FRANK BELLO Is 'Hoping' To Get New ANTHRAX Album Out In 2024

In a new interview with Ultimate Guitar, ANTHRAX's Frank Bello offered an update on the recording sessions for the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2016's "For All Kings" album. The bassist said: "We're recording — guitars, drums. I'm actually recording my bass next month.

"What ANTHRAX does these days, we do a bunch of songs together, like a bulk of the songs," he explained. "I think we have eight or nine right now. And we'll keep writing. I think that's important. That's how we did the last record, and it came out the way we wanted it to. We have a good bulk of songs right now that we know already. But we still wanna have a couple of more. So that's the way we go. We'll digest these for a while. I'll do my bass next month. Then vocals will come on and we'll have this locked up. And then we'll start writing a few more songs. Then we'll choose what's best for the record and how the record goes. We're hoping — I'm praying, 'cause it's been a while, man — [to have the album out] next year. It's been, I think, almost eight years from the last record. I wanna have a record out. We all do. I can't wait to play new songs — all this stuff. I wanna go on tour. But it's gotta be right."

Asked if he and his bandmates tried to put stuff together during the pandemic as far as sending files back and forth, Bello said: "We actually got together periodically. But during the pandemic, when everything was locked down — I live in New York; we were really locked down. It was really ridiculous when it first started. And everybody was doing their jamming over the Internet and all that. That's great. I think that satisfied a lot of people. I thought that was great. That was fun. But with ANTHRAX, the three of us have to be in a room and looking at each other and vibing. And it's spontaneous and it's locked in. And you do it like this [via video], and I love this, but the latency — there's a second delay. Imagine just jamming like that, it's, like, 'What'd you play there?' And it stops the vibe. And all of a sudden you're taking apart the song for no reason. It's, like, 'All right. This isn't the way to do it. We have to get together.' So that's what we did. And I think it was a smart move because we won't put out anything we don't live. And it's gotta be right. It's gotta be exactly the record we're coming out with. That's who we are."

This past May, ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian told Wall Of Sound's Duane James that he and his bandmates had "gotten nine songs so far. Charlie [Benante] recorded drums on nine songs, I've got guitars almost done on four. Then I came out on these [MR.] BUNGLE dates. But Frankie and I are going to head back into the studio, like, first week of June to finish all the guitars and bass, work on some vocal ideas. Then probably vocals and lead guitars will start not long after that. Then there'll be another drum session somewhere down the line, probably because there are more ideas that we just haven't really had a chance to get tightly arranged yet. So there'll be another drum session in the next few months."

As for a possible release date for the next ANTHRAX album, Scott said: "I'm not gonna put any deadline or date on anything, but I'd like to think a record would be done by the end of the year. Then we'd be out starting again next summer, you know, probably. That's a very loose, loose schedule, in my mind."

Earlier in May, it was announced that Ian, Benante and Bello had been in the studio with producer Jay Ruston, laying down basic tracks in preparation for singer Joey Belladonna to record his vocals and for lead guitarist Jonathan Donais to add his leads and solos.

At the time, Scott wrote on social media: "We started recording the new album last week and the first session was a blast! The songs are killer, challenging and a lot of fun to play - Riff-O-Rama. Tones are 1986 great. Can't wait for all of you to hear what we’re doing."

Charlie added: "We entered the studio and have begun recording our new record. I feel that the songs are next level for us. The first batch that I recorded were a bit challenging as far as my drumming goes. The next batch will be recorded in between my @panteraofficial schedule. I can't wait to record the next batch… some great stuff coming! The persistence to spread the euphoric Music we worship among all you Kings ( and Queens) has always been our mission @anthrax".

A month earlier, Benante was asked by Robert Cavuoto of Metal Rules if his packed 2023 touring schedule with PANTERA will delay the release of ANTHRAX's new LP. He responded: "We're actually going in two weeks to start recording the record. But it probably wouldn't come out till '24 anyway. But the good part about it is we are going in to start recording it. So that's awesome."

Elaborating on why it has taken so long for ANTHRAX to complete the writing process for a new LP, Charlie said: "If we didn't get hit with this whole global pandemic thing, it would have been out probably two years ago, three years ago. But we all know what happened. But now, being that some of the songs were [written] before the pandemic hit, they're old to me. So now there's a bunch of new songs that kind of came in the mix. So that's a good thing. You can never have enough… We're still working on the older ones because we really like a lot of those."

This past January, Ian told Metal Edge that he and his bandmates had "11 musical arrangements", as well as "some" lyrics, that they were working on for their next album. "Obviously, I'm going to be working on more words and we're getting there," he said. "I'm hoping at some point we'll be able to get into the studio [this year] and record them."

Benante also loudly wondered if ANTHRAX could focus on releasing EPs in the foreseeable future as opposed to full-length albums, as has been the case for much of the band's four-plus-decade career.

