Bram Teitelman of Metal Insider recently interviewed ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian; an excerpt from their chat follows:

You’re working on a new record. How’s that coming along?

"It’s really coming along. It’s crazy to think that we’re already in January of this year, it seems like we just finished touring in August and we decided to start writing again. We decided not to take a break and we’re jumping right in because everyone felt we could. We’re sitting here right now with 12 songs musically arranged and really focusing on lyrics now. At the end of the month after the NAMM show is the next time we’re getting together to work on vocals. I like to think at the pace we’re going we would be ready to start recording maybe in April."

"I hate to ever put a stamp on something like this because you just never know. But where we’re at musically right now, this shit is just so killer. It’s not like we have that far to go. Sometimes as a band when we’re writing – and I’m sure this happens to other bands too – you could sit down and listen to where you’re at and think ‘this stuff is good, but maybe there’s too much mid tempo stuff, or we don’t really have an album opener yet.’ There are just certain ways you listen to it in the context of how to sequence and pace it, things like that. I think we’ve got all our bases covered and we’re ready. If we come out with some better shit in the next couple of months that’s awesome, but the 12 things we have musically so far we’re really happy with. Things came together really fast for us and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that we just came off such a good run with Worship Music. We were all really excited about getting back in a room and writing songs together, and it was the first time in a really long time that we weren’t going into writing a record coming off a really shitty time (laughs). So for us to have come off such a great run with Worship Music, we were all really excited about it and I think it really shows in the music."

To read the interview in its entirety, click here.

Next month, Scott Ian will embark upon his Speaking Words - North America Tour; confirmed dates are as listed:

February

20 – Chicago, IL – Maynestage
21 – Detroit, MI – Token Lounge
25 – Toronto, ON – El Mocambo
26 – Kingston, ON – Masion
27 – Ottawa, ON – Ritual

March

1 – Annapolis, MD – Rams Head
2 – Philadelphia, PA – World
5 – New York, NY – BB Kings

"I’m calling it ‘Speaking Words’ because the pretension of saying I am doing a ‘Spoken Word’ tour is too much to bear," says Ian. "This ain’t no poetry reading. This isn’t an evening of sensitive discourse. It’s an evening of ridiculous truth. It’s me talking (swearing) about this insane life I’ve led over the last 31 years, the people I’ve met and the shit that’s happened. And when I’m done swearing, you can ask me anything you want, the floor is yours.”