Thrash metal heavyweights Anthrax have had several frontmen over the years, such as Neil Turbin, John Bush, Dan Nelson and of course, Joey Belladonna. If guitarist Scott Ian had his way, he would’ve added Faith No More’s Mike Patton to the list, too.
Ian recently chatted with mxdwn.com regarding the future of experimental rock group Mr. Bungle (which Patton co-founded in 1985 and Ian joined in 2019, for the 2020 re-recording and live performances of their 1986 demo, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny).
In addition to proclaiming his longstanding love for Patton, Faith No More and Mr. Bungle – he called Raging Wrath “the best thrash metal record from 1986 that nobody’s ever heard” – Ian admitted to half-jokingly inquiring about Patton’s interest in singing for Anthrax “a million years ago . . . just before Joey [Belladonna] came back.”
Ian elaborated:
I had said, “Hey, do you want to sing on the next Anthrax record?” We were drunk in a bar in Melbourne, Australia on a festival together. He was with Faith No More. He was like, “Oh, man. You don’t want me in your band. I’m a pain in the ass.”
I was like, “No, no, no. I think we could deal with it.” He goes, “Yeah, but I got seventy-two projects and I could never commit.” I’m like, “I know, really. I’m asking but I’m not really asking.” He’s like, “Don’t worry, we’ll do something together someday.” So then when he hit me up, he goes, “Remember in Melbourne when I said we would work together?” I’m like, “Uh huh.” He goes, “Guess what?”
Fortunately, the 2020 reworking of The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny (and its corresponding concerts) proved to be a worthwhile and validating collaboration. In fact, publications such as Consequence, Metal Injection and Kerrang! sang its praises.
“I still freak out about it. That I did it. I played shows. We made a fucking record,” Ian rejoiced.
He even states that there are “things on the table for the future, shows. . . . We’re all too busy to be able to commit to it as a real ongoing thing at this point. But there’s always room to go do one-offs. I’m in touch with Mike all the time.”
In the meantime, Anthrax are set to start their UK/European 40th Anniversary tour (with Municipal Waste) on Sept. 27. You can grab tickets here.
