JOEY BELLADONNA: I Would Have Rejoined ANTHRAX Even If FRANK And DANNY Weren't Involved

Blasting-Zone.com recently conducted an in-depth interview with ANTHRAX frontman Joey Belladonna. Several excerpts follow:

Blasting-Zone.com: In your opinion, how has the tour gone thus far?

Joey: "I think it went quite good. We're working really well together. Everyone's having a very good time working together and we're performing well. There's nothing to complain about, really. We just have to keep business at hand and keep pluggin' along. A lot of things are happening. We just need to stay focused."

Blasting-Zone.com: Did the initial rehearsals go better to worse than you expected them to?

Joey: "It was awfully quick. The first day, when we finally got everything all plugged in, we banged out a whole set and it was like 'Okay, this feels good…' The next day, we fooled around a bit and tied up some loose ends with a few of the songs. The next day after that, we ran through everything again, quickly, and that was it… nothing more and nothing less. Everybody was quite cool about it. Half the battle was making sure that we had a level in there that was convenient for everyone. We even did 'One Man Stands' in a single shot. Danny [Spitz, guitar] wasn't even familiar with it. The only other time we had played it was during pre-production before we recorded it."

Blasting-Zone.com: Any chance you'll be going into the studio to record some new material?

Joey: "We just need to find the right time to go in so we can write. I don't think anyone doubts that could or would do a new record. We just have to get in there and work out some good ideas. That's when you'll hear more about it. I know everybody's probably itching to do it. We haven't discussed it in any formal way. It just comes up so often. I'm not gonna push it either, though. I've also been thinking of some things we can do to get us there, ya know? It'll be interesting…"

Blasting-Zone.com: Is there any truth to the reports that you were originally going to play Ozzfest?

Joey: "I was all rumors. I don't know about all of the discussions…there was a lot of handed-down information. I don't really even know the specifics. There were just a ton of rumors. It's funny… I was hangin' out with the guys from ('80s pop rock icons) JOURNEY last night. That 'mystery photo' they had up on the Ozzfest website was a photo of JOURNEY. It was from their 'Arrival' album. It was all just a rumor, really. We are going to be doing Gigantour, though."

Blasting-Zone.com: Do you think this reunion could have taken place if Danny and Frank [Bello, bass] hadn’t rejoined the band?

Joey: "Yeah. I'm a musician and I love playing. I would have rejoined without those guys. Of course, it's nice to have Frank and Danny. You got the meat of who was there so when you go out there you can work as a team. I would have been open to anything. It's not something I've really thought about until you mentioned it. They asked me to rejoin first, then Frankie and then Danny. They really intended on having me do it to start. Obviously you gotta have the vocals there before you can get everyone else at the table. It could have turned out that way. I know everyone was a little scared to do the nostalgic thing. I don't have a problem with doin' that at all. It's not like we were worried about people not being able to play up to snuff. It's like roller-skating for some people. Danny had even stopped for a while, but he had no trouble picking it up. It's all about it you're really deeply into it… I think we all have that intact."

Read the entire interview at Blasting-Zone.com.