ANTHRAX's FRANK BELLO On JOEY BELLADONNA: 'He Has A Gift From God, And It's A Beautiful Gift'

Robert Cavuoto of Metal-Rules.com recently conducted an interview with ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metal-Rules.com: ANTHRAX is a band that wrote some albums without the benefit of having a steady singer, when you are creating music and coming up with riffs. Whose voice do you hear in your head when you didn't have a singer?

Frank Bello: First, you want a good riff and melody. When knowing who the singer is, it's a lot easier from the perspective of the person's range of what he can or can't handle. Coming into "Worship Music" and "For All Kings", it was much easier writing melodies just knowing Joey's [Belladonna] voice. I have to tell you and this is not a kiss-up to Joey but he's better now than he has ever been. I stand on stage with him every night and the dude is just a phenomenon. I never heard of any singer that doesn't warm up and can still sing like he does. I'm a background singer and have things that I do to prepare. He is so consistent, and I'm a fan of his voice. He has a gift from God, and it's a beautiful gift. I'm thankful to be in a band with him. We heard from fans that the band has never sounded better live. That's the payoff when people like your songs and telling you it's was an energetic live show. That's why we do it — for that hour and a half on stage.

Metal-Rules.com: Is there a certain expectation or pressure moving forward with each CD that it has to be equally as good or better?

Frank Bello: I love pressure. Maybe it's a New York thing. [Laughs] I love the challenge of it all. Just write the best songs you can; don't try and compete with your last work. If it comes from your gut, then you are set. All I want to do is leave it on the stage. In terms of the process, you won't believe what goes into each song. We have to live with it and listen to them over and over. We just can't throw it out there. That's why it takes so long to write an ANTHRAX record. I'm glad we have that process; you don't want to write and just put it out. You want to dissect it and make sure every part gets you going. It important you have to care about what you are doing. The songs are my life and then turn into fans life after they listen to it. The last thing you want to do is let yourself down first; if you do that, you let everyone else down.

Metal-Rules.com: Did you treat yourself or buy anything special once you felt you had "made it"?

Frank Bello: I don't treat myself to anything! [Laughs] Here is why: I didn't grow up with a lot of money, I know the value of a dollar and I'm not extravagant. I had a Honda and I have an 11-year-old Nissan Pathfinder. I don't go extravagant; it's not my thing. I just need to get from point A to point B. You have to realize the days of multi-millionaire rock stars is gone. You have to remember lawsuits take away from a lot of that as well. [Laughs] I have a family and a child and I want to support them. I'm very much a family guy and when I'm off tour I'm in my house working; probably cutting my hands up. [Laughs] I was just outside working on my deck before speaking with you. I'm leaving next week for the tour and have to make sure everything is done.

Read the entire interview at Metal-Rules.com.

Photo credit: Ignacio Galvez