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Rampant Rumors

DAN NELSON EITHER HAS ANTHRAX, OR IS LEAVING ANTHRAX

 Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 11:00am by

nelsonthrax

Alright, so just to play catch-up: last week Anthrax canceled some European dates because new vocalist Dan Nelson was apparently ill. We didn’t report on that because, well, it’s not, like, exciting news or anything. People get sick. Sometimes those people are performers who consequently have to miss performances. It sucks for the fans but it happens. Whatever.

But now Blabbermouth has made an interesting observation, one which suggests that all might not be well in Anthrax-land:

In addition to deleting his “DanNAnthrax” Twitter profile (cached Google page) on July 16, [Nelson] has posted the following messages on his “DanNelson76″ account:

July 16, 3:47 a.m.: “Funny, I don’t feel so lucky…Wonder what everyone is talking about??”

July 16, 4:28 a.m.: “is done.”

July 17, 7:54 p.m.: “loves his family and friends more than ANYTHING.”

The one person I ever knew who suffered from a nervous breakdown began babbling semi-incoherently just like this when he mind finally went on the fritz (at one point, she even declared to me “I am John Frusciante.”). That being said, I don’t actually have any insight into what’s going on with Nelson. For all I know, he really is sick and these tweets were part of a fever-induced bout of mania.

If Nelson is leaving the ‘Thrax, well, those dudes are fucked. They just dropped X amount of dollars recording a new album with Nelson, and even if that weren’t true, I don’t know what they’d do after losing vocalist #4. I’m sure that Joey Belladonna could be pulled away from his exciting solo career of headlining for five people every night and people would go see it, but I wouldn’t be one of them, and I’ve given up hope of John Bush ever coming back. Of course, if they really wanted to shock the metal world, they could reunite with Neil Turbin.

So hopefully this turns out to be nothing. While we all wait for an answer, feel free to do your own reckless speculating in the comments section below.

-AR

  • Dan-O

    Anthrax ruined the best thing that happened to them in past 15 years when they gave John Bush the middle finger to make some cash on the shitty reunion tour trend. Nelson would be smart to realize he’s no more than a hired hand, IMO. As for whether he’s leaving or not, it’s no skin off my back since I haven’t even heard what he’s capable of yet.

    • Strep Townsend

      I agree, the best Anthrax was John Bush era Anthrax in my opinion.
      I never liked Belladonna as his vocals just seem to make them sound like every other trash band if that particular time period.

      • miguel_g(Peru)

        I agree with all of you. bush was the best singer for Anthrax. The problem is that they wrote the better songs with Belladonna……

        • http://www.myspace.com/finalriot BigEvilMetalhead

          Agreed!

          • http://www.myspace.com/finalriot BigEvilMetalhead

            Ok agreed sort of! …agree with the John Bush part… lol

      • Unholy Vortex

        Joey is the best Anthrax singer ever! And his
        vocals made them sound different from other
        Thrash bands! you suck with that shitty
        comment!

  • Phill

    What are you talking about? John Bush only has one good album with Anthrax and that is “The Sound of White Noise”. Every album they did with Joey Belladona on the other hand is considered to be classic thrash metal. Anyway you look at it though, Anthrax hasnt been able to catch a break in the last 20 years and it only gets worse for those guys. Time to bring back S.O.D!!

    • Dan-O

      Personally, I thought Sound of White Noise was good, but We’ve Come for You All was better. Either way, it was my opinion that Anthrax were moving in the right direction with John Bush and WCfYA and then suddenly, when every other old school band out there decided to do reunion tours, they get the Belladonna era back together. I love the stuff Belladonna did with them, I’m saying nothing about him or that material. Besides, John Bush joined in 1992 which was a shade more than 15 years ago and a quick detour in “remember when” land for a reunion tour is nothing more than a grab at cash as far as I see it.

  • Ryan

    Scott Ian = over-controlling dick. nobody wants to work with him, except the other Anthrax members that have hung on in hopes of a reinvigorated career. I love Anthrax, have since the beginning, but maybe it’s time for them to part ways and start new endeavours.

