This one goes out to my good friend Rick G. I’m pretty sure he has a full back piece with ANTHRAX written across his shoulder blades.
In case you were not aware, they are one of the bands that helped define the “metal/thrash” genre (with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth – The Big Four). Their music has been played at New York’s Yankee Stadium, in Moscow, Warsaw, Australia, Japan, and at Castle Donington in the UK. But now, thanks to NASA, Anthrax is the first metal band to ever have its music played on Mars.
“Got The Time,” from the band’s 1990 Gold-certified Persistence of Time, was one of several songs on NASA’s wake-up playlist for the Mars Rover, Curiosity, that touched down on the Red Planet August 5. “Got The Time” woke Curiosity up on Day Six, along with “Echelon” by 30 Seconds to Mars. Since Curiosity’s Mars landing, the playlist has also included The Beatles’ “Good Morning Good Morning,” the theme from “Star Wars,” and Wagner’s “The Ride of the Valkyries.”
As Anthrax’s Scott Ian put it, “Yes, there will be moshing on Mars.”
Next on Anthrax’s Planet Earth agenda is a Fall co-headline tour with Testament, with Death Angel supporting. This will be Leg Three of the Anthrax/Testament/Death Angel hat-trick, and will mark Anthrax’s first tour of Canada in support of the band’s most recent release, Worship Music, called the Metal Album of the Year by an abundance of journalists.
Added Ian, “With Testament and Death Angel before, we played sold-out shows, raging crowds and EPIC war dances, and we can’t wait to do it again, especially for our Canadian fans who have been waiting a long to time ‘worship music’ with us.”
L-R: Frank Bello, Scott Ian, Charlie Benante,
Rob Caggiano, Joey Belladonna
And if that’s not enough Anthrax news for you, Anthrax’s bassist, Frank Bello, will attend the premiere of “Greetings From Tim Buckley” at next month’s Toronto Film Festival. Bello made his feature film debut in the supporting role of punk rock legend Richard Hell in the film that stars Penn Badgley of “Gossip Girl” fame. Bello auditioned for the role on a Thursday, was cast on Friday, and reported to the set the following Monday, the morning after Anthrax’s big Yankee Stadium concert last September with The Big Four.
With the new dates added, the complete itinerary for the Anthrax/Testament/Death Angel thrash-fest are as follows:
SEPTEMBER
14 Ace of Spades, Sacramento, CA
15 Roseland Theatre, Portland, OR
16 Toyota Arena, Kennewick, WA
17 Knitting Factory, Spokane, WA
19 The Showbox @ The Market, Seattle, WA
20 Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC
21 MacEwan Hall Ballroom, Calgary, AL
22 Events Center, Edmonton, AL
24 The Odeon, Saskatoon, SK
25 Burton Cummings Theatre, Winnipeg, MB
27 Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL
28 Harpo’s Concert Theatre, Detroit, MI
29 Danforth Hall, Toronto, ON
30 Capitole du Quebec, Quebec City, QC
OCTOBER
2 Metropolis, Montreal, QC
3 State Theatre, Portland, ME
4 Webster Theatre, Hartford, CT
5 Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ
6 House of Blues, Atlantic City, NJ
