I've known Andreas Kisser for a long time, we're friends and we've played together a few times. He's simply amazing!
Wikimetal (Nando Machado): Hi Scott!
Scott Ian: Hey, how's it going?
W (NM): Hey! This is Nando, I'm here with Daniel, we're the hosts of the number one metal podcast in Brazil. How are you?
SI: Good, and you?
W (Daniel Dystyler): Excellent, we're doing very well and we feel very honored to have you on our show. We've been listening to everything you've done for heavy metal over the years and it's a pleasure, an honor, to have you here on our show. So, on behalf of all the headbangers in Brazil, we would like to thank you.
SI: Okay, thank you.
W (NM): To start the interview, regarding the beginning of your career, what were your main influences?
SI: At the beginning of Anthrax, you mean?
W (NM): Yes, or when you started playing guitar.
SI: Well, when I started playing guitar there were a lot of different people. Everyone from Pete Townsend of The Who to Tony Iommi, Ted Nugent, Ace Freely, Richie Blackmore, Eddie Van Halen, Angus and Malcolm, Rudolph Schenker, Michael Schenker, you know. All those people, probably. And Joey Ramone, and other people I might be forgetting.
W (DD): And speaking of the early 80s, in the scene where heavy metal was emerging, what was the main difference between the guys from California and the guys from New York?
SI: Well… I think the main thing I can think of is that the guys from California drank way more than we did. And I know that has nothing to do with music, but from the first time we met Metallica, Exodus, or Slayer, or Megadeth, in '83, '84, '85, all those years, those guys drank so much. And none of us were used to drinking that much, so when we hung out it was always crazy for us because we weren't used to drinking so much. I think I can say that was the biggest difference.
W (NM): Can you tell us a little about that time? What was file sharing like in the early 80s? Did you send each other tapes through the mail and things like that?
SI: Yes, there was a lot of tape trading back then, for sure. I remember the first time I heard Mercyful Fate was because I was trading tapes with a guy from Denmark. He sent me some Mercyful Fate stuff, and I'd never heard King Diamond before. And I remember being the first of my friends to hear King Diamond for the first time. So tape trading back then was a lot of fun. It was quite different because it wasn't like stealing, because you'd listen to music and as soon as you heard it you'd go out and look for and buy it.
W (NM): Is it very different from sharing files online today?
SI: Yeah, it's very different. Everyone is illegally downloading and not going out to buy the disc. I'd say 99% of people aren't buying the disc.
W (DD): Yeah, you're right, Scott. And we're always trying to promote new albums and trying to explain that the whole thing needs fan support. If they can buy a digital copy of the album, or a physical copy, or go to a show, or buy official merchandise… So we're always trying to promote the bands in that way. Scott, since you have an important role in the history of crossover, in your opinion who was most responsible for the crossover between punk and metal, and then from rap to metal? And who was an inspiration for you to take on such an important role in these two fusions?
SI: Well, I think Suicidal Tendencies would be the biggest… For me, they were the first to really cross over, because they had so many elements of punk, hardcore, and metal. They had all three going on. We were big Suicidal fans. So they were a big influence on us, at least for me wanting to do SOD. I think Suicidal was a very important band. I think bands like DRI, bands like Corosion of Conformity, bands like that at that time were very important in making the crossover from punk and hardcore to metal. And certainly on the metal side, obviously Anthrax, what we did with SOD, and Slayer was also in that, they clearly had a hardcore element in their sound. From Show No Mercy to Hell Awaits you can definitely hear the hardcore element in their sound. I think all those bands I mentioned. Certainly there are other bands like, I would say, Faith No More in the beginning, they broke a lot of barriers with that kind of music. But for me, if I had to choose one band, I'd say the most important would be Suicidal.
W (NM): Since you mentioned Stormtroopers of Death, have you ever had any trouble with skinheads for being a long-haired Jew going to punk shows and playing in a punk band? Or, say, a hardcore band?
SI: Are you saying that now?
W (NM): No, no, not back then.