  • Ryan

    And yeah, I think the Belladonna era was the best era. Was looking forward to hearing this new version as well.

  • Shinaain

    Corey Taylor could pull double-duty during the tour coming up, but that sure as Hell won’t happen. And his participation wouldn’t be a permanent fix anyway because Roadrunner already deep-sixed THAT collaboration. They tried writing new material with him and jamming, with the intention that he would sing for their band, too, but then they got spanked by Roadrunner.

    Well, if Nelson really is out, Scott Weiland might soon be available. (KIDDING!)

  • DanyLektro

    You know, this actually makes me feel REALLY bad for Anthrax. I agree that the John-Bush era material I don’t find that enjoyable, but Bush made a good frontman. He was LIKE-able, he was friendly, and he was just as in-your-face and personal with the fans as Scott Ian is. Why he hasn’t tried to reunite Armored Saint since Anthrax though is beyond me. Nelson quitting already would be just weird. I’m fairly certain that the album would be largely ignored since it’s with a vocalist who lasted a year, this is also a huge bash on their reputation after flipping it to Bush and the reunion tour, but let’s face it, out of the big four – Anthrax has the least remembered legacy. Maybe this is just a reaction to that. Everyone knows ‘tallica and Megadeth, even completely-non-metalheads have at least heard the names. Slayer’s band logo has become a fucking icon, but Anthrax? Nope, they’re stuck in the sidelines, eating dust like Testament had to. The different being, Testament wasn’t giving the boot to their band members.

    • Phill

      Testament has also been consistent in writing quality metal despite being in the shadows throughout most of the 90s and until very recently. I cant say the same about Anthrax. In my opinion Anthrax has completely faded away and has been irrelevant since 1990.

  • http://www.hibernum.net hibernum

    If this is true, one has to wonder why Anthrax even exists. Scott can get a job with VH1, Frank can go work with Helmet or someother band no one cares about, and Charlie can retire to Florida or something.

  • ugh

    don’t know why nobody has ever mentioned this: ripper owens. he and the band are good friends….anthrax toured with priest when ripper was in the band…mere days after nelson was hired, ripper announced he was out of iced earth…maybe anthrax didn’t ask him initially b/c they didn’t think he’d leave iced earth, which is probably a better gig anyway…they play the same or slightly bigger venues in the states and are really big in europe. anthrax needs to stop this b/s, and ripper needs a good steady gig. do it…

    • RobotScythe

      I’d dig Ripper in Anthrax. But Ripper is currently working with Yngwie Malmsteen (until Yngwie has an ago attack and fires him, like he does everyone else) plus Ripper has his new solo album plus th enext Beyond Fear album. So I doubt he has the time.

  • Sammy

    Why do you hate Belladonna so much? He plays for 15 people nightly, not 5.

    • seveword

      A buddy of mine went to one of his shows, and you know how many people were there? TWENTY-SEVEN FUCKING PEOPLE. Obviously, Belladonna is a sell-out.

  • NikZherdev

    they should change their name to SAVAGE ANIMAL!!!!!

    this is great news for a new Damnocracy album

    • http://www.hibernum.net hibernum

      Oh man that’s too funny, I almost forgot about that show!

  • JustinH

    I think they should get the singer from Motionless in White and change their name to Anthrax! Anthrax! Anthrax!

    Thoughts?

    • Strep Townsend

      Crabthrax!

      • RobotScythe

        Lol!

  • Victor

    I know this is going to annoy a lot of people, but I’ve seen them with Dan Nelson, he is without a doubt their best singer!! Why? Because when singing Joey’s songs live he nails every single note, something Joey couldn’t do on the reunion tour. Why? Because he can sing Bush’s material perfectly as well. He is that good, he has the ability to sing like both, and yet bring his own style to the table when he does his tunes too.

    I wanted Ripper in the band when the announced Nelson, I was pissed they went with him having ripper available. But no I realize that he is the right fit. I hope this isn’t Corey Taylor saying hey I can tour after all since I’m only doing some covers with a solo band at the moment.

