DAN NELSON: 'I'm Coming From A Younger, Angrier, Meaner, Hungrier Version Of ANTHRAX'

July 15, 2009

FuryRocks recently conducted an interview with ANTHRAX singer Dan Nelson. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

FuryRocks: What fans are you most likely to please? The John Bush fans or the Joey Belladonna fans?

Nelson: Hopefully all of them. Plus, I'm coming from a younger, angrier, meaner, hungrier version of ANTHRAX, so I think we're going to appeal to a younger audience than before too. As well as the old-school fans, who are the best fans there are. I think when everybody hears the new album, it's going to impress them. Or when they see us live. Last night we played in The Hague, it was out of control, it was off the hook. Anybody who's coming to an ANTHRAX show now is definitely going to leave as a fan if they weren't before.

FuryRocks: How big was your input for the new album?

Nelson: I'd like to think very big. They didn't have many songs written when I first came in and they had no lyrics or vocal melodies written at all. We all collaborated together on the album. So I'd like to think and I hope that a large part was me. I feel it was, because I definitely left my heart on the tracks. Charlie (Benante; drums) writes most of the music, as far as guitar riffs and the arrangements. The lyrics, for the most part, are written by myself and Scott (Ian; guitar) and most of the melodies were me and Frankie (Bello; bass). That's pretty much the way it went, with all of us giving a riff here or there.

FuryRocks: Wasn't the step of joining a band like ANTHRAX a big one?

Nelson: I don't know. Since I was a kid, I've always liked performing. That kind of thing has just always been in my blood. I just love being on stage, I love connecting with the audience. I breathe better when I'm on stage than I do now. In normal life, I'm just waiting for my next chance to get up on stage. That's when I breathe easiest. So it really didn't faze me. And I'm not saying that to sound cocky or anything, I just feel like this is what I was born to do and any chance I get to do it, I'm going to take full advantage of that. I'm just blessed now to be able to do it for a wider audience.'

FuryRocks: What does "Worship Music" sound like?

Nelson: It's definitely an ANTHRAX record. I don't think it's so different from the other records, but it's definitely the heaviest ANTHRAX, but at the same time it's very melodic. It's a very dark album. You're not going to listen to it and think, "Who is this? This isn't ANTHRAX," but at times, it's the most aggressive ANTHRAX you've ever heard, I believe. And if Charlie disagrees with me, I'll put him in a headlock right now. [Laughs]

Read the entire interview from FuryRocks.

Video footage of ANTHRAX's June 30, 2009 performance at Het Paard in Den Haag, The Netherlands can be viewed below (courtesy of "letthemetalflow").

"Fight 'em 'Til You Can't" (new song):

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).