In another article I mentioned that 2007-2009 was a very weird time for Anthrax. The reunion tour with Dan Spitz and Joey Belladonna ended and well a new album needed to be made. So if you can’t get Joey Belladonna or John Bush what do you do?? You get a new singer but I have to ask just WTF were they thinking?? Let’s take a look…….
So as I said, when you can’t get John Bush or Joey Belladonna, you get a new singer. This one came in the form of Dan Nelson thus unofficially naming this era of Anthrax, “Danthrax.” I remember reading about this online and thinking “just who the hell is Dan Nelson?” Well according to Blabbermouth, he was in a band called Devilsize and according to drummer Charlie Benante, Dan Nelson was recommended to the band by (now former guitarist) Rob Caggiano. In fact, they had actually recorded Worship Music and there are YouTube videos of them playing the songs. There are some fans that would say he’s a good combination of Joey Belladonna and John Bush and to a certain extent I would agree but really he’s more of a Phil Anselmo (Pantera/Down) ripoff. Now I don’t think he’s a bad singer at all but he just wasn’t a good fit for Anthrax. I mean can you imagine if they went with this guy for The Big 4 shows/dvd?? Listen to any of his performances and you’ll see why he wasn’t a good fit for Anthrax. I will say the ONE positive was that they actually played songs from both eras.
I do think Anthrax should release the songs with Dan Nelson on vocals because it would be interesting to hear but let’s be honest, I’d have a better chance of finding the Lochness Monster in my local swimming pool than hearing the studio version of Worship Music with Dan Nelson on vocals. It’s quite clear that the band realized very early on that he just wasn’t going to be a good fit and they got Joey back. I mean really can you imagine if they kept Nelson and they had him instead for the Big 4 dvd?? Even if they kept him, it wouldn’t have been for very long.
