Anthrax has sadly had to cancel their European tour for the second time in two years. Their 2022 tour was cancelled due to logistical issues and rising costs, and now their 2023 European dates (including festivals) have been canned thanks to logistical and scheduling issues.
"To all our friends in Europe… Due to a series of logistical and scheduling issues, we won't be able to make it to Europe this summer for the festivals we were set to perform at," wrote Anthrax in a statement. "We're really disappointed about this, and want you to know that a solid – and overdue – European tour is a priority for us. Lots of exciting things are in the pipeline, so stay tuned."
Part of the "exciting things" Anthrax has planned for fans is of course their first new album since 2016. Anthrax recently hit the studio to start recording the album, which should hopefully drop either late this year or sometime in 2024.
As for why their 2022 European tour was cancelled, bassist Frank Bello revealed that the tour would've cost roughly three times what Anthrax originally anticipated.
"The god's honest truth: Everything budgeting-wise is insane right now. We budgeted it last year and came back to this year with the gas lines and all the shit that's going on. It was three times the budget," Bello said.
"We would have gone into a bad deficit, horrible. And the promoters are saying, 'It doesn't make sense for you guys to do it.' The buses, just life in general. It's horrible. We were able to salvage the U.K. But people know us. They know we'll be back. We love it there. I can't wait to go back. It's just a bummer that life is in the way of metal. [Laughs] What's going on in the world is in the way of metal and making people feel good with our music."
