Anthrax has released the video for “In The End,” a song about lost heavy metal icon’s Dimebag Darrell Abbott and Ronnie James Dio. It’s from their new DVD/Blu-ray release “Chile On Hell,”  out now buy it here.

For decades now Frank Bello & Dave Ellefson have supplied the low end for one half of “the Big 4” of thrash metal, serving as the bass players for Anthrax and Megadeth respectively. The longtime friends began writing music together while traveling the world during the Metal Masters Clinics. The collaboration being dubbed Altitudes & Attitude will release their debut self-titled EP on Janurary 14th via Megaforce Records.

“What started out as simple bass ideas quickly developed into some really great songs together,” says Ellefson. “Our fans would probably never suspect that a couple of metal bass players would have songs like these inside of us. It’s exciting to write melody with diversity while still pushing the limits of lead-bass playing. Frank’s singing, and both of us playing guitars and other instruments, gave us a whole new dimension for creative opportunities.”

“We thought it would be cool to let fans hear something they wouldn’t expect from us- which is what Altitudes & Attitude is,” adds Bello.

The first track “Booze & Cigarettes” almost sounds like it could have been on Anthrax’s tragically underrated “Volume 8: The Threat Is Real.” The chorus is very catchy, the song is a little on the poppy side and not what you would probably come to expect from two of the founding father’s of thrash.

“Here Again,” steps it up and almost sounds like Megadeth with a different singer.

The third track “Tell The World” sounds like it would have fit in nicely with many of the post-grunge bands that filled alternative rock radio stations in the late 90’s.

It’s not “metal,” but what I’ve heard so far is enough to have me wanting more.

“Altitudes & Attitude” EP recording credits:

(01/14/14*Updated: The album is out now, you can buy it from Amazon via the link below. Also replaced the Soundcloud link (which is gone) with Spotify.

Thought I’d post some tunes for the mood.

The guy who created this has won the internet. It’s over, pack it up, nothing left to see or do.

“The Star Spangled Banner is not an easy song to sing. I’m not just talking about famously bad version’s like Roseanne Barr’s, actually talented and professionally trained singers have a hard time with the song. Just ask Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler or Christina Aguilera.

It is a song that not only requires someone with an amazingly wide vocal range, but somebody who understands that you simply can’t fuck up the National friggin’ Anthem.

So I bring to you Anthrax lead singer Joey Belladona:

I agree with his band mate Scott Ian, who took the video. Joey “nailed it.”

Here’s a little known fact outside of hardcore metal-heads, sometime around 1984 or so, James Hetfield lead singer and rhythm guitarist for heavy metal legends and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Metallica was unsure about his singing abilities. He wanted to recruit John Bush of Armored Saint at the time and then later Anthrax to be their front man, so he could focus on guitar. No one except the guys in the band know for sure if Bush was ever even officially offered the spot, but now 27 years later at the Metallica 30th anniversary show here is what could have been.

Metallica perform “The Four Horsemen” off of their 1983 debut album “Kill ’em All” with Armored Saint and ex-Anthrax singer John Bush.

Recorded live at The Fillmore in San Francisco, California on December 7th, 2011 courtesy of YouTube user mathiasnielsen66.

Joey Belladonna of Anthrax gets the crowd riled up at the House of Blues in Cleveland, OH 11/18/2011

Anthrax, Testament and Death Angel rolled into the House of Blues in Cleveland this past Friday night for the second to last stop on their fall tour. It was an amazing night of metal.

Death Angel, a band that I had loved as a kid but never got the chance to see live until tonight, opened up the show and were amazing. I got chills down my back and was transported back to my fourteen year old self as I finally got the chance to hear “Seemingly Endless Time” live.

Testament was a band I had liked, but was never really a huge fan of. I had always liked Alex Skolnick as a guitarist and had followed his non-Testament non-metal stuff. I didn’t know what I was missing out on by never having seen Testament live before. They were freaking awesome and heavy as all hell.

I did learn one very important lesson as they I started playing “Into The Pit,” off of 1988’s The New Order which incidentally is the only Testament album I had ever owned — I am too old to mosh. That song came on and I was instantly lured to the pit, like a Greek sailor in ancient mythology succumbing to the call of the sirens. Now as I write this twenty-four hours after the show, I still ache all over.

