Bob Mayo, who recently joined the staff of Tartarean Desire, was the bassist/vocalist in Boston-based Thrash band Wargasm from its 1985 inception through the 2003 reunion. Not too long after the "classic" Anthrax reunion came about, I asked Bob to put together this piece since he knows a thing or three about such topics as Thrash, reunions, and more. It should be noted that this is an OPINION piece so the views expressed are not necessarily those of Tartarean Desire, though I, for one, agree with them. Remember, kiddies, it was Anthrax themselves who said "We do what we like, we don't care where we fit." Maybe they do care. --Tony Belcher, American Editor

If you think that words like integrity, honesty and credibility have no place in a discussion of a band and its music, then don’t bother reading any further. You’re probably a long-time Kiss fan for which those concepts had lost all meaning years ago. It’s clear, however, that most Metal fans hold the musicians they follow to an unusually high standard in terms of artistry and integrity.

And just how does integrity figure into music? The battle of art vs. commerce is a dynamic that all musicians have to struggle with. Anyone wishing to forge a career creating music (or any other art, for that matter) must walk a very fine line between courting the public’s favor and staying true to their art; retaining their artistic integrity while remaining financially ‘viable’. Some bands are more successful at this balancing act than others. Bands with long histories should be careful how they navigate these waters, for Metal fans also have long memories. Consider the 20+ year history of Anthrax.

Should we have ever taken this band seriously? Anthrax were always a band rife with contradiction. Starting life as an East Coast parallel to the Bay area thrash movement, Scott Ian and Co. released Fistful of Metal, a somewhat weak example of early thrash, which nonetheless established them as players in the fledgling thrash genre. Leather jackets and long hair prevailed, while very standard-issue metal titles and lyrics dominated the record. As the band’s sound developed further after recruiting vocalist Joey Belladonna, the band flirted with the look and lyrical stance of hardcore punk, but on their next few records, ultimately revealed themselves to be a band with absolutely nothing to say. Songs about Stephen King novels, the death of comedian John Belushi, comic book hero Judge Dredd, and titles like Efilnickcufesin hardly qualified as relevant to anyone even remotely familiar with the standard hardcore punk ethos. Even the undeniably ground-breaking LP released by their legendary punk/metal crossover side project S.O.D., Speak English or Die, was more joke than serious aesthetic statement.

Even the sound of the band spoke of contradiction. A pioneering New York thrash-metal band hiring a lead vocalist from the Journey school of Classic Rock (legend has it that Joey got the job after singing a Journey song acapella) was perhaps a sign that the band were looking at pop crossover appeal, but instead often resulted in a seriously schizo amalgam of hard crunch guitar riffing and FM radio warbling. An undeniably talented vocalist, Belladonna often sounded as though he were singing a completely different song than the one being played by the rest of the band. His delivery of much of the lyrics he was given to work with was often awkward and unconvincing. Ultra-Heavy riffs with smooth, accessible vocals may have sounded like a good game plan on paper; the result was, to many, a hard listen. Among the Living certainly deserves its place in the pantheon of early thrash metal greats, right beside Peace Sells…, Master of Puppets, and Reign in Blood; but the sound of Belladonna’s vocals fighting against the thrash machine powering away alongside it makes the record sound dated today; much more so than the 3 other classics it stands beside.

While continuing to attempt to define themselves to their audience, the band bounced from gimmick to gimmick: the ‘Not!’ slogan and accompanying ‘Not Man’ character, wearing colorful shorts and funny hats, depicting themselves as Mad Magazine characters, recording a Rap music parody with suitably goofy Anthrax-as-Rappers cover photo, appearing on the Fox sitcom Married With Children... Recording a multitude of cover songs for their b-sides led to a Kerrang! magazine journalist calling Anthrax ‘the world’s highest paid cover band’, alluding to their sketchy identity. By the time Anthrax wised up and attempted to get ‘darker’ and adopted a more ‘serious’ tone with the underrated Persistence of Time, and embarked on the Clash of the Titans tour with Megadeth and Slayer, it was too late. In they eyes of metaldom, they had been branded a ‘cartoon band’ and were rapidly losing whatever relevance they had. Metal was indeed coming to a crossroads. Metallica had sold out with the Black Album; Grunge was coming; and Anthrax had run out of gimmicks. What else was there to do?

When Anthrax split with Belladonna, the move was welcomed by many as the correction of a mistake made several years earlier: hiring Belladonna in the first place. Ex-Armored Saint vocalist John Bush’s approach was diametrically opposed to Belladonna’s: earthy, direct, and striking in its conviction and character. More ‘everyman’ than ‘rock singer’, Bush was still more than capable of pulling off the Joey-era’s ‘greatest hits’. But more importantly, he added something vital to the band’s sound: cohesion. Band and vocalist were now working together as a unit. John Bush’s arrival in the band also signaled the departure of their blatant gimmickry, frequently ludicrous lyrics, and the inclusion of ‘ironic’ cover versions on albums ended. The cartoon factor was finally gone, replaced by a tough, convincing gut-level ‘street cred’ that the band had sought for years but had never achieved. Finally, although they could no longer be considered a thrash band, Anthrax sounded like the band we had always wished them to be.

