ANTHRAX Guitarist SCOTT IAN On His Spoken-Word Performances: 'I Just Kind Of Build It As I Go'

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian recently spoke with Double Kick about "One Man Riot", his upcoming spoken-word tour of Australia. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the inspiration behind "One Man Riot":

Scott: "I get asked all the time, 'What's the craziest thing I've ever seen?', or the craziest thing I've ever been a part of. Everyone wants to know what the craziest is, and that's generally what most of my show is — me telling the craziest stories that I've been a part of."

On whether the show is "safe for children":

Scott: "I would say 13 and up, maybe, would be safe. I swear quite a bit, so if that's a problem for people, they should be prepared for that. But it's not for children, let's put it that way."

On whether his spoken-word shows follow a specific script:

Scott: "I don't really have much of a plan when I do these shows, other than knowing what I'm going to start with. Within the first five, ten minutes of me being on stage, I'll have a good idea of where I'm going next. Then, wherever I'm going next, I'll have a good idea where I'm going to go after that. I just kind of build it as I go."

On the inspiration behind his spoken-word performances:

Scott: "It's not something I ever thought about doing, but about five years ago, I got an offer to do a show telling stories. The only reason I said yes was because I was curious, and I kind of took it as a challenge to see if I could do it, and really prepared to fail, because I really didn't know what the hell I was doing, or what I was going to do. I ended up having an amazing time and talking for two and a half hours and really enjoyed myself. I really couldn't wait to do it again. It really is something that just fell in my lap."

On whether he and his ANTHRAX bandmates have spent any time "reminiscing" with SLAYER during that band's ongoing farewell tour:

Scott: "There's no reminiscing at all. Everybody's just out here in the thick of it playing shows every day and just getting out there and making sure that we're doing our best every night. There's no sitting around reminiscing – it's not like that at all. There's no melancholy on a metal tour."

Ian's "One Man Riot" trek will kick off on September 24 and will include stops in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.

ANTHRAX's latest album, "For All Kings", was released in February 2016. Its arrival followed a five-year period during which the band experienced a rebirth of sorts, beginning with ANTHRAX's inclusion on the 2010 "Big Four" tour with METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH, and continuing with the 2011 release of comeback LP "Worship Music".