Ex-ANTHRAX Singer JOHN BUSH Feels No Bitterness Towards His Former Bandmates

ARMORED SAINT/ex-ANTHRAX singer John Bush was asked by Rock Hard magazine at last month's Rock Hard Festival (which was held May 25-27 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany) if he harbored any bitterness towards his former ANTHRAX bandmates over the way he was dismissed from the group in 2005 in order to make room for a reunion with the band's previous vocalist Joey Belladonna.

"No. Bitter is not the way I wanna be about anything," Bush replied. "I'm not bitter at all. There was probably not a perfect way to do that, what they did. It was like, how are they gonna say…? I mean, they asked me to do it — the tour with Joey [Bush was asked to take part in a '25th anniversary' tour that would see him and Belladonna splitting vocal duties — Ed] — and it just wasn't right for me, I couldn't do it. So, whatever… If they felt they had to do that, I understand. It wasn't like I was going, 'Yeah, do it. That's great.' But once it happened, I was like, 'OK.' It was like a book ended. It's OK. I mean, it's much better to look at it that way than to be angry or frustrated, 'cause I really don't feel that way." Asked if he was approached to rejoin the band once Belladonna left the group, Bush said, "I was asked to write [with the members of ANTHRAX] and it just wasn't right for me. I couldn't go back and say, 'Here I am...' It would be like coming in with my tail between my legs, and that's not right for me. I just couldn't do that. It just didn't feel right to do that. It was about soul, your gut. How does that feel? Does it feel right? Good enough. Sold. Answer."

As BLABBERMOUTH.NET reported earlier today, SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor has confirmed that he has been working with ANTHRAX on material for their upcoming studio album. Speaking to Rock Hard magazine, Taylor said of the possibility that he will become the new ANTHRAX singer, "It's been banded about. I'm not saying anything right now because all it's been is just talked about. Obviously, I'm really good friends with those guys. It kind of started as a joke. And then the more we talked about it, the more serious it got. I'm gonna at least help them out. It's kind of a dream come true — ANTHRAX is one of my favorite bands. We're just kind of taking baby steps right now. I know that we worked on about eight or nine songs together that I've written lyrics for, and there was a song that I had actually written for them that I was just gonna give them the music for, and once this kind of happened, I had to turn around and write lyrics for it myself. But there's nothing definite right now. It's one of those things where it's like we're just gonna kind of play it by ear and just see what happens. So there's nothing definite. It's something that we're talking about — it's something that we kind of wanna do. But I'm in two huge bands right now. So it's like I barely get enough time to sleep, let alone do another band. . . I'm gonna be busy, period. I'm just kind of honored that they would even consider me. These are people that I grew up listening to, these are guys that I had the privilege of getting to know on a real basis. To have them look at me and go, 'You know what? We would love to work with you,' it's such a huge compliment. It kind of makes me feel like I've come a long way in my life."

A video clip of ANTHRAX performing its cover of the PUBLIC ENEMY classic "Bring the Noise" with Corey Taylor at the 2003 With Full Force festival in Germany is available for viewing at YouTube.

ANTHRAX announced its split with Joey Belladonna in January, less than two years after the group's classic lineup reunited for a "25th anniversary" tour. A replacement singer will officially be announced at the end of June, according to guitarist Scott Ian.