SI: Oh, actually no. I started going to CBGB's in 1983 to see hardcore shows and I never had any problems. Nobody ever bothered me. Me and my friends, who also all had long hair, when we started going to shows people accepted us right away. And it wasn't because I was in Anthrax, because Anthrax wasn't doing anything yet. So there was a certain element that if you looked a certain way, someone would want to fight you. But I always thought that skinheads had more problems with punks. Punks and skinheads were always fighting each other. There were few heavy metal guys with long hair going to shows. So nobody messed with us, after all there were only 3 or 4 of us at the time. So nobody cared. You know, when we went to shows there wasn't much of a Nazi scene in New York at that time. Skinheads in New York weren't Nazis, not at all. It was a lifestyle, a skinhead lifestyle, but it wasn't Nazi. Perhaps that element came later, in the late '80s, early '90s. But from '83 to '87, when I went to shows, there were never any problems with Nazis or skinheads, never. Jewish, Christian, Muslim, it doesn't matter. It's music.
W (NM): Since you mentioned it, here on the Wikimetal program we try to fight against any kind of prejudice or discrimination. Now changing the subject, Scott, we have a classic question here on our program that we ask everyone we interview. Imagine you're listening to music in a completely random way and a song comes on that makes you headbang no matter where you are. What song would that be, so we can play it on our program right now?
SI: Now? I don't know, how about Riffraff by AC/DC?
W (DD): In our opinion, Worship Music was one of the best albums of 2011. Can you tell us a little about the production and recording of this album?
SI: Sure, what would you like to know?
W (NM): Is there anything in particular you'd like to share with our listeners?
SI: Apart from the fact that we had to find a singer to come in and record the album with us. Obviously, that worked out with Joey. Joey's been back in the band for two years now. We made this album in much the same way we make all the other Anthrax albums. It started in a bedroom, jamming riffs and arranging songs, and going from there. Our attitude towards this album was… We started writing this album in early 2007, so it had already been four years since “We've Come for You All” came out. So we thought, “Okay, it's been four years, we're not going to rush anything. No matter how long it takes to make this album, it doesn't matter.” Because it was a very important album for us, because so much time had passed. So the album had to be great, it had to be the best thing we had ever done. We didn't know how to do that, all we knew was how to write songs and play together as we always did. But we didn't set deadlines or dates. It was basically when we were happy, 100% happy with it, we would know. And it wasn't until Joey joined the band and started singing the songs that we thought it was the right time, that this was the album we needed to make. Basically, it was Joey who allowed us to make this album and finish it the way it should be finished.
Basically, it was Joey who allowed us to make this album and finish it the way it should have been finished.”
Wikimetal (Daniel Dystyler): Where did the idea for "The Big Four" tour come from, and how did it happen? Do you remember anything from the first time you were approached about it?
Scott Ian: The first time we heard anything was from Lars. It was after Metallica was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which Charlie and I were invited to. It was at the party afterwards. We were in a bar, all pretty drunk, and Lars came up and said, “What do you guys think about doing the Big Four?” And I said, “What do you mean?” and he said, “The Big Four, you know, us, you guys, Slayer, and Megadeth. What do you guys think about us starting to do shows?” Charlie and I looked at each other and said, “Yeah! That would be really cool. Of course, we’d love to.” Then the next day I remembered the conversation, I had a terrible hangover. I remembered talking to Lars about the Big Four but I figured, “Oh, we were drunk, he wasn’t serious.” And a few months later, maybe three or four months, our agent got a call from Metallica’s agent, asking if we wanted to and if we were available. That’s when we knew it was real and of course, we were super excited.
W (Nando Machado): In your opinion, Scott, how important was this reunion of the four bands, and do you agree that afterwards there was a kind of resurrection of Heavy Metal?
