ANTHRAX's FRANK BELLO: JOEY BELLADONNA 'Is Singing Better Than Ever'

ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello spoke to WVOX's "Metal Mayhem" radio show earlier this week about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2011's "Worship Music".

Asked about ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian's recent comment that the band's next CD will be "even better" than "Worship Music", Frank said: "Here's the way I look at this whole album thing and promoting your next record. This is a business. Everybody promotes their business and your next cycle, whatever it is. The thing is, you put your heart and soul into something like this and you write for a bunch of time. We were away from our families for quite a while writing the record and just going back and forth and picking and choosing. We don't let anything go. We nitpick to death, man. I mean, we're on e-mails all night: 'What part doesn't work?' 'What works?' I mean, it doesn't really end with us. We're very nitpicky until we know it's right. And it's really hard to let 'em go, too."

He continued: "When Scott says something like that, I have to say I feel the same way just because of what we've done with it. It's just… Man, we're fans of this…"

Bello added: "God, it sounds like I'm selling it, but I'm really not selling it; I'm just telling you the truth. We're fans of this music, so we can't let anything go that doesn't get us nuts, you know?!"

Frank also talked about the vocal contributons of Joey Belladonna, who rejoined ANTHRAX in 2010, less than five years after he reunited with the band's original members for the 2005-2006 tour.

"[Joey] is literally working on another song with [producer] Jay Ruston right now. We're up to vocals right now. It's going great, man."

He continued: "I'll tell you this much — [and] I'm not kissing up here — the guy is singing better than ever. And when I say 'ever,' dude, I'm saying the guy is freaking me out with some of the stuff he does on the record. It's, like, 'Where did that come from?' Sometimes I just say, 'Where did that come from, that note? What is that?''

Bello added: "For me, as a fan… I'm an ANTHRAX fan. So [I'm] not only in the band, but I wanna see the best for this band. So, for me, it makes me psyched to get this thing ready for people to hear."

Regarding the fact that it has been five years since ANTHRAX's last studio album was released, Bello said: "It's been a great run. The whole thing is… We put that record, 'Worship Music', the day we played Yankee Stadium in New York City. So I was thinking about that. And we did over two hundred… I think it was two hundred and twenty three shows on that last tour, and we haven't done that since the '80s. Every time we wanted to start writing a record, somebody asked us to do another tour that had to be done. And it made total sense to do it just to keep progressing and making the band… getting the buzz back."

He continued: "Look, we're all humbled by this. And thank God for it. We all know how hard it is in music now, and we all know we had to regain a fan base, and we were off for a while. And there's nothing better than to hear that we're back and all that good stuff, and the buzz is back, and people are anticipating the record, and all the pressures of the new record.

"For me, there's no pressure. It's just, like, write your next record and just do you best. That's all we've ever done. So, for me, it's a great time right now. So I'm completely stoked… and humbled."

ANTHRAX will hit the road later this month. First up, a six-week-plus North American trek that will include 24 dates with VOLBEAT, as well as appearances at five major outdoor festivals — Northern Invasion (outside of Minneapolis),Rock On The Range (Columbus, Ohio),Rocklahoma (Pryor, Oklahoma),and the San Antonio and Kansas City Rockfests. Dates start in Denver, Colorado on April 24.

On this first leg, ANTHRAX will play a "fan favorites" set, comprised of band classics such as "Anti-Social", "Madhouse", "Caught In A Mosh", "I Am The Law" and "Indians". The set will also feature "Soror Irrumator (Lords Of The Rock)", which was made available on March 17 and is already getting airplay on hard rock radio. ANTHRAX's Frank Bello, Charlie Benante and Scott Ian are massive fans of the show, so having been asked to write a song for the "Mixtape" was an enormous thrill. You can hear "Soror Irrumator (Lords Of The Rock)" (and the entire mixtape) for free on SoundCloud and iTunes.

Tentatively due later this year, ANTHRAX's new album is also the recording debut for guitarist and newest bandmember Jon Donais.