Scott Ian is one of those dudes that's a fan and a musician, and he's never been shy about his love for all things Mike Patton.
In a recent chat with mxdwn.com, the Anthrax guitarist talked about the different singers who have held the lead vocal position in his band through the years, particularly when the band split with current vocalist Joey Belladonna for the first and, hopefully, the last time in 1992.
Telling mxdwn.com that, “a million years ago . . . just before Joey [Belladonna] came back (to Anthrax )," Ian quasi-inquired about Patton's availability and interest in singing for Anthrax.
"I had said, “Hey, do you want to sing on the next Anthrax record?” We were drunk in a bar in Melbourne, Australia on a festival together. He was with Faith No More," said Ian. "He was like, “Oh, man. You don’t want me in your band. I’m a pain in the ass.”
I was like, “No, no, no. I think we could deal with it.” He goes, “Yeah, but I got seventy-two projects and I could never commit.” I’m like, “I know, really. I’m asking but I’m not really asking.” He’s like, “Don’t worry, we’ll do something together someday.” So then when he hit me up, he goes, “Remember in Melbourne when I said we would work together?” I’m like, “Uh huh.” He goes, “Guess what?” [via Loudwire]
The "Guess What" was joining a reformed Mr. Bungle's to re-record the band's 1986 demo, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny (along with Patton's Dead Cross mate Dave Lombardo), and play several live shows to support the release.
Reflecting on the collaboration with Patton, Ian said, “I still freak out about it. That I did it. I played shows. We made a fucking record."
While Patton may have had (and probably still does) seventy-two projects currently in works, none of them include the power and fury of the musicians in Anthrax. Dare I say it, but for all his works, singing in Anthrax could have been one of Patton's heaviest accomplishments, but alas, it was not meant to be. And, besides, as Anthrax bassist Frank Bello has said in the past, Anthrax already has the best singer in the world—Joey Belladonna.
