ANTHRAX Guitarist SCOTT IAN: 'I Love JOEY BELLADONNA'

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian spoke to Eddie Trunk of the "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM last night (February 9) about the group's recent split with singer Joey Belladonna and their future plans. A BLABBERMOUTH.NET transcript of the chat follows:

Q: What's going on in the ANTHRAX world?

Scott Ian: We actually are gonna start writing the [new ANTHRAX] record on March 1. I'm going to Chicago on March 1. Charlie [Benante, drums] has a studio in his house. We're officially gonna start writing the record and hope to have a record written over the next, whatever, six-to-eight months — however long it takes — and then get in the studio.

Q: But Joey [Belladonna] is officially out of the band?

Scott Ian: Yes. The reunion tour is officially over.

Q: And what's the status of [Dan] Spitz [guitar]? Is he out as well?

Scott Ian: You know, I actually don't know the answer to that question. I've been e-mailing with Danny back and forth quite a bit. I know he's got a lot going on in his whole other world. Whether people are aware or not, Danny's, like, a big deal in the really, really fancy, expensive watch world — like crazy, super-high-end watches — and he's got his own line of watches coming out. It's weird, because before the reunion I would read this stuff online, and I would just kind of be like, "What the hell…?" But then like after hanging out with the guy for 20 months and you actually talk to him and see the watches and what-not, I was like, "Holy crap!" It's a pretty big deal. And I know he's been back and forth to Switzerland quite a bit trying to launch his watch line. So truthfully, I would think right now ANTHRAX is probably the least of his worries.

Q: What can you tell us about what went on with Joey?

Scott Ian: We had every intention of moving forward. At some point during the [reunion] tour, we just felt that things were going so well and we had really gelled as a band. And, of course, granted, we were only playing the old stuff. But we just really felt like, "Hey, why not?" From a musician's point of view, and from a creative point of view, why not see what ANTHRAX would sound like in 2007 with Joey singing on new material? And at some point, we had decided, "Yeah, let's do this." And after we finished in Japan in October, we started making the moves to try and make that happen and go forward, and it just seemed like we were constantly hitting this wall when it came to talking to Joey about it. What we really didn't get was when we had gotten offered to go out on the HEAVEN AND HELL/SABBATH thing with Dio, which we were just, like, unbelievably excited about, and Joey just straight-up didn't wanna do it, and we couldn't believe that. And then over about two months, it just basically came to the point where he just didn't wanna move forward with us. And no matter what we did, no matter what we said, no matter how much we tried, he just didn't wanna do it.

Q: So have you talked to [John] Bush [former ANTHRAX singer]? 'Cause I saw in a release where you said that you thought that there was some unfinished business with the Bush lineup.

Scott Ian: We've been speaking to Bush always. So that's something… There's really no answer to that at this point. John… Over the last 20 months, his life has gone in a dramatically different direction — he has a daughter and he has another child on the way imminently, and he's just in a completely different place right now. We've had some very, very, very long, deep discussions about things. Everyone's still friends and everything's good — it's just a case of right now in his life, it's not something that he could actually commit to. And I understand. If I had a kid coming… If my lady was pregnant and we were gonna have a baby in four weeks, I don't think I'd wanna be talking about writing a record and going on tour. You've gotta have your priorities straight and he certainly does, so… I think with John, it's definitely an open book, and I think it's absolutely a possibility that at some time in the future of this band that we will be working together again. There's just no answer right now. I can't say today that John Bush will be on the next ANTHRAX record because he's got more important things to deal with right now.

Q: So think out loud for us, Scott. What are you guys thinking right now? Do you have any ideas or are you just kind of chilling and taking a step back?

Scott Ian: We've kind of just come off the chilling period 'cause we finished in Japan in October and we've been off since then, so we've all had a really good break and a chance to clear our heads. Our attitude — mine and Charlie's and Frankie's [Bello, bass] — is, we're gonna go in full bore and just start writing songs. And who's singing on it? We'll figure it out.

Q: In retrospect, do you regret doing this whole reunion?

Scott Ian: No. Hell no! Hell no! You know what?! I had a blast. We got to be a band again, we got to reconnect, I got to become friends again with Joey and Danny. Regardless of what's happened and us not going forward with Joey and doing that, I have no personal problems with Joey Belladonna — I love the guy; I think he's an awesome dude, I think he's a great person, seriously, and I only wish him luck in anything going forward. I mean, the fact that I got to spend the last 20 months with him and reconnect and become a band that was actually better than we were in 1987. It was one of those moments that I can look back on now and think… One of the best moments of the band was, we had this idea and not only did we accomplish it, but it turned out better than I ever thought it could.