Joey Belladonna – Anthrax

Joey, in general, is a pretty laid-back bloke and takes things pretty easy. “Everything’s been going pretty well for us, we’re just rolling along as we always do. People are excited, we’re excited, it seems like it took forever for the album to be released but we’re happy that it’s finally out. We’ve played a few songs live; people are digging it so it’s all coming together really well for us with this new album.”

On asking Joey, what cryptic message lies behind the album title, ‘For All Kings’, he replied, ” Well, that’s a mystery you’re going to have to figure out on your own. I can’t really explain it as well as I’d like to but it’s more just leaving it as it is to be whatever it means. Sometimes I don’t now what half the stuff we write, means,  whether it’s album titles or lyrics. I just have my own fantasy about it all and get into it that way – just let it roll into a story of it’s own.” Fair enough Jo!

Five rather long years since Anthrax’s last album, it seems to have done the band good given the quality of their latest one. “There was no need to rush anything so we really some time because we wanted to make sure we were happy with what we had. We’d do eight songs at a time then take a break then do another eight songs – we didn’t do this everyday and we spread it out over a period of time which definitely helped the writing process.”

Going further with this, Joey shared what the writing and recording process was like for the new album this time around. “The recording for this album was generally a lot more free. One thing is that Jay Ruston was involved from the beginning and this time we had a chance to start unravelling the songs to him which of course, is much better for him because then he had a really strong idea of how he could do things. We’re always bouncing ideas off of each other and it’s that trade of ideas which is good. We just give each other a pat on the back as we make progress and that makes us happy about the way it’s going to work and what needs to be done further to make things sound good. Personally, it was challenging here and there for me but I got lucky with this one and really pushed myself vocally.” 

When asking Joey about whether there was a certain theme or concept to the album, he replied,” Not really. I don’t answer it that way. I feel great about the attack and how I just achieved a better performance just sound is great it feels good from top to bottom that’s what I try to get out of it I’m not trying to push any meaning to anyone because that isn’t really that important to me as much as its just a great song great sound to listen to and a good balanced record which has a lot of variety which we do have. But honestly, I didn’t come up with any of that. I don’t really know what’s happening sometimes but that’s just how it is you know.”

One of my favourite things about Anthrax in general? Belladonna’s insane vocal range! ” I work really hard at varying my vocal abilities. It has definitely been a natural progression for me over the years but I’m trying extremely hard to make things better so I don’t just go in there (studio) and take it for granted. I reach very very hard and I push to get something good and some of the songs are really quite difficult to sing – they’re not always laid out.  I’ve always found it a challenge but I feel a lot more confident these days so I don’t really worry, I just work at it.”

Having seen Anthrax at Loudpark in Japan last year, for the very first time, I was blown away by their energy, dynamism and of course by Joey’s sheer electrifying stage presence. He hopped off the stage, ran up and down it, really interacted with the crowd, it was definitely worth squeezing through a very very large crowd of Japanese fans. “That’s just what we do. It’s part of the  enjoyment and it’s important for us to do the best performance we can do.  For me, I’m just full of energy and excitement when I get up there – sometimes  don’t even know what I’m doing. I don’t have a plan so I just feed off of the crowd which is really fun. It comes out naturally when you’re in that kind of environment. It’s just what happens.”

2016 is indeed a milestone year for these pioneers as the band enters it’s 35th year as Anthrax. Joey shared some of his thoughts when looking back on the lengthy, interesting and successful career of the band till date. “I think a lot about this and I guess just the process of meeting these people, joining the band and starting out playing live shows. I mean I always wonder and ask myself, ‘ How did this work out?’ How did we get this far? In this day and age a lot of people don’t want to hang out with certain people for a long period of time let alone play and be on the road with them. Just the camaraderie.  I’ve been gone for a little while that part bothers me still I try not to hold that to anybody, that part stays with me on top of being how great it is to join continue and stay successful the main thing is that I like to be in a band that people like that people like and enjoy. still perform and they enjoy it. I want to go being good enough to do it well that’s the big thing for me.

The best and worst part of touring? “I guess the least favourite thing for me is that you can’t really be home. It’s not really a bad thing. Either you go or you don’t go. But you stay out and away from home for a really long time and you don’t really get to do those things that you’d do at home. Whether it’s chores, hobbies that you have, activities in general – those aren’t there any more. But the best part is definitely just being able to be around people that enjoy good music and meeting other great musicians, The energy we get from the fans and seeing them at all our shows is amazing too so it’s all worth it.”

It was also of the utmost importance to discuss how Joey maintains his long black mane. Yes, I exchanged hair care tips with the vocalist of Anthrax. ” Honestly, I just use anything I get my hands on! I know people who have to use that certain shampoo or a certain cream rinse but for me, I just grab whatever I can find because I don’t have the time. I’m in and out of the shower before people blink. (Hear that Mum?). There are some people like these hairdresser girls that tell me they want to do all sorts of things to my hair and I’m like ‘no you don’t, leave it alone!’. If you don’t like the way I look then don’t look at me man.”

The last Australia saw of Anthrax was in 2013 at the now non-existent Soundwave Festival. ” We always have a really good time there, especially during our headline tour. As of now, we’re busy touring with Iron Maiden, going to South America, and Europe of course in the summer and then a tour of North America in September so I’m not so sure about this year. But it’s all about the timing and availability, so if something does work out, we’d love to be there.”

Joey Belladonna had one last message before we wrapped up. ” You guys will definitely have a blast listening to ‘For All Kings’. You’ll find something new to sink your teeth into musically. Just enjoy it!”

‘All For Kings’ out now via Nuclear Blast Records.

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