing \u2013 things that moved me (laughs). When I was writing things at 22 though, it was just different than writing things at let\u2019s say 50 and as a father. I\u2019m a completely different human, so yeah, certainly. I\u2019m writing from a completely different perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whom lends his voice to a given set of lyrics is a determining factor. \u201cFor sure,\u201d Scott augments. \u201cKnowing that we had this line-up of the band while we were writing this record and that Joey\u2019s (Belladonna) our singer, yeah. It absolutely colours what I do, because Joey is like a weapon that can do anything. It\u2019s like having Superman at your disposal, because any idea I have and anything I can come up with vocally \u2013 which I learnt on Worship Music<\/em> \u2013 he can do it. I can\u2019t. I can come up with ideas and kind of shout them along to the song and know in my head how I want it to sound, but I can\u2019t do it. It\u2019s not like I can go in the room and give Joey a guide track of exactly how it\u2019s supposed to go, because I can\u2019t sing (laughs). <\/p>\n

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\u201cWe leave Joey alone \u2013 on the last two records, we haven\u2019t gone in the room with him. It\u2019s just Jay (Ruston, producer) and Joey. He basically takes it and makes it his own, and really just shows the world what he can do. Like I said, he can do anything anything vocally. That makes my life just so much easier, because there\u2019s nothing I have to think about or limit myself with, like \u2018We can\u2019t really go high here\u2019 or \u2018We can\u2019t do a harmony like that.\u2019 He can do anything, and it\u2019s nice to be able to work with that at your disposal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such comments suggest certain vocalists to have stepped behind the microphone for Anthrax have possessed more limited abilities. \u201cIt\u2019s just different with Joey,\u201d the entertainer clarifies. \u201cYou write… at least I do. I certainly am writing and thinking about ideas with a vocalist in mind. Look, John Bush and Joey are both great singers, but Joey has a bigger range than John does. That\u2019s just a fact. That\u2019s not any negativity towards John in any way, shape, or form \u2013 they\u2019re just different singers.\u201d<\/p>\n

For All Kings<\/em> marks the recording debut of lead guitarist Jon Donais, of Shadows Fall. \u201cObviously all of the solos are his, and a lot of overdub stuff throughout the record,\u201d Scott credits. \u201cWe were just assembling arrangements as we were writing, so he could start working on stuff, and then he would send us back demos of stuff that he did. Just right from the start, he was there \u2013 he was like 97% there, already. Charlie worked with him a little bit on some of the songs and gave him some direction, and I think I might\u2019ve made a couple of notes after the first time he started recording solos with Jay \u2013 like actual solos for the record. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe barely had to say a word to the guy, though. Besides being a great player, Jon\u2019s an amazing guitar player. He just really understood what we were doing. He really understands the music. He understood the songs, and he understood what a guitar solo in the songs needed to be. My attitude is the guitar solos should have as big a hook as the chorus does, and Jon accomplished that without any problem at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the departure of Rob Caggiano (currently of Volbeat), Jon was highly sought. \u201cHe\u2019s the only person we wanted,\u201d the axeman confirms. \u201cWe\u2019ve known Jon forever, since the early days of Shadows Fall. We became friends ages ago, so he\u2019s someone that we already knew and were friends with. Obviously yeah, outside of the fact that we already know that he\u2019s a great player, we were already friends with the guy, so we knew that he was gonna be the right guy. We just knew that he was the right fit. It was just a case of whether or not it was something that he wanted to do. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted to, and at the same time when that was all going down, I was actually on the phone with Rob. He was like \u2018You know who would be perfect for you guys? Jon from Shadows Fall. I already spoke to him, and he\u2019s into it.\u2019 I\u2019m like \u2018Funny you mention that, because he\u2019s the only guy we want (laughs).\u2019 Instantly, we were all on the same page with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jon\u2019s lead guitar work minutely affected the arrangements of certain tracks. \u201cOn one song \u2013 \u2018Evil Twin\u2019 \u2013 we changed the rhythm part behind one part of the solo because it was a bit too busy,\u201d Scott tells. \u201cWe felt that if I just play a straight alternating picking part on the E string and just chug straight behind it, then it was letting the solo kind of shine more instead of playing this busy riff behind it. It was kind of just clearing things up a bit, and that was Jay Ruston\u2019s idea. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe said \u2018Why don\u2019t you play it like this behind the solo?,\u2019 and I was like \u2018Yeah, no problem.\u2019 There were a couple of times where \u2013 not necessarily rhythm guitar playing wise, but song arrangement wise \u2013 we were so happy with what Jon was playing that we actually extended lead break sections and added more, because we just wanted to hear more of what he had to offer. I believe we did that on \u2018Blood Eagle Wings\u2019, and even \u2018Breathing Lightning\u2019. I think they were two songs where we actually extended lead breaks, which was something that this band has never done.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jon is a revelation on For All Kings<\/em>, for those unfamiliar with his work. \u201cI agree with you,\u201d the Anthrax co-founder replies. \u201cI think this is really going to put him on the map. I think Jon should be held in the same esteem as a lot of these guitar hero guys that are out there. Jon\u2019s as good or better than anybody. He\u2019s an incredible player, and he\u2019s got an incredible sense of melody and what\u2019s right for a song. We\u2019re just so happy to have him in the band.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jay Ruston helmed production, as was the case with Worship Music<\/em>. \u201cHe\u2019s great,\u201d Scott compliments. \u201cHe\u2019s the only guy that we work with, as far as I\u2019m concerned (laughs). Jay just really makes things comfortable, and has a way of just creating an atmosphere where he works your ass off but you never actually feel like you\u2019re working very hard \u2013 it\u2019s always just very chill (laughs). I don\u2019t know how he accomplishes that. I think maybe it\u2019s because he\u2019s Canadian or something, but he really creates an amazing vibe in the room and just keeps it fun. He really does keep it fun, and that\u2019s really what it should be always. We\u2019re making a record, we\u2019re making music. It should only ever just be fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