"What if it wasn't a full album?" the drummer asked. "If we released six songs and then we released another six songs. I know from a record company's point of view that really doesn't work, but in these days…"

"Yeah. It's all so different now," Ian said, jumping in. "SLIPKNOT's saying now why even make full albums anymore. I get it. I get all sides of it. I still love a full album, but at the same time I totally understand the idea of what's the point of giving someone 11 songs. Most people don't listen to albums anymore. So, yeah — why not parse it out? I don't know. All I know is at some point in the next few months we'll probably have 14 or 15 things and then we'll have to decide when we're going to record it and how we're going to release it."

"Think about it," Benante continued. "If ANTHRAX released five songs and you have these five songs, and you absorb it in such a different way nowadays, too. I think that may be the way to go, rather than give everybody 11 songs and it's like, 'Oh — I only had a chance to listen to the first four or five.' I don't know. I just think maybe the business model is different."

"And even for us, playing songs live it's like, you put out a record with 10 or 11 songs on it with the idea that, 'Oh man, I can't wait to play this one live and I can't wait to play this one live,'" Ian added. "On 'For All Kings', we definitely didn't play all of those songs at any point. I think there's maybe six songs on the record that got played – and that's it. I almost feel like you're wasting them. I understand album tracks, but if you put out just five songs it would be easy to play all five of those on a new tour."

"And easier to digest, too," Benante agreed. "You would appreciate it more if it was just five songs and, 'These five songs are fuckin' killer. I can't wait for the next five songs,' knowing that we will release another five or six."

Earlier in January, Benante told Ruben Mosqueda of We Go To 11 that ANTHRAX was planning to enter the studio sometime this spring to begin recording the new LP.

"Between the PANTERA [tour dates in 2023], we're gonna be working on this record, this ANTHRAX record," he said. "We're hoping to have it finished before PANTERA go to Europe [in late May]. I have a little window after that, before [PANTERA's stadium tour with] METALLICA starts. At least if I get my drum tracks done, then the other guys can continue to work on it. That's the plan. Unless something else happens, but hopefully nothing will happen."

Last November, Bello told SiriusXM that the band is "not in a rush" to record the new album. "We wanna make sure it's the right record," he explained. "We can't just throw out something that's not ready. So we're gonna really make sure it's the right record and live with it for a little bit. We have some brutal stuff and some cool stuff coming up — very heavy — we've been working on. Everybody can say that when they're working on a record. But the proof is in the pudding. I'm pretty proud of what we've come up with so far."

In August, Ian praised the production quality on some of the band's recent albums, including 2011's "Worship Music" and "For All Kings". He said: [On] 'Worship [Music]' and 'For All Kings', for me, we've really kind of found our sound. We've got this base level where we're at right now with [producer] Jay Ruston where we know it's gonna be great, and then we could push it even further. Especially with the songwriting that we have right now, going into what will eventually be a new ANTHRAX album, it just lends itself to even a more aggressive production which I think we will have no problem accomplishing."

In April 2022, Scott confirmed to Metal Injection that ANTHRAX had a few songs already written for the upcoming LP. "All I can say is we will get in the studio when we're ready," he said. "I think we're getting there. I think we have great songs. I think people will be very happy.

"Not to make a weird comparison, but it's our third record back together with Joey. Actually, it's an odd comparison. I should just say it's our third album since our kind of our reboot in 2010 and our third album back in the day was 'Among The Living'. I'm not saying that this is [like that album], because it's not 'Among The Living II' in any sense, but I just think we have some great songs and there's like a fucking mountain of great riffs. I think people are going to be very happy."

Ian previously discussed ANTHRAX's upcoming LP during a July 2021 appearance on Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show. At the time, he said: "We've been at it for a little while now. We actually started writing in '19 — pre-COVID — and kind of stepped away from things when COVID happened. We were all separate and apart and we would kind of revisit some of the demos, but we weren't actively working on it.

"Yeah, it's the same as it's always been," he said. "I would have to think by the time we get to the other side of the writing process and we decide we're ready to go record it, I would have to assume it's certainly going to represent this time in our lives. And the world having gone through a pandemic, I would imagine certainly that's in some way, shape or form going to come out through this next record. I can't tell you how yet, but I would have to think it's going to."

ANTHRAX celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021 with a number of special activities and events. Formed by Ian and bassist Dan Lilker in Queens, New York on July 18, 1981, ANTHRAX was one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast and quickly became regarded as a leader in the genre alongside METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH.

Active over the past five decades, ANTHRAX has released 11 studio albums, been awarded multiple gold and platinum certifications, received six Grammy nominations, toured the world since 1984 playing thousands of shows, including headlining Madison Square Garden and playing Yankee Stadium with the "Big Four".

"For All Kings" was called by some critics ANTHRAX's strongest album to date. Its arrival followed a five-year period during which the group experienced a rebirth of sorts, beginning with ANTHRAX's inclusion on the "Big Four" tour, and continuing with the release of comeback LP "Worship Music".