ANTHRAX's FRANK BELLO: 'I Don't Know If There Is A Record Business Anymore'

On September 18, Thorium magazine conducted an interview with ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On ANTHRAX's upcoming follow-up to 2011's "Worship Music":

"If you liked 'Worship Music', I think everybody's gonna be happy. 'Cause I'm a fan of this music, and I can't stop listening to it. I'm really excited. I can't wait to play the new stuff. It's very challenging and very… It's the next step from 'Worship Music'. I really feel good about it. I mean, everybody has to sell their record. It's the new record… blah blah blah. But I just… I think we're in a good place, writing-wise. So if you liked 'Worship', then we're in a good position."

"[It's] heavy as shit. I'm so psyched about the heaviness of the record. Plus you have Joey Belladonna vocals. If you like ANTHRAX, that's what ANTHRAX is: heavy riffs with great melodies on top, with Joey's vocals. So it's really… I'm just psyched about it. I know everybody has to have their own ears on it, so I can't wait for people to hear it. And I think they'll be really happy. I am. I'm super excited about it."

On how the music industry has changed in the last three decades:

"There's no record sales, because illegal downloading is… that's just the way it is now. You can't rely on the record sales the way you used to, so now it's all about being on the road and supporting yourself like that — because you can't rely on record sales anymore, because everybody gets it pretty much for free. I don't know if there is a record business anymore. You know what I mean? We put out records, but the business of it… I think it's completely different, because so many people get it for free. And they haven't figured it out yet, have they?"

On how hard it is to be away from his family when he is on the road with ANTHRAX:

"Very hard, because I have a 9-year-old son, who is everything to me. That's why I live. It's very hard to be away. That's why I try to get home as much as I can. But this is what we do. And you have to realize, the record business isn't what it used to be, so everybody has to stay on the road a lot longer. And it's really tough, but at the same time, you have to eat [laughs], you have to make a living, so we're on the road a lot more. But I love the road, so it's a balance. Thank God for FaceTime. FaceTime helps a lot. I can talk to them every night. It's really important to me — 'cause I didn't have a dad — to be a great dad. And I try to do everything I can to be a great dad. So if this is what I have to do to make a living, so be it… [But] it's always hard [to be away from the family]. It breaks your heart. You can't be there for a lot of cool stuff. I wasn't… My son's birthday, stuff like that… Sometimes you have a gig, and it is what it is. You have to make a living. Like every other person in the world, you have to make a living."

ANTHRAX's new CD will include such songtitles as "The Battle Chose Us", "You Gotta Believe" and "The Evil Twin".

ANTHRAX recently completed a six-week North American tour with VOLBEAT. The band's setlist included the new song "Soror Irrumator (Lords Of The Rock)", ANTHRAX's contribution to the the second installment of "Catch The Throne: The Mixtape", for HBO's Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning series "Game Of Thrones".