In a new interview with the “Highway 81 Revisited” podcast, ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello, who is currently promoting his memoir, “Fathers, Brothers, And Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, And Anthrax”, spoke about his plans to release a solo album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Doing the book thing now, I’ve written some music, I’ve actually recorded some music that I didn’t know what I was gonna do with — if I was gonna put it out with the book or after the book. ‘Cause after this, going through this cathartic thing with the book, it opened up a lot of things in my mind. So I started writing during it, and it was really helpful with the book. So I’ve recorded these songs in a studio and all that — I have some great musicians on it. And yeah, eventually I’m gonna release some solo stuff. And if people like the ALTITUDES & ATTITUDE thing that I did with [former MEGADETH bassist] David Ellefson, it’s probably like a continuation of that; it could be on those records. So it’s kind of like a continuation of that. And I look forward to putting it out at the right time. I don’t know when. And I’m still writing right now.”
Bello‘s solo LP is expected to be issued via Megaforce, which released ALTITUDES & ATTITUDE‘s debut album, “Get It Out”, in January 2019.
Born and raised in the Bronx, Bello started playing when he was 12, learning bass parts on guitar; idolizing bass heroes such as Geddy Lee, Steve Harris and Geezer Butler; and frequently jamming with his uncle, ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante. Bello joined ANTHRAX in time for 1985’s “Spreading The Disease” album, and fans loved his high-energy stage presence and deftly inventive bass style. Since that time, ANTHRAX quickly reached the upper echelons of metal stardom with a series of classic punk/speed metal albums fueled by Bello‘s ferociously riffing bass work. On stage and off, Bello is a veritable bass ambassador who doesn’t pull any musical punches.
ANTHRAX is working on material for its next studio album, tentatively due in 2022. The follow-up to 2016’s “For All Kings” will be ANTHRAX‘s third full-length release since the 2010 return of singer Joey Belladonna, who came back into the fold for the “Big Four” shows with METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH, in the process helping inspire a new wave of creativity.
