By Christopher David<\/p>\n
Chris (ITL): <\/strong>So are you ready to talk about this phenomenal record you guys have made? (For All Kings<\/em>, coming February 26th).\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Frank: <\/strong>*laughs* Thank you so much, dude. We\u2019ve been talking about the tour and the snowstorm for the last couple of days, so it\u2019s great to talk about the record again!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Chris (ITL): <\/strong>Definitely! I\u2019ve had a chance to listen to it a few times over the last couple of days, and let me tell you, man – as a long-time fan, I expected it to be good, but you really left it all on the table with this one – It\u2019s amazing!<\/p>\n Frank<\/strong>: Spread the word! You know, what\u2019s great about this point where we are, we\u2019re letting it out now, and only certain people have heard it, and so it\u2019s really nice to hear all the positive feedback, after taking so long with it and making sure t\u2019s the right record. It\u2019s been all great stuff.<\/p>\n Chris (ITL)<\/strong>: I know that over the years, you and Scottie and Charlie have changed up your instruments periodically – Charlie writing on guitar, for example, that kind of thing – and in that vein, you write a lot of the melodies for the songs. On For All Kings<\/em>, I understand that this was the first time you actually wrote melodies with Joey in mind since Persistence of Time <\/em>(1990). What was interesting to me, with that in mind, was how much of a natural progression this record seems to be from that one, even from first listen.<\/p>\n Frank<\/strong>: I appreciate that. It\u2019s always just been a fun thing for me to write the melodies – if you\u2019re going to have a great riff, there should be a great melody on top of it. I call it \u2018making the cake\u2019 of the song. The three of us – Charlie, Scott, and I – get together and do the music, then the melodies, and the lyrics go on top. It\u2019s always been like that for us.<\/p>\n Chris (ITL):<\/strong> Having been a longtime fan, I think it\u2019s great to see how the core members have remained so tight over the years with such a focused process.<\/p>\n Frank<\/strong>: You can\u2019t just write songs in two weeks and then let the record out. You have to live with the songs, and you have to realize, we\u2019re fans of the music, too. We have to make sure it\u2019s the right record, and after making sure all the parts are the right parts, you just get that feeling in your gut.<\/p>\n Chris (ITL): <\/strong>And how better to celebrate Anthrax\u2019s 35th anniversary?<\/p>\n Frank<\/strong>: Dude, it\u2019s insane that it\u2019s been that long, because this is a very hungry Anthrax, and it doesn\u2019t feel like anywhere near that long. We\u2019re still a hungry band, and whatever that next level is, that\u2019s what we want to do.<\/p>\n Chris (ITL)<\/strong>: How has having Jonathan (Donais, formerly of Shadows Fall) in the band now on lead guitar changed things or altered the dynamics?<\/p>\n Frank<\/strong>: It\u2019s incredible. Jon has always been an incredible player, and I can\u2019t wait for people to hear what he\u2019s done with us. He\u2019s done some amazing leads – you\u2019ve heard the record\u2014<\/p>\n Chris (ITL):<\/strong> \u2014yeah, the leads on this record are unbelievable.<\/p>\n Frank<\/strong>: I agree, and as a fan, to hear how he\u2019s raised the bar – I\u2019m not even a lead player, and I\u2019m so impressed, I just had to go back after I heard some of them like, \u2018wait, what was that??\u201d I think for the whole band, this record is our best playing. I\u2019m very proud of that, because we really care. And I feel really good about leaving it all on the table like that.<\/p>\n Chris (ITL):<\/strong> To talk about a few of the new songs – I don\u2019t know that I\u2019d go so far as to call Anthrax a political band, but there\u2019s certainly been a history of some political lyrics and themes from time to time. New songs like \u201cZero Tolerance,\u201d \u201cFor All Kings,\u201d and certainly \u201cEvil Twin\u201d maintain that – was that a conscious thing, where you sat down and decided to write a song about terrorism or something, or was it just that the climate that we\u2019re living in right now dictated a darker tone in some cases?<\/p>\n Frank<\/strong>: Scott is our main lyricist, and he always comes in with a lot of things that we like or agree with, and yeah, it\u2019s not only politics, but it\u2019s the climate we\u2019re living in, everything that affects us, day-to-day lives – the Stephen King references, stuff like that. I think one thing about Anthrax is that we\u2019ve always had intelligent lyrics, and we\u2019re not preaching or anything, it\u2019s just how things affect us, personally, and I like that those heavy lyrics go with the heavy music.<\/p>\n Chris (ITL):<\/strong> It\u2019s definitely something that\u2019s always made you guys interesting – you\u2019ve never been a band that takes on specific thematic concepts and only<\/em> plays to those themes on every single record.<\/p>\n Frank<\/strong>: And the way to do that is just writing for yourself, as a fan. And hopefully other people will then understand that, and enjoy the music and the same ideas. We want to take you on a journey, and I think this record really takes you on a ride, it\u2019s a rollercoaster, it gives you a high.<\/p>\n Chris (ITL):<\/strong> It\u2019s very cohesive as an album, to sit and listen to from start to finish. I\u2019m definitely a fan of \u201cThe Album.\u201d<\/p>\n Frank<\/strong>: Yeah, that\u2019s how I am, I listen to a full record and just enjoy it, I don\u2019t listen to just one song or something.<\/p>\n Chris (ITL)<\/strong>: So are you guys planning on doing a lot of tunes from this record live?<\/p>\n Frank<\/strong>: I am so stoked, we can\u2019t wait to play this stuff live! We have to wait a little bit – the new single, \u201cBreathing Lightning,\u201d is out now and we\u2019re going to start playing that live soon – and we can\u2019t really do a lot more than that, because with the Internet, people would get the live stuff first, and I\u2019d much rather they enjoy it live after<\/em> they hear the whole record.<\/p>\n This Lamb of God tour has been great so far – it\u2019s a great package, huge crowds every night, sold out – things are just a lot of fun right now.<\/p>\n Chris (ITL): <\/strong>That\u2019s great to hear, man. I couldn\u2019t be happier to see you guys kicking so much ass these days, and I can\u2019t wait for the tour to roll through Chicago on January 30th! Congrats on a great record.<\/p>\n Frank:<\/strong> Thanks so much – and see you next week!<\/p>\n ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n To find out more on Anthrax, click here<\/a><\/p>\n To get tickets to the upcoming show at the Aragon Ballroom, click here<\/a><\/p>\n