The wind was gusting at 35 miles-per-hour and the mercury had dropped into the upper teens by the time Anthrax were scheduled to play the Red Bull Snowboarding event on February 5 in New York City. Just days before the show, no one thought it would be so unbearably cold. The trip through the icy weather would have been bad enough even if the concert was inside a heated venue. It wasn't.
Since the show featured real snowboarders, Red Bull's Snowscrapers had to be outdoors by an icy ramp at Manhattan's East River Park. Anthrax were supposed to go on at 9 p.m. and play for 45 minutes, but there were delays and they didn't take the stage until after 9:30. By that time, the musicians were freezing and, due to curfew constraints, the power was cut after their third song -- just as guest vocalist Chuck D. from Public Enemy was stepping up with the band to play "Bring the Noise." So it goes in the world of Anthrax.
Since the group's 1984 debut, Fistful of Metal, adversity has been their only constant. They've had business hassles with managers and labels, issues with frontmen, and their name even became a problem in 2001 when letters containing the Anthrax disease were sent to various political and media outlets following the attacks of September 11.
In 2005, John Bush, who had sung with the band for 12 years, stepped aside while Anthrax reunited with their '80s singer Joey Belladonna. The tour went well and the band planned to record a new album with Belladonna, but that didn't work out, so Anthrax asked Bush to sing with them again only to be turned down. Left in a lurch and with no label deal, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante and guitarist Scott Ian spent a long time writing new songs and trying to recapture their footing. Eventually, they hooked up with new singer Dan Nelson, who entered the studio with them to record the upcoming album Worship Music, which is tentatively due in May.
In an interview with HeadbangersBlog.com, Ian discussed the departures of Belladonna and Bush, the addition of Nelson and the vibe of the new disc, which features some of Anthrax's heaviest, thrashiest songs since 1987's Among the Living as well as some new surprises.
HBBPodcastAnthrax209.mp3 - Anthrax
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