ANTHRAX ARE HEADLINING… ROCKLAHOMA? SERIOUSLY?

What do Twisted Sister, Great White, Kix, Nelson, Danger Danger and Anthrax all have in common?

They’re all playing this year’s Rocklahoma Festival.

Okay. Now. ‘Thrax have always been the most glam-friendly thrash band. They’ve toured with Motley Crue and done shows with Twisted Sister and Sebastian Bach before, and Scott Ian’s unabashed love of all things Kiss and Ted Nugent serves as a good illustration of the ways in which cock rock and thrash are not necessarily as far removed, at least in terms of mutual influences, as certain parties would like us to believe. And, as I recall, the only website that really got behind the release of Anthrax’s excellent We’ve Come for You All was Metal Sludge.

Still: this strikes me as a not great move for a band trying to make a comeback and prove that having yet another new lead singer isn’t career suicide. I know this will put the band in front of a huge crowd and if it gets more people to buy their new album, Worship Music, then mission accomplished.

But do people who care about Warrant really care about Anthrax? Will the folks holding their lighters up for “The Ballad of Jayne”  and getting drunk to “House of Pain” then feel inclinded to just toss themselves into “Caught in a Mosh” or “N.F.L.?” Wouldn’t it almost be more beneficial to play some smaller venues with some tr00er bands?

Maybe I’m just not giving the Rocklahoma crowd enough credit; I mean, if I care about hair metal and thrash in equal measures, then there must be other people who do, too, right?

Weigh in with your thoughts below. I’m curious to hear what other Anthrax fans make of this news.

-AR