ANTHRAX's JOEY BELLADONNA: 'I'm Excited About The Future And I Can't Wait To Get Out There'

Earlier this week, Carlos Ramirez of AOL's Noisecreep conducted an interview with returning ANTHRAX vocalist Joey Belladonna. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Noisecreep: Before it was officially announced, the Internet was already speculating that you would be returning to the band because you were seen with Charlie Benante and Frank Bello at a FOZZY show together. How long had you and the band been in talks about this reunion?

Belladonna: It actually only took two days. I got a call from someone at the management office, and we got to talking about everything. We just wanted to make sure we were all willing to make things comfortable for everyone. That's the great part about it now. I think we're all ready to hear each other out and make sure everyone is happy with the way things are going.

Noisecreep: Now that you are back fronting the band, how fearful are you that the stuff that drove you apart before will come to surface again?

Belladonna: In a real sense, you try to view things from a better place. Like I mentioned before, this time out, if someone in the band needs something, we're all willing to make that person comfortable. I'm definitely not fearful about the negative stuff coming back. I think we've all learned from the past.

Noisecreep: What went wrong on the last tour you did together?

Belladonna: On the last time we did anything together in 2005-2006, we were so focused on the tour that we didn't get the chance to really to deal with the issues between us. There were also some short fuses and people not listening to each other. That kind of stuff happens in bands, but we just didn't deal with things properly.

Noisecreep: You will be recording new vocals for some of the songs that were supposed to be on "Worship Music", the unreleased album ANTHRAX recorded with Dan Nelson. I spoke with Charlie Benante, and he said that you took a quick pass at one of the songs and it reminded him of "Spreading the Disease"-era ANTHRAX.

Belladonna: He said that? That's really great to hear! I just tried singing over it for a couple of hours. I actually think it sounds more like "Persistence of Time"-era stuff. But I'm glad he liked what he heard.

Noisecreep: You sound surprised.

Belladonna: When I walk out of a room, I sometimes still have that feeling that people are like, "Maybe we should find someone else," or some crap [laughter]. But it felt good singing that song. It's in my range — the sweet spot for me. I can't pretend to be some other kind of singer. This is what I do best, and I'm not changing for anyone. I'm happy to have the support of the guys in the band. It means a lot to me. I'm excited about the future and I can't wait to get out there.

Read the entire interview from Noisecreep.

Video footage of Joey Belladonna performing in Plymouth, Massachusetts on July 31, 2009 can be viewed below.