Former Anthrax singer John Bush says he hasn’t spoken to drummer Charlie Benante since saying the band would have to pay him if they wanted him to sing on 10th album Worship Music.
The thrash icons endured a challenging time while the record was in production, after falling out with Bush in the aftermath of a failed reunion with Joey Belladonna.
They hired Dan Nelson as new frontman and he completed work on his version of Worship Music – but he was dismissed before its release, leading to Bush’s temporary return.
Now he’s offered another reason for his second departure in 2010, which paved the way for Belladonna’s return and the release of the album with his vocals the following year.
Bush tells Mitch Lafon: “I didn’t participate in anything, and I always had on previous records. It was just the mindset of, ‘Nah, no.’
“I even said, ‘Okay, if you pay me this amount of money, I’ll do it.’ Because I wasn’t doing it out of the love of my soul – I was doing it for another reason.
“I was like, ‘You’ve got to pay me for it,’ and that’s when Benante got all livid on me and freaked out. And we still haven’t spoken since then.”
Bush says he’s tried to make contact, especially after the death of the drummer’s mother, but to no avail. He reflects: “It is what it is. I do talk to Scott Ian. There’s no reason for me to be okay with Scott and not with those other guys – I had a relationship that was the same with all of them.
“It wasn’t like me and Scott were close and those guys weren’t. We were all close at one point.”
Anthrax are currently working on their 11th album, expected early next year. They tour the UK with Slayer in November.