As was the case with ninth studio record We\u2019ve Come For You All<\/em> (May 2003) and successor Worship Music<\/em>, For All Kings<\/em>\u2019 cover artwork was illustrated by comic book artist Alex Ross. \u201cCharlie and Alex came up with that whole concept,\u201d the axe-slinger adds. \u201cI just liked it. I just loved the way it looked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Directed by Jack Bennett, a music video was filmed for the track \u2018Blood Eagle Wings\u2019. \u201cWe had eight minutes to work with and just wanted to make more of a short film, rather than a music video,\u201d Scott elaborates. \u201cThe director basically took my lyrical idea, and realised it. The band\u2019s not in it at all \u2013 there\u2019s no performance, none of that. It\u2019s basically a short film, and it\u2019s fucking awesome. All I\u2019ll say about it is it\u2019s not safe for work (laughs). It\u2019s not safe for children; if it was a movie coming out in the theatres, it would be a Hard-R or NC-17 (laughs). It\u2019s pretty brutal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike the heyday of MTV<\/em>, music fans arguably no longer watch video clips to the same extent as before. \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d the lyricist muses. \u201cI don\u2019t watch videos, and I never did truthfully. I don\u2019t care about other bands\u2019 videos. I never really cared too much about Anthrax\u2019s videos (laughs). It was just a tool that labels needed. I couldn\u2019t tell you. It\u2019s not really something I gave much thought to until this one, because it had nothing to do with making a music video. The label asked if we wanted to do one and we had an idea, so we did it. I think people will find this, because they\u2019re certainly gonna hear about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For All Kings<\/em> was released on February 26th, 2016 via Nuclear Blast Records in Europe and Megaforce Records in North America.<\/p>\n

Interview published in February 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ANTHRAX – Breathing Thrash Anthony Morgan February 2016 Anthrax (l-r): Frank Bello, Scott Ian, Joey Belladonna, Charlie Benante and Jon Donais Rhythm guitarist Scott Ian, bassist Frank Bello and drummer Charlie Benante began writing sessions for For All Kings \u2013 the 11th full-length studio album from New York-based thrash metal outfit Anthrax \u2013 during early […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anthrax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43177"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43213,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43177\/revisions\/43213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}