SI: I wouldn't say there was a resurrection of Heavy Metal because of the Big Four. I think the health of Heavy Metal has been pretty good for the last… maybe seven years, something like that? I'd say since 2000, because for me personally, things with Anthrax really started to get good in the 2000s. A lot of the '90s weren't good for us. But from 2000 until now things have been going very well. So I think the health of Heavy Metal in 2009 or 2010… Yeah, 2010 was when we did the first Big Four tour, I think Heavy Metal was doing very well. Then we did the Big Four and I think that only made it stronger than it had been in a long time, because those shows… I mean, even people who weren't Heavy Metal fans heard about it. We played Yankee Stadium in New York and that's a really big thing, playing Yankee Stadium. So even millions of people who didn't listen to Heavy Metal knew that these bands were playing Yankee Stadium. This clearly raises awareness of music to another level. It certainly helps, you know, to do these shows. It gets people excited. I know fans all over the world who are certainly excited about the Big Four, because every city wants the Big Four to play a show there. And if it were up to me, we'd go to every city, but it's not me who makes that decision. I hope that eventually we do more, because it's exciting for us, the band, to be together, with friends, playing these shows. And we know how exciting it is for the fans too.
W (DD): I'm going to ask you, Scott; having grown up in Queens, New York, the show at Yankee Stadium probably had a special meaning for you. Any memories? What was it like?
SI: For me, I can say it was the best thing we've ever done in Anthrax's career. To be able to say, "I played Yankee Stadium, you know, a sold-out show..."
W (DD): Out of stock!
SI: To be able to say this is… I never dreamed I could say these words, because it seemed impossible. Not that we would never be big enough, but because bands simply don't play at Yankee Stadium. If you're going to play in New York, you play at the Football Stadium or other places, but the fact that we played at Yankee Stadium makes it so much more special. And of course, since I've always been a Yankees fan, that helped, it made it even more special for me. The fact that I can tell people, "Yeah, I played at Yankee Stadium here, and I have pictures of myself on stage," is something that's still very hard to believe.
W (NM): So, changing the subject, Scott. Can you share with our listeners what it was like playing with some rock legends like Roger Daltrey and Dimebag Darrell?
SI: Well, Darrell and I have been friends since 1985. We'd known each other for 19 years. So we had a long relationship, a long and fun relationship. It was more than just playing with Darrell, because we'd been friends for a long time. With Roger Daltrey it was a completely different thing, it was kind of luck. He was a friend of my wife's family and was in LA for a while. We had dinner together a few times and I asked him if he'd like to sing on the album, and he said yes, which was surprising. And it was really cool of him to do that. And it was great; it was kind of surreal to sit in the studio and see Roger Daltrey playing an Anthrax song. Again, it's something I didn't expect to do in my life.
"Maybe that's the case for some bands, but in my experience I've never stopped working in 30 years. And that's why I have a career."
W (DD): Can you choose an Anthrax song that you're really proud to have written so we can play it now on our show?
SI : Yes, I'm going to choose from the new album, "In the End." I think it's consistently been my favorite from the album and it's been my favorite to play since we started playing together last October. So I choose "In the End" by Worship Music.
W (NM): Scott, tell me, how did the idea of inviting Andreas Kisser to stand in for you when you had your son last year come about?
SI: Yes, yes. Oh, it's an easy answer because Andreas is simply amazing, that's the reason! I've known Andreas for a long time, we're friends and we've played together a few times. Whether it was at Sepultura shows, or… We played at the Roadrunners' 25th anniversary together, and other gigs in New York. When my wife got pregnant and we knew the baby was coming, I knew it would be at the same time as many festivals and Big Four shows in Europe. And I made the decision that I wanted to be around for the birth of my child. So we had a lot of time to think, and Andreas was my first choice. In my head, the first person I thought of was him. I asked Charlie and Frankie; I said, “What do you think of Andreas? To replace me when I'm not here?” And everyone thought it was a great idea, so… We contacted Andreas afterwards and he said he would be honored, that it would be a dream for him. Everything worked out very well. It was very important to me personally… I had never missed an Anthrax show in my life, so I thought that could be a good reason for it. But at the same time, the last thing I want to do is disappoint the fans. So I had to make sure that whoever was going to replace me not only knew how to play the music, but it was important that they had a story. Someone the fans would love. And I knew that once we announced to the world that it would be Andreas replacing me, everyone would love it, because everyone loves Andreas. So I think the fans saw something really cool in Andreas playing in Anthrax. Everything worked out very well and it was a great decision.
