Where to start with the history of these New York metal legends? As the sole East Coast representatives of thrash metal’s ‘Big Four’, they infused their sound with a dark sense of humour and an intrepid experimental edge on classic albums such as ‘Persistance Of Time’ and ‘Among The Living’. Their collaboration with Public Enemy on ‘Bring The Noise’ proved to be a forerunner of the 90s metal scene, influencing the likes of Limp Bizkit and a whole load of good bands too. Nearly 25 years from their original inception, Anthrax recently reformed their classic 80s line-up; that’s Joey Belladonna (vocals), Scott Ian (guitar), Dan Spitz (guitar, Frank Bello (bass) and Charlie Benante (drums). Having stolen the show with a storming performance at last month’s Download festival in Donington, the band recently returned to the UK for a couple of low key shows, and I caught up with Dan Spitz at the Colchester Arts Centre.
So, Dan, first UK tour with this line-up since the late eighties…how’s it been so far?
We started it about two months ago; we’ve been around Europe, about two weeks in Australia, a few shows in the States, just touching base all over…we were lucky enough to get to play at a lot of festivals here in Europe. We just want to let everyone know that we’re here, it’s really happening, it’s not a joke, you know? It’s gonna take some time to really get comfortable, just like with any job, but it’s been working out really well.
People keep asking us if there’ll be a new album and stuff, but we just want to take each day as it comes…it’s been blowing up here and in Europe and Australia, a lot faster and better than we thought it would, so we’re very happy with that!
So on the whole, the fans’ reactions have been positive?
We’ve been blown away, it’s been amazing…because we’re seeing both the old fans, and also newer, younger fans, who are finally getting to see the classic band, the five guys who wrote the big Anthrax albums…it’s like history in front of you, in the present!
You played Donington last month for the first time in 17 years – how did that go? Did it bring back any fond memories?
I remember the time we played in 1988, with Dio and Bon Jovi – we remember that one very vividly, because that show really broke us through in Europe, and from then on, it was fantastic. So finding out that we would play Download this year, it was very important to us…and from the second we hit the stage, it was mayhem, it was crazy – two giant pits, great clouds of dirt rising up…the love we felt from the fans was just amazing, beyond reproach. We were, like, “We’re home again!”
What do you think of today’s metal bands – many of whom are clearly influenced by Anthrax?
Well, I didn’t even listen to music for about nine years, [after leaving Anthrax in the early nineties], so I’m kind of like an outsider coming back in…but we always used to say, years ago, that when we heard thrash metal on a television commercial, we’d know we’d done something! Our manager had two demo tapes – of us and Metallica – in the early 80s, and none of the major record labels were interested, they thought it was just noise…it wasn’t Motley Crue!
But these days, you can often hear thrash-metal soundtracks on commercials – even if it just generic stuff written by guys who writre music for commercials…that, combined with the influx of so many bands who grew up on us…we’ve been lucky to meet a lot of those bands at festivals, bands like Slipknot who were weaned on us, just like I was weaned on Black Sabbath!
It’s amazing.
You guys have always had a sense of humour and love of experimentation (e.g.
‘I’m The Man’) in your music; do you feel that this is important for bands to survive?
I think, to each his own…as a band, we have very different musical tastes; a couple of the other guys grew up strictly on punk, and they brought that aggression to Anthrax…and then you have Joey and I, who inject more melody into the band, because we grew up not only on Black Sabbath and Maiden and Priest, but also jazz and 70s music and whatnot, which has influenced me a lot as a lead guitarist.
We’ve never sat around a table and planned things as a band; we always just tried to reflect our everyday selves in our music, and it just so happens there’s a few million people out there who like it! We’ve never conformed, never let a record company tell us what to do – that was the hardest part about getting signed, they just didn’t know what to do with us.
As for the humour…you have to remember that back when we did ‘I’m The Man’, metal was supposed to be all doom and gloom, so we were breaking down barriers there! But we often had to fight hard to get our record company to release some of our stuff – like I said, they just didn’t understand us. We didn’t all wear black, we didn’t grit our teeth and look angry – because that’s not what we’re about, and it still isn’t today! I want the person who listens to my music to know that I’m the same fuckin’ moron onstage that I am offstage!
What are Anthrax’s plans for the near future, after this European tour ends?
