Anthrax’s Scott Ian recently revealed details about a severe back injury he sustained during a cruise performance. He addressed concerns about his ability to perform on the band’s upcoming Australian tour in a statement shared on Heavy Interviews.
The guitarist explained how the injury occurred during challenging weather conditions on the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise. He detailed his recovery process.
“I injured my back. We were on the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise at the end of January. There was freak weather down off of the coast of south Florida and out in the Bahamas where that boat goes usually. So it couldn’t cruise down to the Bahamas ’cause there was a bad storm,” Ian said. “So we just kind of stayed off the coast of Florida — like 20, 30 miles off shore. There was a freak cold weather shit that happened. ‘Cause Miami, Florida that time of year should be 70, 75 degrees Fahrenheit. It was in the 30s — it was snowing weather.”
Ian described the difficult performance conditions that led to his injury.
“We’re out on the ocean, and the winds are blowing 40 miles per hour. The second show we do on the boat on the Saturday night, you do it on the big pool deck. So there’s 3,000 people outside on the boat and you’re playing outdoors. It was literally freezing fucking cold,” he continued. “We tried to get them to change the schedule so we could play in the theater again, but they couldn’t move all the schedule around. We didn’t wanna play in the freezing cold, ’cause it obviously makes it very difficult, and for the fans. But all the fans were out there, so we’re, like, ‘Well, they’re out there. We’re not gonna cancel.’ So we played. We are very physical performers.”
The guitarist explained how his physical performance style contributed to the injury in the harsh conditions.
“I move around quite a bit on stage, jumping, stomping; I’m all over the place. There was no way for my muscles — even though I warmed up, my muscles never warmed up. By the end of the next day, after playing that show in the cold, my back went out. I could barely walk for a week probably. I couldn’t tie my shoes. I couldn’t fucking put pants on. I never had pain like that, back spasms like this. It was insane,” Ian said.
Ian detailed the challenges he faced while continuing to tour with the injury.
“I finally got home, ’cause I had to go down to South America after that and finish these Mr. Bungle shows. I was flying these 10-hour flights and I couldn’t even move, dude. I couldn’t move. It was agony. It’s been five weeks now. [Anthrax] just did this whole run through Canada [with Megadeth and Exodus], every night on the tour seeing massage therapists, seeing fucking osteopaths, anything to get me through the show every night. At my best on this Canadian run, I was maybe 40%. I couldn’t jump. I couldn’t stomp my feet. If anything, maybe my playing was better, ’cause what else [can I do]?” he continued.
Regarding the upcoming Australian tour, Ian expressed cautious optimism about his recovery.
“Right now — I got home and I’ve been seeing a physical therapist and I leave in a week to fly to Australia. I’m definitely better than I was a week ago. I’m hoping another week will go by, and so by the time I get on stage in Brisbane [for the first show of the Australian tour], I’m hoping I will be somewhere in the 70, 75% of what I should feel like range, ’cause I don’t wanna re-injure myself, obviously. Dude, I take care of myself. I work out regularly, and have for the years, all because I want to be able to perform at the level I want to be able to perform at. I know what I can do and I know the show I wanna give to a crowd,” Ian said.
The Australian tour is set to begin with a show in Brisbane. Ian continues his recovery process leading up to the performances.