The move away from commerciality, while earning newfound respect from some longtime fans, was a double-edged sword. Their pop-crossover appeal all but disappeared during the start of the Bush era, but the mass appeal of metal in general was diminishing as well. The leaner, meaner Anthrax had taken a hard look inward and reinvented itself as a band that was more interested in its art than its pocketbook or its public profile. The new Anthrax had learned its lessons and transformed itself into a credible, respected act that would successfully remain relevant, finding a niche with the latest generation of metalheads. ‘Going underground’ would successfully carry Anthrax through the lean years of the late 90’s. This was a line-up change that needed to happen, in Ian’s own words, ‘to keep the band alive’.

Of course, it’s hard to gripe over a line-up change when the change is ultimately for the better on an artistic level. The return of Dickinson and Halford to their respective bands was certainly seen as a boost to each band’s stagnant creativity as well as their financial profiles. And at least Priest and Maiden made new records to tour with after reuniting with their most popular vocalists, committing to the line-up and its future, while displaying the desire to remain relevant in today’s metal culture. Confusing their issue with an embarrassing lack of clarity, Anthrax has stated that no one has left the band, no one has been fired, they’re all part of the ‘Anthrax Family’, who knows who’ll sing on the new record, etc etc, displaying a lack of commitment to their fans by not coming clean, and an unwillingness to confirm just about anything that led up to this move or anything that may be planned for the future. To the average punter, it’s hard to feel that they have been telling the whole truth about any of it. For a ‘fistful’ of the discord within Anthrax’s fan base over the band’s fuzzy, noncommittal stance, check out reunionbashers.com. Then take a spin over to Anthrax’s official site, and see how they have virtually erased John Bush and guitarist Rob Caggiano from history.

For many, the Anthrax reunion is a dream come true. Artistically speaking, however, returning to the days of Joey and Danny Spitz contains zero positives. Touring the world playing nothing but 15-20 year old music can’t be considered anything but cashing in on nostalgia. Deep Purple did it a few years back, embarking on what it called the ‘Machine Head Tour’, although the band was actually touring in support of their Bananas CD. On the tour every night, Purple played the 30-year old Machine Head album song by song, along with a few from their latest release. This was seen by many as a sad and desperate attempt to sell tickets, but at least it was acknowledged in the press by the band as ‘a way to get asses in the seats’ and expose fans of their classics to their newer material. Iron Maiden just toured the US with Ozzfest last summer, playing sets consisting solely of material pulled from only its first 4 lps, leaving Janick Gers playing songs night after night that he had absolutely no hand in writing or recording. Their explanation? They’re touring to promote their DVD The Early Years, which only features video material from their first few years of existence. Slayer’s Still Reigning project exhibited the same syndrome as well. Facing dwindling sales since their Seasons in the Abyss peak, and having been surpassed by so many in the ‘Deadliest Band Ever’ sweepstakes years ago, Slayer felt the need last year to remind everyone that their breathtaking Reign in Blood was the album that once defined the Death Metal genre by performing it in its entirety on stage. (Let’s not even discuss the ‘Bogus Farewell Tour’ ploy.) What this disturbing trend ultimately says about the artists involved is that they have lost confidence in the appeal of their current material and are willing to forgo relevance or creativity and ‘give the people what they want’ while cashing in on nostalgia instead. These bands apparently feel that milking more money out of longtime fans by selling them the same old product again and again, and bringing ‘lapsed’ fans back to the fold by invoking the classics is easier than winning new fans and competing with newer, more vital bands with fresh material and quality new releases. These decisions to stop moving forward and trade on the illustrious past are not decisions made based on artistic integrity; rather, they are cold, hard business decisions. Money triumphs over art.

Speculation is rife in the metal community regarding who will be the vocalist on the next Anthrax album. Of course it will be Joey Belladonna. The band should just fess up and say so. Touring with the ‘classic line-up’ extensively all over the world has primed mainstream metaldom for what will undoubtedly be sold as ‘The First Album from the Classic Line-up in 13 years!!’ in the same way that Judas Priest’s Angel of Retribution was hyped to the masses. This is just good business; smart marketing. The ‘Bush Era’ Anthrax will never reunite, and will eventually be seen as a mere blip in the band’s history. It’s likely that the ‘reunited’ Anthrax, with its world tours and its Alive 2 DVD & CD and its umpteenth Best Of compilation and, eventually, its new studio album, will financially out-earn in two years what the entirety of the Bush-era earned in 13. Financially, it’s a brilliant move. Artistically it’s a betrayal.

Perhaps from the vantage point of the post-middle-aged musician, the switch from making line-up changes based on artistic vision to making them based on financial concerns makes more sense. It could be that a musician reaches a certain age and approaches a time when they’ll not be able to tour anymore, and may not have made enough money to survive into old age in the lifestyle they’ve become comfortable with; or perhaps they’ve failed to keep their public profiles as high as their egos demand, while time marches on and their audience appears to get smaller and smaller with each passing year. Of course, it’s their right to cash in, kick back and stop trying; it’s their right to turn their back on artistic integrity and turn towards future profitability. But if this is in fact the case with Anthrax, or any of the bands currently involved in the Nostalgia-Metal movement, hopefully they don’t expect to be taken seriously, or considered credible, ever again.

As alluded to earlier, Scott Ian explained several times in the press, immediately following the official announcement of bassist Frank Bello’s departure, that ‘line up changes suck’, but they are sometimes necessary ‘to keep the band alive’. Perhaps ‘lucrative’ would have been a better word.