In a recent interview with Blabbermouth, bassist Frank Bello shared his thoughts on the explosion in costs of organizing gigs, which has forced Anthrax to cancel shows in Europe besides the U.K.
Anthrax had just wrapped their U.S. tour with Black Label Society and Hatebreed. The band was gearing up to continue the next leg of the tour, starting in the U.K. and making their way to Europe. However, Anthrax shared that they had to cancel the scheduled European dates due to financial constraints and logistical issues surrounding the tour.
Frank Bello stated that as Anthrax, they had never canceled a European tour before, but the current economic state has forced them to make this unbelievable decision. He added that they budgeted last year to continue touring, but the costs had mounted to three times the budget they had set aside for the road.
Bello said they could keep the dates in the U.K., but every other show in Europe had to be scrapped because even the promoters advised them not to. He added that he couldn’t wait to go back to performing for their fans in Europe, and they will be back, but it is devastating that the current climate of the world is in the way of them sharing their music with people.
Frank Bello’s words about the high costs that made Anthrax cancel shows in Europe:
“‘When was the last time we canceled a European tour? We’ve never done it.’ The god’s honest truth: Everything budgeting-wise is insane right now. We budgeted it last year and returned with the gas lines and all the shit that’s going on this year. It was three times the budget. We would have gone into a lousy deficit, horrible.
The promoters are saying, ‘It doesn’t make sense for you guys to do it.’ The buses, just life in general. It’s horrible. We were able to salvage the U.K., but people know us. They know we’ll be back. We love it there. I can’t wait to go back. It’s just a bummer that life is in the way of metal. What’s going on in the world is in the way of metal and making people feel good with our music.”
While some fans were quick to comment on the poor ticket sales, the group assured fans that the cancellation had nothing to do with ticket sales. The U.K. dates spanning from September 27 in Birmingham through October 8 in London are still scheduled for fans to come and enjoy the show.
