THE ANTHRAX DRAMA CONTINUES

Doesn’t Scott Ian seem like a really swell dude when you see him on TV? He’s not Lars Ulrich, who comes off as such a prick that when you hear he really is a prick you go, “Yeah, that makes sense.” If my only knowledge of Scott Ian was his VH1 appearances, though, I’d wanna invite the guy to my place to my Passover sedar.

But then you hear these stories that make you smack your forehead, like, say, suddenly inviting Joey Belladonna and Dan Spitz back to the band after the artistic (if not financial) triumph of We’ve Come for You All, and suddenly Ian – and his bandmates, for that matter – don’t seem like such nice fellas. To wit, this statement from Dan Nelson on his unceremonious departure from Anthrax:

“On the advice of counsel I have remained silent to the statements issued by Anthrax in recent days and now must address these issues to my loyal fans and others. I want to set the record straight.

“I was never seriously ill or sick at all, as reported in Anthrax’s 7/17/09 press release. This extremely inflammatory statement hurt me tremendously. This statement misled fans, friends and family members into believing that I was seriously ill when I was not. I was not aware such a statement was being issued and it came as a total shock to me, as I’m sure it did to all of you. It was the other band members’ decision to cancel the tour dates, not mine. I was ready, willing and able to do my job. After issuing the press release the other band members decided, on their own accord, that I had ‘resigned’ from the band. I never resigned from the band.

“Even in view of this action and stance taken by the band, as late as earlier today I made it clear that I was ready willing and able to continue to fulfill my obligations. After that offer was made the most recent press release was issued which announced my ‘confirmed’ departure from the band. I was not aware of the contents of this release until after it was issued, nor was I aware that Anthrax was canceling the European and Slipknot tours.

“I regret any disappointment and confusion this situation has caused. I want to thank my loyal fans, family and friends for all their support and their many messages, emails and calls. My counsel has been instructed to take any and all appropriate actions to address this situation.”

Now, we still haven’t really heard the band’s side of the story, but assuming Nelson is telling the truth – lying about him being ill is a dick move. Especially if he wasn’t consulted about it in advance. And lying about him quitting if he didn’t really quit is bullshit, too.

So while I’m really happy about the prospect of John Bush possibly returning to the fold, I wish it was under different circumstances.

Meanwhile, the release of Worship Music has been – no shock here – delayed indefinitely. But I know that someone out there has it. If it’s you, send it to me. I wanna hear if a Nelsonthrax was even worth caring about in the first place.

-AR