During one of their video testimonials which marks their 40th Anniversary Episode, the trash metal band Anthrax has recalled the decision to fire Joey Belladonna in 1992. Joey Belladonna also has appeared in the video, expressing his feelings about being fired from the band.
As you may know, the band is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with special events and activities. For instance, they publish a series of video testimonials from their social media accounts and on their Youtube channel every week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. These videos include former band members, renowned figures from the music industry, and fellow musicians and their thoughts and stories on the Anthrax legacy. Videos honor each one of their albums in chronological order, the latest of them marking their 1993’s album ‘Sound Of White Noise’.
In the 17th episode of the series, Anthrax recalls the departure of Joey Belladonna from the band. Joey Belladonna appears at the start of the video, talking about his feelings on being fired and his comeback. He said he is not even hard at all, but he felt the emotions and ups and downs of being in and out. He said he considers the important thing as respecting each other, caring about the band, and wanting to keep going. He added the band is about relationships, and being self-centered is no use as everything is not about oneself.
Joey Belladonna said in the video that:
“The emotions, the ups, and downs of being in and out have really – I don’t mean to be hard-ended but I am not even hard at all. I mean it could be a whole lot more but there’s a certain point in time you have to keep it at even, you have to give and take. That’s what we are looking for it, you know. But it’s about relationships, it’s about ‘Do you have the head for it, do you really want to do this, do you really care about this band, do you want to keep going or don’t you, do you respect one another?’ You have to have that, everything is not about yourself, you can’t just do it for yourself. I understand you have goals but the goal is about the band. The band is really about relationship.”
Moreover, considering Joey’s parting from the band, band’s guitarist Scott Ian said that making a decision like this was horrible, but they felt like it had to be done for the band to move forward. He added that there was never anything personal with Joey, and he hated that such a thing has happened. He also considered the decision as the heaviest decision in the band’s history.
Scott Ian’s words were:
“It was the heaviest decision in the history of the band, certainly. And even that I feel like doesn’t give it the weight that it needs. And there was never anything personal with Joey – it was never personal with him. It just really came down to the creative ability for the band, honestly, to move forward. And I hate that it’s something that happened.”
As is known, Joey Belladonna was the lead singer of the band from 1984 to 1992 and was considered as a part of the band’s original lineup. He officially returned to Anthrax as it was announced back in 2010, and appeared on their latest album ‘For All Kings’ in 2016.
