Rob Caggiano on Leaving Anthrax: “I Wasn’t Feeling Inspired”

When he left Anthrax in January 2013 to join Volbeat, Rob Caggiano was jumping from one successful band to another. At the time, Anthrax was still riding high off the massive success of Worship Music and the return of Joey Belladonna brought in a new age of Anthrax. So why leave when things were going well?

During a recent “10 Questions” segment with Metalshop TV (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), Caggiano shared his perspective on the decision, explaining that he felt things had just run their course.

“I decided to leave Anthrax back then because I kind of felt like… At that point I had been in the band for a long time, and I kind of felt like my role in the band ran its course, so to speak. And I just kind of felt like I was hitting my head up against a glass ceiling a long time. And it just felt like I needed a change.

“I wasn’t feeling inspired. Don’t get me wrong — I love those guys and I loved every minute of my time with them. It was such an amazing, wild ride. But I just felt like I needed to do something else at that time. And the Volbeat thing just happened, and it was organic, and it felt right. So, here I am.”

This answer is somewhat in line with the previous answer he gave shortly after his departure in 2013, where he said he “just wasn’t happy” being in Anthrax anymore after recording We’ve Come For You All and Worship Music and touring to support both releases.

And while it was a bummer to see him go, it’s great to know that Caggiano’s hitting major stages all over the world in one of the bigger rock groups out there today.