Today, the Anthrax live DVD Chile On Hell is out in stores, but last night, there were a pair of screenings of the DVD in New York and Los Angeles. Metal Insider was on hand for the New York show, which took place at the Cinema Village theater in the East Village. The screening was attended by Anthrax bassist Frank Bello, who did a Q&A with the audience following the film, stating that the band are tentatively going to start recording their next album in November.
Filmed in Santiago, Chile on May 10, 2013, Chile On Hell is a cross-section of the band’s 30 year career. Opening with a handful of tracks from Among the Living, it also features a healthy amount of songs from 2011’s Worship Music, and even sprinkles in a few things you might not expect, like their AC/DC cover of “T.N.T.” from Anthems and “I’m the Man,” which they hadn’t performed in a while. The show is high energy, thanks to tons of quick edits and camera angles (including a GoPro camera on Scott Ian’s guitar and Frank Bello’s bass), which Bello attributed to the “football team” of cameramen onstage with them. But the real star of the DVD is the crowd. Singing most of Anthrax’s riffs like soccer stadium chants, the crowd is electric from the first note. They’re so into the show that a pair of road flares are lit in the mosh pit and they burn for about half the concert.
One question Bello was asked was when the follow-up to Worship Music will be out. “We want an album next year,” Bello said. “We like to be challenged.” He added that him, Ian and drummer Charlie Benante got together last week in New York and worked on some songs. They’re tentatively scheduled to convene in November and start recording. When asked if lead guitarist Jon Donais (of Shadows Fall) would be writing on the new album, they said that he’d just be soloing for now. “I didn’t know how good he was as a guitar player when he joined,” Bello said. “He’s a burner, but a really tasteful soloist.”
The reunion with Joey Belladonna and the success of Worship Music put the band back in the spotlight after an eight year lapse between albums. During that time, the band celebrated their 30th anniversary, playing over 200 shows in support of the album, including playing Yankee Stadium for the Big 4 concert with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. Bello says he knows that there are expectations for them to deliver an album that will keep them in the spotlight. “We have to get back to where we were,” he says. “We’re not there yet, but we can feel we’re on the upswing. We know where we are and where we have to go. I think we’re really excited.”
You can pick up Chile on Hell here, and if you’re going on the Motorhead Motorboat or the Knotfest, you’ll get to see them there as well.