After this tour ends, we’ll fly back to the States to do some recording – we’ve recorded a live DVD for one record company, and then a double anthology CD for Island Records, who released all our older material. We’ll visit Puerto Rico, and then start our American tour, to let them know we’re still alive; we’ll be doing that from October to December, then we’ll be back in Europe for a headlining tour sometime next year – just making sure everyone gets to see the full Anthrax show!
The European tour is currently rumoured to take place around springtime of next year – check out www.anthrax.com for more info!
This attitude is born out by ‘One More Sinner’, the band’s first album as DTX. It’s a record dripping in great tunes; an uncompromising yet melodic mix of hard rock and punk influences. More importantly, it’s a hungry record; the sound of a rabid rock n’ roll underdog slipping its leash and slavering to sink its teeth into the leg of the mainstream. Never shy about voicing their opinions, second track ‘NME Darlin” is a vitriolic, yet amusingly tongue-in-cheek attack on the increasingly ubiquitous weekly music paper, and the bands that feature within its pages.
Transworld
The past 12 months have been a resounding success for Massachusetts metal mob Shadows Fall. Newest release ‘the War Within’ crashed the US Billboard charts at #20 and has since gone on to sell over 200,000 copies in their homeland alone, masked machine Slipknot took them on the road for 8 weeks as part of an almighty arena tour, and the five-piece shall now be spending the entirety of the summer playing alongside the likes of Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden on the legendary Ozzfest’s main stage.
I’ll bet you a fresh pair of kicks and some ceramic bearings that a whole lot of you have completely forgotten the once legendary Santa Cruz Skateboard company..? Yeah, I knew it. Well, let’s just have a quick recall of the SCS history to show you ingrates where this landmark company is coming from, and where it is probably heading. Firstly, Santa Cruz ran things back in the day as one of the only viable competitors to Powell Peralta during the 80’s. They also invented Slick©, and if you were young enough to ride it you knew it was fun! Then, SCS suffered a sharp fall during the early 90’s, but then again so did the rest of the industry- Dark days… As new life was blown back into the market and SCS looked ready to start afresh, they lost a load of their team, and since then have slipped slowly but surely off the radar. You see, SCS is an all-American skate company that has tried and tested the whole “gimmick” aspect of the market, emerged out the other side and come to the conclusion that all skater’s really need and want is no-nonsense quality goods i.e. no fancy packaging, signature trinkets or jazzy names- Just good skating. Oh, and damn strong boards! So, back to the subject at hand: Guarte – the latest video from SCS with a great line-up, cool skating, a fine storyline and a real “Who’s who?” of cameos. I’ll take this moment to shed light on the storyline that winds it’s way through this video. Think ‘Las Nueves Vidas de Paco’ from chocolate, and you’re pretty much there. Sprinkle the lot with loads of famous and not so famous skaters from the past and present and Bob’s your uncle! 
So here it is, another skate trip, another visit to France for the gnarliest event on the European calendar, another pickled liver and another bruised body! Some people say “why do you do that for your holidays?” and the reply is simple. Because there is no comparison! Every year Crossfire recruits as many bodies as possible for this event. This year we met up with 24 of the UK’s finest explorers in the South of France for this mission and it was a total success. Every comes to this country to skate like a bastard and to rock and fucking roll for an entire weekend, not caring about sleep deprivation, hangovers or bruised heels. THIS IS GNAR and by the time you finish reading this feature, you should be ready to book your ticket for 2006 in advance. No shitting you, 2005 was off the hook and this is what went down….
Gerald Roche and I were first on the scene on the Tuesday morning. We checked in, chilled out, got some beer and headed down to the bowls. The local riders who we know well now after 4 years of visiting this amazing skate park had reached an entirely new level. You can talk about Julien Benoleil, Alex Geraud, Mehdi Salah and Alex Cocciniuntil you are blue in the teeth as these guys own this bowl, but if you look deeper to the youth uprising that study the comp every year and emulate their heroes, you can see a new class of skateboarder popping through the ranks. I’m talking about Mini Tony T. A kid we saw imitate Tony Trujillo’s skate style and fashion sense last year, who is now a clone of the Anti-Hero bowl wizard…it’s crazy to watch. If our local park at Meanwhile had big transitions that flow for miles, then we would have a similar batch of new skaters killing it, but we don’t, so the kids here will never be as good, it’s just a fact. Build great parks, breed great skaters. No myth I tell you, it’s straight up.
