In late March 2024, ANTHRAX introduced that, because of private causes, bassist Frank Bello wouldn’t be capable of accompany the band on its South American tour, which kicked off on April 13, 2024 at MXMF The Steel Fest in Mexico Metropolis. Filling in on these dates, in addition to two U.S. pageant reveals in Might 2024, was ANTHRAX founding member and unique bassist Dan Lilker, marking his first look with the band in 40 years. Lilker, who co-wrote and performed on ANTHRAX‘s debut album “Fistful Of Steel”, was additionally a member of STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH with ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante and guitarist Scott Ian.
In a brand new interview with Todd Newton of Large Music Geek, Lilker was requested if he was shocked to get the decision to play along with his former band once more. He responded: “It was positively a shock, however it ended up being a pleasing shock.
“Scott had texted me in late February and mentioned, ‘Frank cannot do these reveals we’re doing in Latin America and a few U.S. festivals in Might. Are you able to do them?’ That was solely 5 weeks out from the primary present, however I mentioned, ‘Certain. What is the setlist?’ And I practiced. Every single day, I might come dwelling from work and run by way of the setlist, driving my spouse loopy. However I like to verify I do know stuff and I wish to understand it with full confidence. I wish to play it and nonetheless be capable of rock out and have or not it’s pure like second nature.
“It was enjoyable,” he continued. “I went to some cool locations I might by no means been to El Salvador or fucking Costa Rica or Ecuador and Uruguay. I went to Uruguay, dude.
“These guys are all actual nice musicians,” Lilker added. [ANTHRAX vocalist] Joey [Belladonna] is an incredible singer. I by no means shared a stage with him.
“It was numerous enjoyable, however I used to be shocked.”
Lilker beforehand talked about his stage reunion with ANTHRAX in a November 2024 interview with the That Steel Interview podcast. Lilker mentioned on the time: “These reveals had been nice. It was enjoyable. I did not actually know Joey earlier than that, the vocalist. Clearly, I knew Scott and Charlie from [playing with them in ANTHRAX and] S.O.D. after which there’s Jon [Donais], the guitar participant, who’s additionally a very cool dude who helped me out quite a bit, educating me the stuff that I nonetheless wanted to be taught. However yeah, these reveals had been nice. There was eight reveals in South America after which there was a few U.S. fests, in Florida and Columbus, Ohio. The South American [shows] had been in April. I ought to say Central America — really, the primary present was in Mexico. However let’s simply say Latin America. And all these reveals had been killer. I imply, I’ve performed down there a bunch. I went to some locations I’ve by no means been earlier than, like Costa Rica and Ecuador and El Salvador. However good previous Chile and Argentina and Brazil, I knew these had been gonna be killers as a result of I performed there a bunch with different bands. And, yeah, I feel every part was nice. It was numerous enjoyable. And I feel folks loved it, man. It is throughout YouTube.”
Requested if it is true that that they had just one rehearsal in Mexico Metropolis earlier than he performed his first present again with ANTHRAX, Dan mentioned: “Yeah, there was one rehearsal in Mexico, however I might gotten approached about doing that about 5 – 6 weeks earlier than that. So I had time at dwelling to be taught the stuff, after which we simply did that one rehearsal, as a result of even these guys wanted the rehearsal, ‘trigger they hadn’t finished something at that time since they performed, like, the Milwaukee Steel Fest the summer season earlier than or one thing. They’d gone about ten months with out doing something, so even when Frank had finished the reveals, they’d’ve rehearsed regardless.”
When the interviewer famous that Lilker has a barely totally different bass sound in comparison with Frank, Dan concurred. “Oh, positively,” he mentioned. “[Frank] has a pleasant aggressive bass tone, however mine’s positively just a little extra distorted, having all the time seemed like that after which enjoying grindcore and black and dying steel and shit like they’ve finished the final fucking quarter century. Scott and Charlie had performed with me with S.O.D. with that bass tone, and I am positive they had been conscious that it could sound just a little totally different with ANTHRAX, however it was nearly, like, it made it this attention-grabbing hypothetical factor for these dudes, like, ‘What if Danny had been within the band all this time? What would these songs sound like?’ And you bought to seek out out, I assume.”
Requested if there have been any songs that he needed to be taught for ANTHRAX‘s set that gave him bother, Dan mentioned: “The one factor that was tough typically was doing the backing vocals whereas enjoying the bass, ‘trigger typically the phrasing was just a little totally different. Like, consider it or not, going ‘what’s it? Caught in a mosh’ and enjoying the riff beneath it, it sort of alternates weirdly. So I needed to gradual the entire thing down in my mind and go, ‘Okay, you must faucet your foot right here or say this on that notice.’ And that is solely as a result of in most bands I have been in, if I am doing backing vocals, I am normally simply screaming or shouting a few phrases, which this isn’t that dissimilar from. It was simply extra of a musical phrasing factor, the place what you are saying and what you are enjoying are simply totally different sufficient that it could actually fuck you up just a little.”
