MetalSucks

Obviously, my headline is a little sensationalistic. We waited a decade and a half for Chinese Democracy; it’s only been six (almost seven) years since the last Anthrax studio album, We’ve Come for You All. And wile CD apparently cost somewhere in neighborhood of $13 million dollars… well, I don’t know what the budget was/is on Worship Music, but I’m guessing Anthrax wouldn’t know $13 million dollars if it pooped in their eye.

Still, Chinese Democracy – which was finally released almost exactly one year ago – is the closest corollary I can think of to Worship Music, which is starting to reach mythological status.

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While the members of Anthrax continue to try and convince the world that John Bush is definitely returning to the fold, Mr. Bush continues to pursue a new studio album with Armored Saint – and now video footage of them in the studio has emerged.

What that means is that there will be a new Armored Saint album – and presumably a tour – in 2010. Even though I think it’s looking better and better than Bush will indeed return to Anthrax, he continues to decline to make a firm commitment, and this video serves as a reminder that he has other priorities, too. Because while he’s not actually in this video, I’d be very surprised if he turned around and just left the band high n’ dry – that’s the kind of thing the members of Anthrax do to him, not the kind of thing he does to other dudes.

-AR

Just last week Vince called for John Bush and Anthrax to stop pussyfooting around and just announce that Bush is 100% back in the band already; now it seems clear that that announcement hasn’t come because absolutely no one in the Anthrax camp has any fucking clue what the fucking fuck is going on with their band.

Let’s look at some quotes from just the past three days, shall we?

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Anthrax’s courting of John Bush is just going to drag on and on, isn’t it? It’s like Anthrax are reconnecting with an estranged ex-girlfriend on whom they’ve cheated, getting together to talk — or maybe to make out a little bit — time after time to rebuild trust. Won’t they just fuck and get it over with already? They know the sex was much better with their ex.

To be fair, John Bush was definitely wronged, whatwith how the band handled the whole Joey Crapadonna reunion. I can understand if Bush needs to go one step at a time.

But Scott Ian posted a video on Twitter of the band performing the classic “Only” at this past weekend’s Loud Park festival in Japan, and it’s great. The video was presumably shot by a roadie or tech, as it’s from the side/back of the stage.The band sounds good and it looks like they’re having fun. Won’t they just get together and fuck, full on penis-in-vagina already? It seems inevitable. They already have 5 dates on the books for Australia’s Soundwave festival in February/March. For how long will this courtship continue?

-VN

UPDATE: Directly from Megaforce: “No truth to it.” Sorry, kids.

Reader Greg Heerdt has helpfully pointed out that Amazon is now listing an October 20, 2009 release date for Anthrax’s Worship Music (or, at least, some import version of Worship Music - the previously announced European release date was October 23). I’ve reached out to the band’s label, Megaforce, to see if there’s any truth to the date or not…

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Yesterday, Scott Ian tweeted a response to Kerry King’s accusation that Anthrax have “been in pieces for quite some time.” The tweet pointed towards a recent, possible one-off reunion show with John Bush; I eagerly hoped it was a sign that Bush is coming back to the band for good.

Well, we still don’t know if he is or not. But we do know that he’s gonna do another gig with the ‘Thrax, this time at the Loud Park festival in Japan this October. (Interestingly enough, Slayer and Megadeth are also on the bill.)

I take that as a good sign that Bush is, indeed, negotiating (or something) to re-join Anthrax. But obviously we need to wait for some kind of official confirmation from the group.

Fingers crossed…

-AR

Presumably in response to Kerry King’s claim that “There’s better options than Anthrax [for a tour mate] and that’s nothing against Anthrax, but they’ve just been in pieces for quite some time and that doesn’t make as much sense to me,” Ian tweets:

“Guess Kerry missed Sonisphere”

Does that mean John Bush is back for good? Pretty please with a cherry on top?

This tour is never fucking happening.

-AR

Here at the MS Mansion we make no apologies about being staunch John Bush supporters. Way before the current Dan Nelson fracas, way back in the prebuscent MetalSucks days of March 2007, we wrote an open letter to John Bush encouraging him to come back into the fold. We even accidentally started a rumor that ex-Ugly Kid Joe frontman Whitfield Crane would be a suitable Bush replacement, and nearly shit our pants when it was rumored that Corey Taylor was up for the job (remember that?)… but there’s no Bush like the real Bush. Needless to say we were beyond stoked when Bush rejoined the band for a few European gigs last month.

Friend O’ MetalSucks and fellow John Bush-supporter Carlos Ramirez has compiled a list for Noisecreep of the Top 10 John Bush-era songs, and the free streaming mp3s contained therein (!!!) provided the soundtrack for my afternoon smoke-a-thon yesterday. The list is top notch and reminds us just why we love John Bush so much. The one oversight is the omission of “Inside Out” from Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, which might be the single heaviest Anthrax song ever and should be a staple in any “best of” conversation regarding Bush.

