Those who know thrash metal titans Anthrax and their signature anti-racist anthem "Indians" know shit gets real when rhythm guitarist Scott Ian shouts "War dance!" at the start of the song's punishing breakdown.
"Indians" was among the aggressive anthems that helped define Anthrax's classic 1987 release Among the Living. The album dropped on the heels of Metallica's breakthrough LP Master of Puppets, and its hyper-speed riffing and socially aware lyrics propelled Anthrax to the forefront of the nascent thrash movement.
Along with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, Anthrax emerged as part of the "Big Four" that drove the metal genre in a faster, more intense and brutal direction.
On the occasion of Anthrax's 40th anniversary tour with Black Label Society and Exodus, which hits San Antonio's Boeing Center at Tech Port on Friday, Feb. 10, the Current caught up with Ian to discuss the band's memorable Alamo City gigs. He called on the afternoon of a gig in Grand Forks, North Dakota, noting "it's fucking freezing here!"
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
This is the 40th anniversary tour, but it's actually Anthrax's 42nd year as a band, right?
Yeah, July will be 42. We didn't get to tour in 2021 on the back of the actual anniversary because of COVID. We started the 40th anniversary tour in 2022, which was the first leg of this run. Now we're on the second leg of the tour with Black Label and continuing the 40th anniversary thing.
The band has a long history with San Antonio. What was your earliest stop here?
We played Sunken Garden in July of '87 with Metal Church and D.R.I. opening. That was our first big show in San Antonio. We were there in April '86 headlining too, but I can't remember what club it was. I think we had Helstar opening for us. We quickly realized that San Antonio was like a metal mecca.
In April of 1989, the Headbangers Ball tour — with you guys, Helloween and Exodus — stopped here. The band was reaching a new level with all of the MTV support. That gig was moved last minute, due to rain, from Sunken Garden to Freeman Coliseum. And Exodus had to cancel last minute due to someone being sick. That must have been chaotic.
I'm sure it was chaotic. You said it was rain?
It was. Before the show, you signed albums at Sound Warehouse. Do you remember that place?
I don't remember the signing specifically, but I remember Sound Warehouse for sure.
You still had hair, and drummer Charlie Benante hadn't cut his.
(Laughs.) Exactly!
The next San Antonio show would have been supporting Iron Maiden in February 1991. You have cited Maiden as a huge influence. Being on that tour must have been a thrill.
There's no band more responsible for Anthrax being a band than Iron Maiden. In those early days — even pre-Anthrax — Maiden was everything. When you look at it on paper, it doesn't seem too long. I think back to 1980 when the first Maiden record came out. Walking home from the record store with that album — and listening to it — it completely changed my life. In '81, there's Killers too, and Anthrax is a band and we fucking worshipped Iron Maiden. They opened for Judas Priest in '81 at the Palladium in New York City. All of us were at that show, even though we weren't in a band together yet. I didn't even know Charlie and Frank [Bello, the bassist]. But we were all at the shows. And then cut to just nine years later and we were opening a world tour for them — '81 to '90 might as well have been an eternity. Looking back on it now, it's only nine years. We're still good friends. I just bumped into [Maiden guitarist] Adrian Smith at a Whole Foods in Malibu before I came out on this tour.
That's rock 'n' roll!
We were standing there at the checkout for 10 minutes, holding up the line. People are like, "Who are these two weird old guys talking about music?" There's no band I can say more about, that's more instrumental in our career path. They've gone above and beyond for Anthrax in every possible way. If it wasn't for the fact that I have pictures from back then, it would almost seem like it was a dream.
It was nine years of hard work that really paid off.
Totally. We had a record that went gold right away. Persistence of Time came out in ’90, and we hit the road with Maiden in Europe, then the States in ’91. Then that summer was Clash of the Titans with Megadeth, Slayer and Alice In Chains. Then in the fall we had Anthrax, Public Enemy and Primus. That year, ’91, has to be the biggest, as far as touring goes.
Clash of the Titans played the Sunken Gardens, so it was two visits to San Antonio in a matter of months. Alice In Chains opened, though no one suspected that in a few short years they would be legends. Or maybe you suspected?