Lilker has not been idle over the previous 4 many years, having performed in all kinds of bands. He was the bassist for the thrash/steel band NUCLEAR ASSAULT and the grindcore band BRUTAL TRUTH. He additionally performs bass for EXIT-13, MALFORMED EARTHBORN, THE RAVENOUS, OVERLORD EXTERMINATOR, VENOMOUS CONCEPT, and extra.
To have fun ANTHRAX‘s fortieth anniversary in 2021, the band’s social media accounts provided a collection of video testimonials despatched in by former bandmembers, fellow musicians, colleagues, and trade veterans sharing behind-the-scenes tales of working with the band and what ANTHRAX‘s legacy has meant all these years on. These movies honored every album in chronological order starting with the unique launch, “Fistful Of Steel”. The 11-week collection included video contributions from former ANTHRAX bandmembers Lilker, Dan Spitz, John Bush, Neil Turbin and Rob Caggiano.
Lilker, who performed bass on “Fistful Of Steel” and wrote a lot of the music for the report, advised Knotfest about ANTHRAX‘s fortieth anniversary: “I am positively happy with that complete factor. I feel it is nice that these guys are nonetheless going… That was actual good recollections again then. I do know folks go, ‘Oh, they fucking threw you out after that,’ and blah blah blah. However, clearly, I acquired over that and shaped NUCLEAR ASSAULT. And subsequent 12 months we had been doing S.O.D. So I am not the sort of man who stays bitter eternally. However, yeah, the recollections of these instances, writing that report and recording it and every part was… ‘Trigger there was no blueprint or something; we simply had influences and simply tried to place our personal stamp on ’em again then. So, yeah, it sort of sucks being thrown out three days earlier than [it got] launched, however it gave me an excuse to do one thing else.”
When interviewer Daniel Dekay famous that it was “actually cool” of ANTHRAX to permit Lilker to inform his facet of the story within the above-mentioned documentary collection, Dan mentioned: “There was instances previously the place I may need been just a little uncared for on a few of the stuff. So I feel they needed to verify to simply have a pleasant, inclusive vibe and never overlook any specific particulars. Like the truth that I wrote 75 % of ‘Fistful Of Steel’. You already know, a minor element.”
A lot of years in the past, Lilker advised Voices From The Darkside that he was fired from ANTHRAX because of “a battle” with the band’s then-vocalist Neil Turbin. “He was an egotist (like most singers, haha) and it bothered him that I used to be taller than him,” Lilker defined. “Additionally, he had no humorousness, so when you busted his balls he took it significantly. So, he advised the opposite members, ‘I can not take Lilker anymore. It is him or me.’ They determined he was extra essential as a well-known frontman to the followers, so that they threw me out, despite the fact that I wrote 75 % of the music on ‘Fistful…’. Oh nicely. He was, in fact, thrown out seven months later, and I performed with Scott and Charlie in S.O.D. the following 12 months.”
In his 2014 autobiography “I am The Man: The Story Of That Man From Anthrax”, Ian described Lilker‘s dismissal from ANTHRAX 30 years earlier as “the worst second for me within the historical past” of the band. He went on to say that the choice to kick Dan out ANTHRAX was made by Turbin and never the opposite members of the group.
“The most important dick transfer Neil ever pulled was when he fired Danny Lilker behind our backs after ‘Fistful…’ got here out in January 1984,” Ian wrote. “The primary motive he did it, in my view, was as a result of Danny is taller than him. He truthfully did not assume somebody ought to be taller than the frontman onstage. He thought it made him look unhealthy, so he tried to face as distant from Danny as attainable, which was onerous once we had been enjoying phases the scale of ping-pong tables.”
In recent times, Ian has voiced his appreciation for the function “Fistful Of Steel” performed in giving ANTHRAX its begin, telling Steel Hammer: “Let’s face it, ‘Fistful Of Steel’ gave us our profession. It acquired the band some consideration, made folks all around the world conscious of what we might do — and for that motive alone I’ve to be grateful to everybody concerned. The report was important in launching us, and every part we have finished, and change into, since stems from that debut report. I could also be vital of it in some methods, however I might by no means do something aside from admit we owe all of it to ‘Fistful Of Steel’. If that had by no means occurred… nicely, maybe you’ll by no means have heard of ANTHRAX.”
The second version of the definitive Lilker biography “Perpetual Conversion: 30 Years & Counting In The Life Of Steel Veteran Dan Lilker” was formally launched ten years to the day of its first version, on Lilker‘s sixtieth birthday, October 18, 2024, by smoke.grind.sleep Publishing.