After 35 years, heavy metal mainstays Anthrax are still on the road and play Grand Rapids’ Orbit Room on Sunday night with headliner Lamb of God. Read the band interview by Local Spins writer Brian J. Bowe.
Still Touring With New Album on the Way: Anthrax plays Grand Rapids on Sunday.
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Editor’s Note: Local Spins writer Brian J. Bowe recently profiled Anthrax for a feature story in the Washington Post. In it, the band talks about its upcoming album, “For All Kings,” and its current tour, which stops at Grand Rapids’ Orbit Room for a sold-out show at 6 p.m. Sunday. In these outtakes from those interviews, band members Charlie Benante (drums), Frank Bello (bass) and Scott Ian (guitar) talk about their new single, “Breathing Lightning.”
‘Never Taking No for an Answer’: Scott Ian
From its founding in New York in 1981, Anthrax was part of a cohort of bands that reshaped the sound of heavy metal, adding unthinkable levels of speed and aggression to the template developed by bands like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Mötorhead. Among their peers, though, Anthrax’s songs were often distinctive for their strong melodies.
If that’s the case, the second single off of the forthcoming “For All Kings” may be a quintessential Anthrax song. That song, “Breathing Lightning,” features the kind of fist-pumping chorus that’s as much reminiscent of “British Steel”-era Judas Priest as anything else.
“I’ll go on record as saying it’s definitely the strongest hook we’ve ever had in a song,” Ian said.
Like most Anthrax songs, it begins with a guitar riff from Benante, which Ian and Bello forge into a cohesive song framework.
GREAT RIFFS AND A ‘LIFE-AFFIRMING MESSAGE’
“Charlie came up with a great riff there for ‘Breathing Lightning’ — from the opening note. So that just inspired me,” Bello said. “Scott, Charlie and I put the music together, and then I kept hearing this melody on top of this song.”
In fact, Bello takes pride in his tuneful ear for catchy melodies.
“I’ve always loved a strong melody with a heavy riff,” Bello said. “I think it’s important to add that color, add that taste … There’s nothing more satisfying than hearing somebody humming that.”
Ian said Bello’s melody helped him write lyrics.
“Frankie came in with the melody for that chorus, and it just elevated the part,” Ian said. “It flew above the music in such a way that it opened up that chorus so big. It made my job really easy as far as writing words.”
Ian said his lyrics contain a “life-affirming message” or taking personal responsibility, getting on with life and doing good things while you’re here.
“I’m not talking bullshit, I’m breathing lightning. Listen to me, motherf——,” Ian said.
“It’s me. It’s my attitude. It’s never taking no for an answer. In a sense, everything I write comes down to that. It all comes down my perseverance, my pigheadedness, my stubbornness and my constant need to knock down doors and walls and move forward in my life and never have be told what to do.”
Lamb of God and Anthrax play The Orbit Room in Grand Rapids on Sunday, with Deafheaven and Power Trip opening. Doors open at 6 p.m. The show is sold out.
VIDEO: Anthrax, “Breathing Lightning”
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