Our friends Jaydog and Claire from SF turned up with Richie Hopson and Anna, plus the addition of Wingy and Emma, Seth and Ryan from Meanwhile, Lucy Adams, Lek and Matty, Rees and Matt, Andy Scott, Lois, Pete King, Crossfire film crew Alan Christensen and Jamie O’Brien, Howard Cooke, Ross McGouran, Roe, Mattias and the addition of the Irish Crew with Jay, Rich and Bruce The Ox (who skates the gnarliest i have seen yet!) all in the hood caused us to turn up the heat. The Thursday night was full of beer, hash and night skating, just what the doctor ordered! But was this gonna get out of hand? YEAH OF COURSE IT WAS! The Red Lion was rinsed once we left that joint!
So, the Friday was hungover and the event had only just started….Christ! It set the precedent for the entire weekend! The heat baked down on sore heads as the skaters managed to huck out some of the most amazing lines all day long. Our UK entrants included Andy Scott, Howard Cooke, Ross McGauran and Pete King but Pete and Ross were injured after the Brixlegg battle in Austria the weekend before so Scotty took the mantle as he always does here and got through with Howard for the quarter finals. Howard was put up against Tony Miorana, TNT, Emilio Arnanz, Mehdi Salah and Roman Hackl whilst Scotty faced last years winner Omar Hassan, Daniel Cardone, Chad Bartie, Julien Benoliel and Kyle Berard. 
That night, we started to rage again. A night session brought out the likes of Brazilain World Industries rider Carlos De Andrade who hucked massive frontside ollies over the hip and crazy tech shit in the reservoir. It was a pleasure to watch. Rees managed large airs over the foot of the spine (pic opposite), whilst Seth ollied the hip at large and Matty crail slid his heart out. We had met up with Rhino from Thrasher during the day and shared a few beers together. This dude is one of the nicest fellas you will meet on your travels, so if you know he is on town, make sure your beer is cold and your arms are open. He took this pic of Matty whilst he taught me how to take photo’s. Dude, if you are reading this thanks for the tips…next time I will make sure I’m not wasted for 3 days and take on board what you told me! Haha! This guy is the Dingo’s bollocks! Yeah, did you click that link? It’s 100% true. The night went on. Tony’s pentagon shrine was made out of beer bottles accompanied by 2 upside down crosses whilst Slayer boomed out of the i-pod. We were so drunk it was a joke and managed to crawl back home to the hotel rooms after annihilating anyone we saw down at the Red Lion! 
But it was all about to be moved into another level. A quick swim in the pool revitalized the bones whilst the head was still in total pieces. Kirby picked us up in the vehicle, we headed for the holy place, our deadly secret, the cure for all hangovers. Yes folks, step right up, you are about to learn a serious secret from the depths of the Crossfire vaults, for this is the time when we share the Wisdom of the Ocean. If you have the hangover of hell and have no idea how to quell it, then get your arse down to a seafood restaurant that serves up raw shellfish and indulge in King Prawns, live Oysters, Mussels, Clams, and Sea Urchins! Wash them down with a carafe of white or rose wine accompanied with mayo and French bread and you will be laughing! Put it this way, Gerald ran a mile when we mentioned where we were going! The thought of seafood made his stomach curdle so Jaydog took his place. 10 mins in and Jay is freaking out a bit after myself and Neil had parted with 2 Sea Urchins each. These slimy bastards look like they could rape your old lady! We forced Jay to join our gang and he dribble puked all over the table! I was sat opposite and luckily he held on to that one for dear life, so much so his eyes watered like rapids! Good lad!
But this is where it all goes wrong, because after this meal, we were seriously up for it. We ran to the supermarche and bought champagne, rose wine, beers, coolers and ice and raced to the hill! People are just waking up, others are watching the comp that had only just started, Alan and Jamie were fighting other photographers for the space and we were about to let rip a whole new day of chaos! The Hills Are Now Alive With The Sound Of Music! Tony T and the entire Anti-Hero crew are with us on the top of the hill, playing grindcore and strumming an electric guitar covered in Thrasher stickers. Champagne flutes were passed around, doobies were rolled and the rest is history! I managed to interview TNT in the middle of this chaos; it’s on this site here somewhere if you wanna find it. It has to be the most piss drunk interview ever performed! In fact a football was kicked at us by Matt Moffet’s girlfriend Janine at 100mph and it stuck Tony right on the forehead and then did the same for me, leaving us feeling like we were pissed up pin ball heads! 
