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 After enjoying a lengthy break, thrash metal innovators Anthrax are back with the album We've Come For You All. Although guitarist Scott Ian now lives in California, he'll never forget that he was born and bred in Queens. Still an avid fan of the Big Apple, Ian sings praise of New York and considers it a big influence on the band's success.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
You were born in Queens and during shows you often mention how much you love New York and how important it is to you. Seems like you have a special relationship with the city.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SCOTT: | I have; my whole family has. My grandfather got out of Poland during the First World War, in 1918, and came via Amsterdam to New York. Because he had no passport and no papers, they sent him back, but he tried it again about a year later. To survive he did odd jobs and sorted veggies and slept in the streets, but in 1934 he had saved up enough money to buy his own little shop and get his parents over to the US. Back then there was the health check on Ellis Island and they got an archive there. I checked and there was his data, how and when he arrived here. My family owes NYC quite a bit. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Apart from the family history, how do you feel about New York? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SCOTT: | I love it. For me, it's so full of memories. I mean, almost all the history of Anthrax is connected with New York. We did a sold-out concert in the Ritz and got a record contract after that. That was 1985! Then I remember seeing Kiss in the Madison Square Garden and then I knew I wanted to be a musician. That was in '77. When we played a sold-out show in '91 – as headliners – there, I felt like it was the knighthood of rock. That's something nobody can ever take from me. It was a triumph! I remember our encore was "Bring the Noise." It was the first time we played it live and when Public Enemy joined us on stage, the crowd went wild. There are so many memories – and great moments in the history of Anthrax. Most of all the milestones happened in New York. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
From what I gather, many are enthusiastic about your new album We've Come For You All.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SCOTT: | Oh, it's great. Charlie and I were recently in Japan to introduce the new album and it just went great. We played a couple of songs in a crowded venue and the audience liked us better than the Murderdolls, who were playing there. We were just doing a couple of songs, no show, nothing, just the two of us standing around. We get enthusiastic comments everywhere and more journalists than ever want to interview us. That makes a nice change. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
I heard that in Europe you did a rather smart thing – you sent copies of your new single "Safe Home" to radio stations, but left out the name of the band, and all of a sudden Anthrax were played on the radio.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SCOTT: | That's true. It was worth a try. Obviously, with the name Anthrax, we're not radio material. I'm not putting too much hope in that we get much airplay, but if it should happen, I'm not complaining. I don't really know if that would help us to sell more, but it would be great for people who don't know our music and probably would be tempted to give us a listen. We had a lot of shit happening in the past and we don't want to expect too much... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Speaking about bad luck, you've had your share of that, but you managed to ride it out.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SCOTT: |
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NYROCK: |
Your style changed quite a bit in the past couple of years. Are you worried that your old fans might not accept it? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SCOTT: | I can understand that some people are like that, but I think they are the kind of people who only listen to one genre of music and the same albums over and over. They're not interested in anything else, but personally I think that is a far too narrow-minded view. Everybody who knows Anthrax knows that each of our albums sounds different. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
I always find it a bit strange when musicians record albums that sound alike. Where's the point apart from cashing in on the name? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SCOTT: | Exactly, especially if you see yourself as a musician. It must be extremely unfulfilling if you see yourself as an artist and you just repeat your one artwork over and over. It's like a painter always painting the same picture or an architect with just one house... I see it a bit different, you know, an album reflects a lot. Each album is recorded at a different time, a different point in your life. The songs reflect that. So how can they sound the same if they're genuine? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
Music reflects feelings quite a lot. What is a better motivator, anger or joy? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SCOTT: | That's a really hard question. A few years ago I would have said anger, but I learned that positive feelings can motivate you just as much. Of course, it's great to get all your anger out in a song. It can be very therapeutic. We have plenty of songs that deal with dirty breakups, "Crush" and "Only" for example, but "Safe Home" is a rather positive song. I looked at my girlfriend Pearl and the lyrics just came to me. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NYROCK: |
James Hetfield from Metallica once said that "Only" is a perfect song. Quite a compliment coming from him.... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SCOTT: | Up until recently I would have agreed with him, but now I think our best song is "Safe Home." It's very personal, filled with emotions. It's positive and a great song. As I said before, music and songs are written at different periods of time, at different times in your life. They reflect the feelings you have and to be honest, I quite like having positive emotions. May 2003 Editor's Note: We've Come for You All (Sanctuary Records) is the first new studio effort from Anthrax in five years. Special guests include the Who vocalist Roger Daltrey on "Taking the Music Back" and Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell on "Cadillac Rock Box" and "Strap It On." The album was co-produced by Anthrax and Scrap 60.
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