    Hopefully this all works out, and Worship Music comes out on time, and they continue. This could just be him not being used to playing so many shows.

  • Mike

    Belladonna sucks. He was off key in the old days, and during the reunion he couldn’t even hit those off-key notes. Even though the material with Bush was weaker, he was a far better singer and a more likable person. Great frontman

    • Sammy

      I’ve always thought the off-key singing was kind of part of Belladonna’s vocal charm. Kind of like Dickinson is often just a hair flat on notes. Kind of a signature, I suppose.

      I like the two eras of Anthrax equally, but for different reasons.

  • Caspar Colderson

    and Corey Taylor slips to mind once again…

  • RobotScythe

    Of course, the dude could actually just be sick and all this is for nothing.

  • http://www.myspace.com/1033metal Jackson

    charlie and scott should just smarten up and reform S.O.D., with how little they toured in the first place, not to mention those of us that were to young to know S.O.D. (or not born yet… when talking about SEOD) would surely enjoy a chance to see them tour.

    • gnarlk

      i doubt they want to deal with that fascist tub of goo that is billy milano anymore to be honest…

  • DecrystallizingReason

    Does anyone truly care at this point?

  • rattleh3ad

    Steve Sousa. Not sure why he doesn’t get along with Exodus but a phenomenal vocalist with thrash cred on his own. As far as I know he doesn’t have a band right now. I would so pay to see that.

  • http://www.myspace.com/bannisterslash Bannister Slash

    It’s official. He’s out. John Bush will do a one off gig.

  • http://www.cichlidkingdom.net suetracy

    I got some awesome live Antrax cds on http://www.bidtunnel.com from there 86-87 tour

  • mervinschmeckel

    I’m gonna throw it out there, Anthrax sucks. They have rode the coattails of all the other thrash bands, especially by saying they are part of the big 4. And that whole “big 4″ term is a recent invention I think Scott Ian coined so he could continue to ride on Metallica/Megadeth/Slayer’s coattails. Joey Belladonna is a little mullet head homo, his vocals are terrible. Every time he sings he sounds like he’s making the song up as it goes and Scott Ian’s riffs are cheasy and unimaginative. I’ve tried to force myself to like Anthrax, but every time I put one of there albums on I can’t sit through a whole song. Although I like SOD.

  • Jim Burns

    I LOVE ALL ANTHRAX!!!! WELL, EXCEPT NEIL TURBIN, HE SUCKED!!! ANYWAYS, I HAVE BEEN A ‘THRAX FAN SINCE 1986 AND WHEN JOEY ORIGINALLY LEFT I REFUSED TO BUY “WHITE NOISE”…THEN STOMP 442 CAME OUT IN 1995 AND I SAW ANTHRAX PLAY A SHOW WITH THE MISFITS IN SUMMER 1996….I WAS BLOWN AWAY!!!! THEY PLAYED THEIR BEST SET I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!! EVER SINCE THEN I HAVE ACTUALLY LIKED JOHN BUSH BETTER IN A WAY BUT I STILL LOVE JOEY SINGING ALMOST AS MUCH. ANYWAYS, THE GIG WAS AT OGDON STREET CONCERT HALL IN LAKAWANNA, N.Y. (RIGHT OUTSIDE OF BUFFALO) THERE WERE 4 BANDS…CAN. CORPSE, LIFE OF AGONY, ANTHRAX & MISFITS….ANTHRAX JAMMED A GOOD 80-90 MINUTES…I HAVE SEEN THEN 10 TIMES AND NOTHING CAME CLOSE TO THIS SHOW…PURE POWER!!!! ALSO, HOW COME EVERYONE FORGETS ABOUT THE VOLUME 8 RECORD?? THAT SHIT ROCKS. STOMP 442 ROCKS AS WELL!!!! ALL IN ALL I’M A LITTLE SAD BUSH IS GONE FOREVER BUT THEIR NEW ALBUM “WORSHIP MUSIC” SOUNDS AMAZING!!!!! ANTHRAX!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE A FEELING THIS NEW ALBUM IS GONNA BRING THEM BACK 4EVER…I HOPE SO…..JIM