ANTHRAX's FRANK BELLO: 'I Don't See SLAYER Ever Really Going Away'

ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello was recently interviewed by PureGrainAudio. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On SLAYER "packing it in" after one "final" tour:

Frank: "For me, I don't feel like that. The 'packing in,' that's very… it's a definite thing. I don't see SLAYER ever really going away. I'm sure they're gonna be doing one-offs. I don't see that happening. Look, they're my friends. They're too good to let that happen, quite honestly. You need a break. Touring is not as easy as you think it is. When you're away from your family… I'll be away from my kid for six weeks right now. I make my son breakfast, my wife goes to work, I do his homework with him. Now that whole thing at home has to be turned over. So it's not an easy life to leave for a long amount of time. So that gets to you after a while. And sometimes you just wanna be home. But you also have to play. So it's a hard balance. But we're very fortunate — thank God! — we're able to do this for a living. But there is another side to it that's not so easy. So I hope that SLAYER will wanna do one-off shows at least — just 'cause SLAYER rules and they're my friends and all that stuff. And I wanna play with them, quite honestly. So I am looking forward to [the North American leg of] that tour [which features ANTHRAX as one of the support acts]. That's gonna be a big celebration. Because that backstage — I don't know what's gonna be crazier, the backstage or the front of the stage. It's gonna be a really fun tour. LAMB OF GOD, TESTAMENT, BEHEMOTH… It's gonna be fun. Good people on that tour too."

On the possibility of him following in ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian's footsteps and releasing a book of his own:

Frank: "It's funny because since Scott's book, people have approached me — publishers and stuff. And it's kind of in the works. I haven't started writing it yet, but getting the deal and all that stuff — who to go with and all that stuff. And look, I'm not this famous guy or anything. I just have a lot of fun stories, I've been in this band for 35 years; there's a lot of craziness that went on. Aside from being a die-hard KISS fan and meeting those guys when I was younger, and that experience about just being a fan. I come from that point of view."

On how he fees about the U.S. under President Donald Trump:

Frank: "You know what I do? Here's what I do… Honestly… This is why I'm so happy and grateful that I'm a musician, 'cause I block out that world. That will take care of itself — that will take care of itself either way. Because, look, I have a family, you have a family, we're all worried about stuff. But what I don't do is get into politics, because I don't wanna wanna bring that into this, 'cause I just need music to get me away. For me, that's how it works for me — music, for me, takes me away from all that. 'Cause at the end of the day, do we really have a choice in it? You vote, but do you really have a choice? So I really don't get involved with the politics, 'cause I wanna play music, man, and I don't think people wanna hear [an opinion about politics] from Frank Bello or a musician like me. 'Cause it's all gonna take care of itself — it has to; it has to me. 'Cause I have faith that it will. I read everything — I read The New York Times every day on my computer — but I keep my judgment to myself and my opinions, just because they're mine. I'm a musician, and I just wanna make people feel good. Whoever wants to [voice his or her opinion on politics], it's fine with me. It's just personally, me, I'd just rather keep it to myself. But at the end of the day, I really feel things will work out, because they have to."

ANTHRAX will support SLAYER on the first two legs of the Tom Araya-fronted outfit's last-ever North American run of dates.

ANTHRAX has just released "Kings Among Scotland", the band's long-awaited live-in-concert DVD, via Megaforce.