Though it certainly came as a surprise, Scott Ian has made it clear that Rob Caggiano left Anthrax on good terms. And in his first official interview since splitting, Caggiano further makes it clear that he has nothing but love for his former bandmates. However, the guitarist also gives more insight into why he actually left Anthrax after 12 years.
When asked directly by Pro Sound News why he left Anthrax, Caggiano responded with the following:
“That was a very tough decision to make and it’s also a tough question to answer. There are a number of reasons why I left the band. Some of them are very personal to me but I ultimately have no problem being open about these things. If you were to ask me to give you the absolute main reason why I decided to leave Anthrax, I would tell you that I left because my heart simply wasn’t in it anymore. I had a blast playing with those guys and they will always be family to me, but outside of my guitar solos and production work, Anthrax was never a creative outlet for me (musically). That wasn’t by any choice of my own by the way; it’s just the way it is. But at the same time I was committed 100 percent to the band and the relentless touring schedule, etc.
It’s been a blast playing with those guys. I love them dearly and I wouldn’t change a thing about the last 12 years, but I guess it just got to the point where I started asking myself: ‘What the hell am I doing? I’m a musician; this is who I am. Being creative is simply food for my soul. Why am I devoting all of my time and energy into a band where being creative is impossible for me?’ It simply stopped making sense a while ago and I ended up feeling very unhappy and unfulfilled. It started feeling like I was just going through the motions and that’s not what music is about to me at all. As soon as I realized that my heart was not into it anymore, I knew I needed to make a major change in order to make things right for myself.”
Granted, it should come as no surprise that Ian and drummer Charlie Benante are essentially in-charge of song-writing in Anthrax. Still, Caggiano played a big role production-wise with both Worship Music and We’ve Come For You All. In the end, though, Caggiano simply needed an outlet that he could express himself more in (which is completely understandable). While he’s currently working with Volbeat on their next album, Caggiano also tells Pro Sound News that he hasn’t given up touring or playing guitar, despite his split from Anthrax.
