Scott Ian

Forty YearS Of Anthrax with Scott Ian

When it comes to heavy metal music, it doesn’t get much bigger than Anthrax. The group are regarded as one of the ‘Big Four’ of the genre alongside their peers Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer.

Anthrax are presently on tour celebrating their landmark 40th anniversary, albeit a year late, thanks to COVID. Although the pandemic may have initially curtailed the band’s touring plans, it allowed the group to take a break from their long and successful career on the road. “I think for me personally, it was a great reset and recharge that we never would have electively taken for ourselves. We would never have said let’s take two and a half years off,” said guitarist Scott Ian. “For me, being able to have that time away from the cycle of album tour, album tour, album tour, which essentially, you could say, I’ve been on that since 1983. It was the first break I’ve ever really had in my life.”

Having spent his life on the road, time at home was much welcomed by the artist. “To stay at home was something that I found very easy to do with my wife and son. It totally recharged me as a human, let alone as an artist,” said Scott. The guitarist believes that: “a lot of great music and a lot of great art, in general, is going to come out of what the world went through and is still going through.”

Anthrax resumed their touring activities last year. Getting back onstage after this prolonged period of downtime was somewhat of an emotional release for the legendary guitarist. “Our first show back, we played a festival in Wisconsin, in June of ‘21. So that was our first actual show, after not having played a show since November ‘19,” said Scott. “We walked on stage, and it was just such a heavy moment emotionally. Because it was the tangible proof I needed that I was going to get to do this again in my life. I was going to get to do what I do, and my band was going to get to go back to work. It was very intense and very emotional. I think I started crying during Caught in a Mosh - it was just a huge release of energy to get to do that again.” The band recently completed the US leg of their milestone anniversary tour alongside Black Label Society and Hatebreed. “It felt so good to get back out there, to get on the bus and go, and to be out there with so many of our friends because we’ve known Zakk since 1988. His first ever tour with Ozzy. We were supporting Ozzy,” explains Scott. “We’ve known the Hatebreed guys since the beginning. So, it was like a whole crew of idiots out there together. Just getting to have fun every day and playing these killer shows.”

Anthrax accompanied Slayer on their Farewell Tour. “We did around 100+ shows with Slayer over the course of them saying goodbye,” said Scott. “It was never really a case of thinking - oh, this is it. We were just out there having fun and playing amazing shows. Playing to great crowds and hanging with our friends every day.”

The realisation of the retirement of the band’s Big Four counterparts took place at Slayer’s final ever show in California. “I went to the last show in LA. We weren’t on the show, but I went that night,” said Scott. “I’ve got to say that was extremely emotional. Especially Tom (Araya), standing there at the Forum in Los Angeles. He was out there by himself for a long time after the set, and 14,000 people wouldn’t stop yelling. It was really heavy. It was a very emotional moment.” Scott compared the moment to a scene in a famous Hollywood film. “There was a movie years ago called A League of Their Own. It’s about women’s baseball, and Tom Hanks is the manager. There’s a famous line from that movie - there’s no crying in baseball. A lot of people that night were saying there’s no crying in metal; there’s no crying at Slayer, but you couldn’t help yourself. It’s just it was a heavy moment.”

Scott Ian has fond memories of the band’s early UK tours. “When we first came to the UK, our first ever show was at the Hammersmith Palais - we sold that out. Then we were right back just a couple of months later supporting Metallica; they were on Master of Puppets, and we were touring with Spreading the Disease. We went across the UK playing all these legendary venues. Hammersmith Odeon for the first time. Birmingham Odeon, which doesn’t exist anymore. Edinburgh Playhouse and Newcastle City Hall.”

Performing at these legendary venues was not something the band took lightly. “Playing these places that we had read about at the time in Kerrang magazine. Kerrang was still a metal mag back in ‘86. And, knowing that we were mere moments in time away from when so many of our heroes were standing on those same stages. Whether it was Priest or Maiden or Thin Lizzy or AC/DC. Now we’re standing on the same exact stages where we’ve read about or seen videos of our heroes, like literally walking in their footsteps,” declared Scott. “I remember thinking when we headlined Hammersmith in early ’87, and we’d sell it out. Thinking Phil Lynott was standing right here recording a live record not that long ago. Now here we are playing the same room and it’s sold out. How did we get here?” A humbling experience for sure.

The Anthrax guitarist recollects their first appearance at Monsters of Rock. “When we played Donington in ‘87, that was our first festival. We went from a band that, at that time, I think the most people we had played in front of was 20,000, and now we’re on stage playing to four times that much at Donington. We were not even the opening band. WASP and Cinderella were on before us. And we’re on a bill with DIO, Bon Jovi, and Metallica. The crowd went nuts, and they were singing all the words,” explains Scott. “We did I’m The Man for the first time, and people lost their minds.”

Fast forward to the present time, and the group have a new album in the pipeline. “We are working on a record. Obviously, it was delayed because of the pandemic. But, yeah, we are working on it, and there are writing sessions planned to continue working on it,” concluded Scott. “I don’t think it’s too far off.”

Words & Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy

Words: & Photo Credit Adam KennedyForty YearS Of Anthrax with Scott Ian