At about 6pm, the days event skating had finished and we head for a drunken swim in the Mediterranean ocean. As we walked down the hill, Gerald was rugby tackled at mach 10 by Kirby and he flipped onto his head and did a scorpion on his face! He was knocked for 6 so we revived him then watched him puke up in the sea whilst the entire beach looked at us as if we were pikeys or something! I had to rescue Gerald in the recovery position…kids, take note, this is not fun! Well, only for 5 mins, then we all laughed our pants down. The party session was on fire, it felt like 4am but it was 7pm and most people had only just started. A fire was born from Jake Phelps hands and boards were chucked on top, then crates, then a security guard went ape shit and it calmed down a bit. By this time a session was going off in the bowls. Benji Galloway was skating this place padless at 10pm and raging like a bull in there. Not many pro skaters would join the night sessions fearing for their safety and the possibility of losing the cash up for grabs but Benji is about mingling and getting amongst it and the crowd loved it hailing his every backsides disaster, invert and indy transfer in the deep. This is what skateboarding is all about, just letting go and having fun. Train loads of people cruised round the reservoir throwing massive ollies over the hips, carving low and high and slashing at the coping, this is the best place on earth for that and I dare anyone to prove me wrong.
We partied hard with the likes of Blair Alley, Pat Duffy, Kyle Berard, and others. The Red Lion had some crazy shit going on tonight. The bar staff were all moshing, beer was being sprayed everywhere and people were loose! Once we were all kicked out of there at 4am, we took to the car park opposite where we had back up beer crates in the boot. 3 skaters, one with a broken leg were asleep on the grass under jackets. All of a sudden the sprinklers came on and all hell broke loose! They were soaked and we could not help but laugh ourselves into the tarmac! Cruel really but we had to all run for cover. I just remember diving through the window headfirst into a part rolled doobie on someone’s lap! We all got soaked whilst David Martelleur found refuge on top of the phone box! We staggered in zig zags back home. Alan found Gerald asleep at a bus stop on the way home and rescued him! It was total carnage!
Sunday morning was unlike any other spent in London. We all surfaced at midday ready for the finals in ribbons! Not even the pool could save bones today. The seafood place was shut so there was nothing but OJ and vitamin C on offer before the big guns fought it out in 35′ heat in that bowl. 
It was whittled down to Omar, Alex Giraud, Chris Senn (who was a wildcard) Benji Galloway, Alex Coccini, TNT and Julien Benoliel (pic opposite) and it was on fire! Everyone gave all and the place was electric for 30 minutes! The rock reigned from the speakers courtesy of Ed Lee and Christian Stevenson who played so many classics and eventually after watching the gnarliest skating ever, the results came in and it was all over for another year.
Benji ripped with transfers off the wall into the 8ft, a barrage of 360 shit over the spine, switch transfer chaos and much more, but got ahead of last years runner up Alex Geraud whose transfer from the reservoir into the Heddings Gap is still one to cry for. Add his stylish kick flip backside lipslides over the hip to that and you have your man alive. Julien Benoliel was beaten to 6th place by Chris Senn whose style and different approach is still a pleasure to watch anywhere but the Marseille local is killing it and when he skates he does not flinch an inch and is tough as nails.
Crossfire has come a long way since the days of little B&W fanzine pamphlets and blagging the odd handshake with a pro. Today it’s worldwide recognition and Champagne dinners. Well, almost… DVS were in town for the premiere of their first ever video, ‘Skate More’, and Crossfire had been invited to rub shoulders with the pros and sip on complimentary drinks. To tell you the truth, the usual roll call with a video premiere is that we end up scrambling for tickets until the last minute, get squashed with the rest of the sweaty fans as we queue up anxiously awaiting the curtain-rise, spot a pro in the distance and then head off to the off-license for a couple of cold ones and an over-the-top trick by trick analysis of what we just saw. Yeah! We are the media, promise!