Head on over to Noisecreep to read and listen. Make sure you click those streaming links multiple times so John Bush gets a few extra pennies in his pockets just in case that Burger King voiceover gig ever kicks the bucket.

-VN

Right after John Bush played what might or might not be a one-off reunion show with Anthrax, I wrote, “I’d love to post some footage of Bush performing a Bush-era song, but can’t seem to find any.” Well, the metal gods heard my prayers, and SMN News posted the below footage of the band doing “Safe Home.” And the quality of the footage is actually perfect – it’s not just some shit a fan captured on his or her cell phone! Band sounds good, too.

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The theme for this morning seems to be “terrible quality fan-captured live footage.”

Next up we have John Bush’s (apparently triumphant, if reports are to be believed) return to Anthrax this past weekend at Sonisphere in England. I’d love to post some footage of Bush performing a Bush-era song, but can’t seem to find any, so here he is doing “Caught in a Mosh.”

I continue to hope, dream, and pray that Bush returns to Anthrax full-time.

-AR

CORRECTION: PRATO’S QUESTION COMES FROM HERE. MY APOLOGIES TO PRATO. NO APOLOGIES TO MUSTAINE.THANKS TO BORIVOJ AT BLABBERMOUTH FOR SHOWING ME THE ERROR OF MY WAYS.

It has been a fantastic summer for feuds. Just, really top notch. Isis is mad at Revolver and I’m fairly certain that Revolver is mad at MetalSucks. Fear Factory would be like the new Van Halen, if Van Halen wasn’t still the new Van Halen. And I think it’s safe to say at this point that, pretty much no matter how this whole Dan Nelson/John Bush drama plays out, no one will ever take Anthrax seriously again (assuming they were still taking Anthrax seriously at all).

And now this. Ladies and gentleman, key founding members of three of the Big Four are now all ready to throw down. This is a clusterfuck of epic proportions. I wish you could all see my face right now, ’cause rarely am I this happy.

It’s a long story, and, as is so often the case, I am really just playing The Daily Show to Blabbermouth’s CNN. Here we go:

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I’ve gotten a few e-mails today from people asking me where Vince is. Well, the truth is, Vince can’t write because he’s ill. And he’s quitting the site. No, really, he quit. We didn’t fire him. Swear it. We stand by that statement.

Here’s some other shit that happened in the world of metal this week:

• We’ve heard the new Alice in Chains album, and it is good.
• Gwar’s Oderus Urungus answered some of your questions, and will answer more in the future.
• John Bush is coming back to Anthrax because Dan Nelson quit. Oh, wait, no he didn’t. Yes he did. He probably didn’t, though.
• We spoke with Poison the Well’s Ryan Primack and Sunn O)))’s Greg Anderson.
• We checked out the latest releases from He Is Legend, Magrudergrind, Novembers Doom, and Clutch.
• Unfortunately, the 10th Annual Gathering of the Juggalos really is a real thing.
• Baby-eater Dino Cazares must be stopped!!!

Alright. Time to go buy a vaporizer of my very own. See ya Monday.

-AR

Some of you may already be sick of all this Anthrax nonsense, but I am not. In fact, it is entirely possible that I am enjoying even more than I am enjoying the Fear Factory drama. Probably because I actually care about Anthrax.

So. Reader Aleksander Sobecki sent us a link to this inteview with Scott Ian from Metal Hammer. I’m going to do very little editing to the actual text because it’s all pretty fun to read. I will, however, include my analysis after each chunk of text.

And away we go…

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While I am really really really really really really really hoping that John Bush returns to Anthrax on a full-time basis, I know that could wreak havoc with the dreams of many an Armored Saint fan.

But before anyone gets their panties in a twist: there’s a demo for a new Armored Saint song, “Loose Cannon,” that the band has made available as a free download. It was recorded with a drum machine, but hey, it’s new Armored Saint so who really gives a shit?!?

Download the track from Metal Blade’s website.

A press release tells me that “Armored Saint has finished up writing and will begin recording in early fall for a spring 2010 release on Metal Blade Records.” Hopefully right after John Bush re-records all the vocals for Anthrax’s Worship Music. ‘Cause the version with Dan Nelson just became a collector’s item.

-AR

Doesn’t Scott Ian seem like a really swell dude when you see him on TV? He’s not Lars Ulrich, who comes off as such a prick that when you hear he really is a prick you go, “Yeah, that makes sense.” If my only knowledge of Scott Ian was his VH1 appearances, though, I’d wanna invite the guy to my place to my Passover sedar.

