Scott Ian has revealed that Anthrax were approached about starring at this year’s Mayhem festival – but turned it down as there wasn’t enough money on offer.
The tour was headlined by Slayer, with guitarist Kerry King becoming embroiled in a war of words with promoter Kevin Lyman over the quality of the bill. Lyman previously accused “old, fat and bald” metal bands of inflicting long-term damage on the genre.
The future of the touring event is up in the air, with co-promoter John Reese saying the 2015 edition would be the last ever.
Ian tells The Jasta Show: “We turned them down because the money was too low. We were like, ‘No, that’s ridiculous.’ They said, ‘Well there’s no money.’ That’s not our problem. Why are we going to go out and get paid less than we’re worth? That’s insane.”
Last month, Ian called on fans to support their favourite artists by purchasing music. And he reports that even if Anthrax secured a good Spotify deal, they still wouldn’t make any money.
He says: “I get it, it’s how a lot of the people on the planet get their music now. And I’m not against that, I wouldn’t say don’t put our records on there because I understand it now.
“On the other side, I came from the era where you could actually have a platinum album. How many records have been platinum in America last year? That’s a fucking joke. So take your streaming and shove it up your ass is how I truly feel about it.”
Meanwhile, Ian’s Motor Sister – which features his wife Pearl Aday on backing vocals – have released a lyric video for their track This Song Reminds Me Of You. View it below. They issued their debut album Ride earlier this year and will tour the UK in January.
Anthrax will return to the UK with Slayer for a run of dates in November.
