Anthrax Announces Worship Music Date
ANTHRAX – WITH VOCALIST JOEY BELLADONNA BACK
WHERE HE BELONGS – ANNOUNCES “WORSHIP MUSIC”
Album Will Street September 13 in Conjunction with
THE BIG FOUR 9/14 Yankee Stadium Performance
“When Charlie and I started working on this record in 2007, for all intents and
purposes, there was no Anthrax. The band was fractured at that point and for the
first time in the band’s history, we didn’t know what was going to happen next. There
was no light at the end of the tunnel, there was no future. So, what did we do? We did
what we always do. We made music.” — Scott Ian, Anthrax
LOS ANGELES, CA – TUESDAY, June 7, 2011 – Worship Music, the long-awaited new
studio album from Anthrax, one of the four original architects of speed and thrash-
metal, has been confirmed for a September 13 release date on Megaforce Records,
it is announced today. Appropriately, Worship Music will street the day before the
band’s triumphant return to their native New York to play at Yankee Stadium as
part of The Big Four concert extravaganza.
Not only is Worship Music Anthrax’s first studio release in eight years, but the album
marks the return of vocalist Joey Belladonna, whose last studio work with the band
was 1990’s Persistence of Time. Belladonna is now firmly back in the Anthrax
line up with drummer Charlie Benante, guitarists Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano, and
bassist Frank Bello.
“Getting Joey back in as our full-time, permanent singer solidified us as a unit like
we hadn’t been in years,” said Ian. “All of us were on the same page creatively,
working together, writing together, and becoming a band again.”
“I get goosebumps listening to the new music,” Benante admitted. “Scott and Rob’s
guitars are absolutely on fire, Frankie kicks butt on bass, and hearing Joey sing, well,
the band sounds like Anthrax – Joey’s back and it’s great.”
Added Ian, “This record is filled with not just four years of our lives, but with our
lifetime in the band. It encompasses it all, and when I listen to the record, I can hear
all the energy and love and hate and pain and laughter that went into this.”
The 11-track Worship Music was produced by Anthrax, Rob Caggiano and Jay Ruston
and recorded over a four-year period at studios in New York, Los Angeles and
Chicago. Belladonna’s return to the band prompted some of the songs originally
recorded to be re-crafted with fresh lyrics or tweaked to better suit his overall vibe
and energy. Some of the songs were completely replaced with brand-new songs
and, of course, all have Belladonna’s inimitable vocal stamp on them.
“We had the unusual luxury of hindsight with this album,” Ian explained. “We were
able to live with the songs we originally recorded, look back on them and see what
we really loved about them and what we could make better.”
“I’m very happy with the record, it sounds like Anthrax,” said Belladonna. “There
are some interesting twists and turns on it, and plenty of tunes for fans to get their
fingers on. I felt very comfortable working with Jay Ruston, and I think everyone
brought to the table what they needed to. Now it’s time for the fans to listen and get
what they’ve been waiting for. I’ll tell you, I’m really excited.”
Worship Music is loaded with stand-out tracks. While “Judas Priest” is a nod to
the huge influence that band has had on the members of Anthrax and metal heads
everywhere. “I’m Alive” is beautiful and grand with a build that demands audience
participation. “Crawl” is dark and moody, and filled with a lot of the emotion and
stress the band was feeling when it was written. “Fight ‘em ‘til You Can’t” is a song
about killing zombies, and who doesn’t love a good zombie song? It’s the one new
track that Anthrax has played live since they started touring with Belladonna a year
ago, and has been getting tremendous audience response. The song “Earth on Hell”
is classic Anthrax thrash. “The Devil You Know” is best-described as “an AC/DC
groove filtered through an Anthrax lens,” while “In The End” is epic-sounding and
Anthrax’s way of remembering the late Ronnie James Dio and Darryl “Dimebag”
Darryl.
“’In The End’ does have a melancholy feel,” confessed Benante, “and when we play it
live, Ronnie and Dimebag will be right there with us on stage.”
And just where did the title Worship Music come from? “One night, many years ago,
I fell asleep with the TV on,” explained Benante. About four or five in the morning, I
woke up, picked up the remote and pulled up the digital program guide. There was
a show on called ‘Worship Music,’ and I thought ‘what a great title for an album.’
Most heavy metal fans worship their favorite bands, metal heads are so loyal to
metal, going to a concert is like going to a house of worship. ‘Worship Music’ said it
all.”
When Anthrax first started Worship Music, they had no idea if the music would ever
see the light of day, but they carried on because making music is what they do, it’s
in their blood. According to Ian, “It took everything in us as people to make this
record and it shows. We went back to square one and did it for the same reason we
did it back then, because we worshipped music and we still do. Music is something
worth worshipping.”
Anthrax will support Worship Music with a massive world tour. Dates will be
announced shortly. Check out Anthrax’s social pages to stay totally up to date with
the band:
Official website: //anthrax.com/NFWS/
Twitter: //twitter.com/#!/anthrax
Facebook: //www.facebook.com/pages/Anthrax-band/116801924996501
With worldwide sales in excess of 10-million, 2011 sees Anthrax celebrating its 30th
year as a band. Over those three decades, Anthrax has received multiple Gold and
Platinum albums, multiple Grammy nominations, and a host of other accolades from
the media, industry and fans.
