When ANTHRAX was given the choice of playing this summer's Mayhem Main Stage or the festival's Jägermeister Stage, the band opted to headline the latter, and to do something special for the crowd.

Explained Anthrax's Charlie Benante, "We decided to pattern the Mayhem set on the kind of shows THE RAMONES used to do: a high-energy, non-stop barrage of hit, hit, hit, hit, hit. No lulls, no filler, totally in your face. We're going to be playing a supersonic-paced set loaded with the best of our best."

"We really like the idea of not 'playing to seats,'" added Scott Ian, "and we want our crowd to have the freedom to move around, to go crazy with us. Plus, we've been on the road together now for about two years, so we're tighter as a band than we've ever been. Our Mayhem set will be a fun, fast and furious 45-minutes, so they'd better have the EMTs on hand."

Since vocalist Joey Belladonna rejoined the Anthrax line up a little more than a year ago, Anthrax - Belladonna/vocals, Charlie Benante/drums, Scott Ian/guitar, Rob Caggiano/guitar, and Frank Bello/bass - has made one of the most impressive comebacks in rock'n'roll. As one of The Big Four, the original architects of speed and thrash-metal, Anthrax joined METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH during the summer of 2010 on a series of Big Four shows in ten European cities, followed by a Big Four show outside of Los Angeles at the Coachella site (April 2011), and the big "homecoming" event for the New York-born-and-bred band members at Yankee Stadium last September.

The band released Worship Music on September 13th, 2011, its first new album in eight years and the first with Belladonna on vocals in twenty years. Worship Music debuted at #12 Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart, received stellar reviews that included being named one of the best albums of the year in various media outlets.

Dates for this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival are below; Main Stage artists include SLIPKNOT, Slayer, MOTÖRHEAD, and a rotation of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, AS I LAY DYING and ASKING ALEXANDRIA.

June

30 - San Manuel Amphitheatre - San Bernardino, CA

July

1 - Shoreline Amphitheater - San Francisco, CA
3 - White River Amphitheater - Seattle, WA
4 - Idaho Center Amphitheater - Boise, ID
6 - Ashley Furniture Home Store Pavilion - Phoenix, AZ
7 - Hard Rock Casino Amphitheater - Albuquerque, NM
8 - Comfort Dental Amphitheater - Denver, CO
10 - Gexa Energy Pavilion - Dallas, TX
11 - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion - Houston, TX
13 - 1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheater - Tampa, FL
14 - Aaron's Amphitheater @ Lakewood - Atlanta, GA
15 - Klipsch Music Center - Indianapolis, IN
18 - Zoo Amphitheatre - Oklahoma City, OK
20 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - St. Louis, MO
21 - Firs Midwest Bank Amphitheater - Chicago, IL
22 - DTE Energy Music Theatre - Detroit, MI
24 - Riverbend Music Center - Cincinnati, OH
25 - Blossom Music Center - Cleveland, OH
27 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Philadelphia, PA
28 - First Niagra Pavilion - Pittsburgh, PA
29 - Jiffy Lube Live - Washington, DC
31 - Saratoga Performing Arts Center - Saratoga Springs, NY

August

1 - Darien Lake PAC - Buffalo, NY
3 - Comcast Center - Boston, MA
4 - Toyota Pavilion - Scranton, PA
5 - Comcast Theatre - Hartford, CT

Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian has issued the following update from the band's South American tour:

"It’s been a great two weeks here in Latin/South America. Every show has been at least great. Some greater and so far Chile was the greatest. One show left in Bogota tomorrow and then we head home for a few weeks off until the Rock On The Range show May 20th.

After that it’s two weeks in Europe playing festivals, a few headline shows and also headlining the Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards show in London, June 11th. The day before that we play Download. Besides being excited about our show that day and how crazy I think it’s going to be, I am also excited to see REFUSED. I’ve been waiting 14 years to see them, never thinking I would. I can hardly contain myself. And then of course there’s BLACK SABBATH. Rumor has it this will be the only actual Sabbath show. I don’t care about rumor, I just want Tony Iommi to kick his cancer in the ass and get back to doing what he does best. Can’t wait."

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