Get ready for a blast from the past – ANTHRAX is teaming up with the legends BLACK SABBATH for a one-off “Back To The Beginning” concert at Villa Park in Birmingham, England on July 5! That’s right, after 20 years, these two metal giants will be sharing the stage. ANTHRAX actually toured with BLACK SABBATH back in ’86 on the “Seventh Star Tour”, which was also ANTHRAX’s first arena tour. The last time they were on the same bill was way back in 2005 at the Download Festival in the UK.
“I’m a huge BLACK SABBATH fan,” said ANTHRAX’s Charlie Benante, who, fun fact, grew up in a Catholic household where his mom wasn’t too thrilled about his metal tastes. “BLACK SABBATH was so, so instrumental in the sound of ANTHRAX back in the day. Back in ’86, when we were working on our third album, we wanted to do a B-side of a BLACK SABBATH song. ’Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ was the song that we chose.” Benante’s mom wasn’t too stoked about his BLACK SABBATH iron-on tee either – she made his sister take him back to the store to return it!
Scott Ian, ANTHRAX’s guitarist, discovered BLACK SABBATH at his uncle’s place when he was just 8 years old. “My uncle was 17 or 18, had a big vinyl collection and blacklight posters all over his walls, and I thought he was the coolest dude in the world.” Ian’s uncle introduced him to the iconic title track “Black Sabbath”, which still gives him chills to this day. Tony Iommi was basically Ian’s guitar teacher – he learned to play “Iron Man” and “Paranoid” just by listening to the records.
ANTHRAX’s vocalist Joey Belladonna is also a huge SABBATH fan and has covered many of their songs over the years. “We toured with SABBATH on the ’86 tour, and it was so electric. That was a huge tour for us, and we were just overwhelmed to be part of it.” Belladonna was stoked to be part of BLACK SABBATH’s “Back To The Beginning” concert, calling it “quite a big honor.”
Frank Bello, ANTHRAX’s bassist, got into BLACK SABBATH through his friends at school, who told him the band was awesome. “I thought the album cover was scary as hell.” Bello’s favorite BLACK SABBATH album is still the self-titled debut, and he’s a huge fan of Geezer Butler – “He always puts beautiful musicality & melody into everything he plays.”
Jon Donais, ANTHRAX’s guitarist, is also a total BLACK SABBATH fanatic. He got into Ozzy first, but later became obsessed with BLACK SABBATH’s Sabotage album, which he claims is his favorite SABBATH record. Donais would stay up till 3 or 4 am listening to Sabotage with his friend, much to their parents’ dismay.
ANTHRAX has some upcoming shows, including:
July 3 – Blackweir Arboretum – Cardiff, Wales (supporting SLAYER)
July 5 – Villa Park – Birmingham, UK (BLACK SABBATH, “Back To The Beginning”)
July 6 – Finsbury Park – London, UK (supporting SLAYER)