Last, but certainly not least Anthrax came on. Now I have seen Anthrax live on numerous occasions at numerous venues throughout Northeast Ohio — never have I seen them however with the Joey Belladonna fronted version of the band. Now I was a fan of the Joey version of the band, the version that many purists will call the ’real’ version of the band. It’s just that during the John Bush fronted years — Anthrax went from being one of my favorite bands, to my very favorite band.

That being said, they were fucking awesome last night. Not only did Joey Belladonna sing his balls off on their most recent album Worship Music, but he sounded amazing live and the band was tight as hell and the crowd was amazing. And it was finally great to hear the Joey-era songs live, actually being sung by Joey.

The set list was a great mix of classic-era material as well as tracks from the new album, my favorite being “In The End” written for Dimebag Darrell & Ronnie James Dio both metal legends that were lost between the times Anthrax had released a new record.

Anthrax have a great new album out Worship Music, with the ‘classic era’ vocalist Joey Belladonna back. But here is a great song from my favorite era of Anthrax, “Inside Out” off of Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, with John Bush on vocals and the late great Dimebag Darrell on lead guitars.

No there is not another scare of the bad kind of Anthrax. Anthrax, the band was on FOX News channel today.

Few debates in the metal community get more contentious then the Joey vs. John debate. Just take a look at the official Anthrax message board or the comments section of sites like blabbermouth.net, and you’ll see you will have more civil discussion of topics like abortion, gun control and religion then you will about who is the better Anthrax singer.

I will admit that I myself fall into the “John” side of the debate. I myself further admit that when the topic of, “could have Joey sang on the Bush records” comes up, I was firmly on the side of hell no. Well having had just listened to a few spins of Anthrax’s newest release Worship Music. I’m going to have to change my mind on that one.

As a matter of fact, Worship Music may very well be the best Anthrax record ever. Which is an amazing thing when you consider the turmoil that surrounded the making of this album.

First, you had the much debated reunion with Joey, which I and many other Anthrax fans (those that never jumped of the Anthrax bandwagon that is) felt was done for all the wrong reasons. Anthrax’s own Charlie Benante even admitted in a recent interview that it was done for the wrong reason. Then came the decision to move forward without Joey and pluck from obscurity Dan Nelson to sing on the new record. (At some point even Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour was rumored to be in line for the job.) Then they realized that Nelson was not a fit, and John came back for a few shows… only to decide that his heart really wasn’t in it any more, and he didn’t want to re-record vocals on an album that was written with another singer.

Enter, the return of Joey Belladonna for the third time. Joey could have easily (and probably should have) told Scott Ian and Charlie Benante to go fuck themselves after the way he was treated by them, but he didn’t.

And Anthrax fans have now been treated with, as I said earlier, may very well be the best Anthrax album ever.

Scott Ian and his right hand show why he may very well be the best rhythm guitarist in metal, Charlie Benante is drumming out of his mind. And Joey… well Joey still has those sweeping operatic at times highs that he is known for, but has mixed in just the right amount of grit and aggression in his voice as well, which is where I have to admit I have changed my mind and decided that Joey really could have easily sang on 1993’s Sound of White Noise as well as the albums that followed.

2011 Anthrax is a blending of both era’s of Anthrax, while at the same time not really looking into the past and opting for a trip down memory lane just for the sake of nostalgia.

In The End, a tribute to Dimebag Darrell and Ronnie James Dio, may very well be the best song Scott Ian ever wrote. Earth On Hell, is probably the closest “thrash” song on the album to appease the AnThrash purists out there. Judas Priest is epic, Crawl sounds like it was written for John Bush’s voice, but Joey nails it down anyways. And even the slightly poppy Fight ‘em till’ You Can’t, and The Devil You Know are killer tunes.

All in all, and I fully admit to being a mark for Anthrax, Worship Music is a brilliant album, and if it grows on me any more after what I have heard so far I’ll have to change my tune from “this may very well be,” to “this is the best Anthrax album ever.”

These days it would be much more likely to see me at a country show, like the Toby Keith Trace Adkins concert I was at last Sunday night, but I’m still a metal head at heart.

This would have been a dream come true for me when I was a kid, and its still pretty damn cool now.

An all-star heavy metal Jam with members of Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth jamming with Metallica (otherwise known as the big 4 of thrash metal) on a cover of Diamond Head’s “Am I Evil” during the Sonisphere Festival in Sofia, Italy.

Why does Europe get all the great metal festivals?