We all loved that band. That was [Megadeth guitarist and vocalist] Dave Mustaine’s doing. In the initial meetings that were going on in LA, setting up that tour, there would be our manager, Jonny Z, and Dave and his manager. And Tom [Araya, Slayer’s bassist and vocalist] — or sometimes Kerry [King, Slayer’s guitarist] — and their manager, Rick Sales. We would have these planning meetings and basically talk shit and laugh. We got the call in early ’91, while we were out with Maiden. I’ve still got the fax at home, actually. It was from our manager, and it said, “Hey, I don’t know if you guys remember, but Slayer and Megadeth went out in Europe last year, and they called it Clash of the Titans. And they had Testament and Suicidal Tendencies opening. And they want to do it again, but they want it to be you guys and Slayer and Megadeth.” There was the three of us, this rotating bill that changed every night. A triple headliner. The idea was floated that there should be an opening band. So, we had to choose the opening band. Pantera was making noise and Death Angel. And then at the end of one of these meetings, Mustaine said, “Oh hey, I’ve got this album I want you guys to listen to.” And he hands me a copy and Tom a copy of the first Alice In Chains record, Facelift. And I’m like, “What is this?” And he goes, “We had these guys out with us a couple of months ago, and I think they’re fucking great. They have something different to say, and it’s not just throwing a fourth thrash band on the bill. It’s a different dynamic.” My initial judgment in my mind was, “What the fuck?” I get in my car, I throw the CD in on my way home, and I’m like, “Holy shit, these guys are amazing.”
Just so heavy.
What a great record! Undeniably great songwriting and riffs. Layne Staley’s vocals. It had everything. The perfect album. It’s like “Jesus Christ, where did this come from?” So, I called Jonny Z and said, “I fucking love this Alice In Chains record that Dave gave me. I think it would be really cool.” And he said, “That’s really interesting, because I just heard from Sales that Tom loves it too.” Those guys took a fucking beating every night of that tour. They were being pelted by 8,000 pints of beer. No joke. And they never backed down. Never walked offstage. Never turned their backs. If anything, it was the opposite. There were nights where Layne jumped in the crowd and started punching people. Those guys were the toughest sons of bitches I’d ever seen. Then six months later every person that gave them shit bought that record. (Laughs.)
Layne really worked it here in San Antonio. When people started chanting “Slayer!” during their set, he led the chants! That’s a ballsy way to deal with heckling.
They were the best.
Do you think the original thrash scene peaked with Clash of the Titans? Because not so long after that you let form former, and now current again, Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna go, you brought John Bush in. Things seemed to change somewhere in there.
It was certainly a point in time if you were making some kind of graph of the history of this genre. It certainly would be a high point. We sold out giant places all around the country. Granted, Metallica was already doing that on their own. (Laughs.) It definitely was a big fucking deal, you know? It’s part of the reason that we’re still here in 2023 playing to thousands of people, every night, all these years later. As a genre — if you were writing a paper on it in college — it would be easy to see that it was a point in time where it had reached the top. For the bands from the ‘80s, the ‘90s were not the best decade. Not all the ‘90s. Sound of White Noise was a great tour for us — ’93 and ’94 were still good. It was once we got from ’95 to ’99, those were the leaner years.
The band has always had a connection with Pantera, who were huge in the ’90s. Now Charlie and your current tourmate Zakk Wylde from Black Label Society are doing this Pantera thing with Rex Brown on bass and Phil Anselmo on vocals. You’re already on the record that you consider this a tribute. That topic has been talked to death. I’m curious if you’ve seen any of the gigs and what it’s like to see Charlie and Zakk onstage in place of the late “Dimebag” Darrell and Vinnie Abbott.
It feels very normal. Our history with those guys goes way back to 1986. Those guys opened for us at a show in Houston and a show in San Antonio, I believe. So, to see Charlie up there with those guys, it doesn’t feel surreal. We just always knew that if it was ever gonna happen — especially once Vinnie was gone — that there was gonna be one guy that was gonna play drums for it. And we always knew that. And who else but Zakk? Come on. Darrell and Zakk were literally brothers. I got to stand next to Darrell’s old tech Grady [Champion] on the side and watch. And I went and sat right behind Charlie and watched. That was Santiago, Chile. I was down there with Mr. Bungle. We were on the same festival. It sounded killer. It really gelled. I have my feelings about “should it ever be done? Blah, blah, blah.” But I believe those songs should be played live.
Looking back at 40 years. If you had a time machine and could change one thing, what would it be?
My logical mind tells me you can't change anything, because you couldn't be where you are now, still being able to do it at this level in 2023. I guess the real answer would be: I would have bought Apple stock back in the 1980s.
$30.50-$80.50, 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, Boeing Center at Tech Port, 3331 General Hudnell Drive, (210) 600-3699, boeingcentertechport.com.
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