But then you hear these stories that make you smack your forehead, like, say, suddenly inviting Joey Belladonna and Dan Spitz back to the band after the artistic (if not financial) triumph of We’ve Come for You All, and suddenly Ian – and his bandmates, for that matter – don’t seem like such nice fellas. To wit, this statement from Dan Nelson on his unceremonious departure from Anthrax: Click to read more…

Blabbermouth just got the following statement from Anthrax’s manager:

“As announced last week, thrash legends ANTHRAX regretfully cancelled the first three dates on the second leg of their European tour due to new vocalist Dan Nelson’s unexpected illness. An additional seven European dates are also cancelled, those scheduled from July 22 to July 30.

“ANTHRAX is thrilled to announce that they will play the August 1 Sonisphere festival in Knebworth, England, with their good friend John Bush [ANTHRAX's singer from 1992 to 2005] joining them for a very special one-off performance.

“The members of ANTHRAX have confirmed the departure of vocalist Dan Nelson. In light of this development, ANTHRAX’s slot on the U.S. SLIPKNOT dates set for August and September, has also been cancelled. ANTHRAX is already actively considering lead singer candidates, and looks forward to hitting the road before the end of the year.”

On behalf of Vince and all the other Bushtrax fans out there who never wanted John out of the band in the first place, I would just like to say:

PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS. PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS. PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS. PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS. PLEASE JOHN BUSH RETURN TO THE BAND ON A FULL-TIME BASIS.

Here’s the video for “Safe Home.” Yes, that is Keanu. Go figure.

-AR

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: We’ve Come for You All is the best Anthrax album. Belladonnanthrax had a lot (I mean, a LOT) of classic tunes, but Belladonna was kind of a tool. Was that group anyone’s favorite thrash band?* They grew as musicians and songwriters when they started to introduce more classic hard rock elements into their music, and they certainly got heavier. And WCFYA was the ultimate representation of theses facts.

So. I’d almost forgotten that Anthrax have a new album coming out, because it seems like it’s been so long since there’s been much movement on them. But now the album has a name, Worship Music, and a tentative June release date. Here are some random preliminary thoughts:

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Last night I had a dream in which a car full of people including Axl and I were headed to some big outdoor music festival. In typical dream fashion I’d forgotten that Anthrax would be on the bill, but upon remembering so — and furthermore that John Bush would be singing with the band — my balls started to tingle. I was excited; in dreamy-dream land, I’d never seen Anthrax! (in reality, I have). In dreamy-dream land, I’d never seen Anthrax with John Bush! (this is true). What an awesome festival this was going to be, indeed!

Then I woke up. At least there’s always YouTube. But I can keep dreaming for the day John Bush rejoins Anthrax.

Speaking of which, what the hell is Anthrax up to? Several months ago they were all over the webernet about recording in Chicago with new singer Dan Nelson. That was, like, six months ago. What up, dudes? Less cell-phone videos of Scott Ian and more music, plz ok thx!

-VN

So Anthrax have been making the rounds with their new singer, Dan Nelson, and now some crappy cell phone footage of the re-jiggered band opening for Iron Maiden last week has popped up online (Needless to say, none of the footage is of any new songs, which the band played at some warm-up club gigs but not at the Maiden shows. Figures.). Of course, making a judgement about Nelson’s talents based on such terrible quality video and audio is totally unfair, but this is MetalSucks, not We Love Kittens, so fuck it. Watch the clips below and let us know what you think. Personally, I’m amazed how much the dude seems to sound like John Bush – especially on the Belladonna-era tracks. Go figure.

“MADHOUSE”

“ANTISOCIAL”

“ONLY”

-AR

Last night I heard the “new” Vader album, XXV, for the first time. In case you’re not hip to this release, it’s the Polish death metal masters’ 25th anniversary album, and is basically a greatest hits compilation – except that all the songs have been re-recorded with the band’s current line-up. Which, naturally, means that late drummer Krzysztof “Doc” Raczkowski appears nowhere on the album (or, at least, not in the audio content – I still don’t have a copy of the DVD which will accompany the disc’s release).

Of course, Vader aren’t the first band to embark upon such an endeavor. Living Colour, Twisted Sister, and even The Sex Pistols have all re-recorded some of their old songs for purpose of being able to license them without having to share the wealth with their former record labels, which is a brutal, and brutally honest, reason to re-visit your old catalogue. Dave Mustaine re-recorded “A Tout Le Monde” as a duet with Cristina Scabbia just last year; Anthrax re-recorded a bunch of old Joey Belladonna tunes with John Bush for their Greater of Two Evils* collection; hell, Dimmu Borgir re-recorded their entire album Stormblast because they were so unhappy with the original, and as I understand it, it’s only by the grace of God that we don’t have Appetite for Destruction 2000, featuring Axl Rose’s “revamped” GN’R in place of the original (although a half of a re-recorded “Sweet Child O’Mine” does roll over the closing credits of the Adam Sandler vehicle Big Daddy).

What, one has to wonder, is the point of re-recording all the band’s old songs?

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