W (NM): We were very happy here in Brazil when we found out. We love that guy and he's a good friend of ours.
Yes: Legal.
W (DD): E Scott, we interviewed Andreas and asked him the same thing and he said exactly what you said, that for him it was a dream come true.
SI: That's cool. For me, one of the coolest things was that I had to fly to Italy for a show because I had a photoshoot scheduled there that I couldn't miss. So I went to Italy for a Big Four show in Milan. So what we did was Andreas played the first 5 or 6 songs, he played the first half of the show. And I was there on the side, watching Andreas play with Anthrax. And I was there with my guitar, warming up, getting ready to go on. And it was strange and cool at the same time, because I was there on the side and Kerry King looked at me and said, "Wow, that must be weird!" and I said, "It's great, Anthrax is great!" And Kerry said, "Man, I've never seen Slayer play." And I went on after 6 songs, got on stage, and there was a lot of surprise from the audience, who didn't know I was going to play. So Andreas and I played the rest of the show together. We had three guitarists on stage, and it was insane.
I loved the Iron Maiden movie, Flight 666, I thought it was very good. I also really enjoyed the Rush documentary
W (DD): Being from New York, tell us a little about the post-9/11 period, if there was any confusion with the name Anthrax. Didn't you have to explain that it had nothing to do with panic because of terrorism?
SI: Well, I don't need to explain again that we're called Anthrax and we have nothing to do with this, and we had no intention of changing our name. We weren't killing people, plain and simple.
W (DD): What was it like participating in the VH1 reality show “Supergroup” with Ted Nugent and Sebastian Bach?
SI: Oh, it was a lot of fun. I'd never done anything like that before, for sure. Living in a crazy house in Las Vegas for two weeks with all those guys and really living like a rock star for two weeks. It was a lot of fun.
W (NM): You've had many songs featured in TV series, horror movies, and video games. How important are these alternative media for you in promoting your music?
SI: I think video games are probably a good thing because a lot of people buy them. I assume these big video games are a good way to get yourself out there to people who have never heard of you. I don't know about soundtracks or anything like that, I don't know if people buy that anymore. In the '80s it was good, but today I have no idea.
W (NM): You have a good relationship with the film industry, you just participated in "The Walking Dead," so what's your all-time favorite horror movie?
SI: Probably… Either “Dawn of the Dead” or “Evil Dead II”.
W (NM): What did you think of those documentaries that were produced last year, like Lemmy, Global Metal, Get Trashed, and so many others? What did you think of them?
SI: I loved the Iron Maiden movie, Flight 666, I thought it was very good. I liked the Rush documentary, I thought it was very good.
W (DD): What would you say to a kid who just picked up a guitar and is thinking about starting a band?
SI: I would tell him: you'd better expect to work much harder than you ever have in your life and never expect anything in return. You just have to work, work, work, work, and work. And never stop working. Because even now, 30 years later, I've never stopped working. I think people have this idea in their heads that once you're in a band and you're successful, it's just partying and blah blah blah. Maybe for some bands it is like that, but in my experience I've never stopped working in 30 years. And that's why I have a career. I think that would be the best advice I could give someone. You have to work very, very hard to have a chance at success.
W (NM): Okay, Scott, just before we wrap up, I'd like to thank you for your time, for sharing with us, and for everything you've done over the last 30 years. I think you've released some of the best Heavy Metal albums, the best Thrash Metal albums of all time, I've always been a huge fan. Thank you for keeping the flame alive and keeping the band together. Just to close our interview, could you leave a message for our listeners…
SI: Yes, I can't wait to go back to Brazil, it's been a few years, maybe 2004? I'm really excited. We've been to Chile, Argentina, other countries a few times, but it's been a while since we've been to Brazil, and I'm excited to go back. Especially because the band is better than ever, we made a great album, so I'm very excited to play in Brazil again.
W (NM): That's great. So thank you again and, Scott, we look forward to seeing you live here in São Paulo.
SI: Oh, great, thank you very much, guys.
W (DD): Excellent, Scott, thank you very much.
SI: Okay, bye.