Last week, Anthrax announced that, due to personal reasons, bassist Frank Bello will not be able to accompany the band on its upcoming South American tour, set to kick off April 13 at MXMF the Metal Fest.

Filling in on those dates, as well as two US festival shows in May, will be Anthrax founding member and original bassist Dan Lilker, marking his first appearance with the band in 40 years. Lilker, who co-wrote and played on Anthrax’s debut album, Fistful Of Metal, was also a member of Stormtroopers Of Death with Charlie Benante and Scott Ian.

In an exclusive interview with Metal Mayhem ROC, found below, Lilker reveals how long this Anthrax "reunion" has been in the works,and how he was contacted about possibly filling in for Frank Bello.

Metal Mayhem ROC: "Dan had agreed to be a guest on Metal Mayhem ROC several week's ago prior to this week's Anthrax announcement. Danny and show co host Bill Lander are friends from the Rochester, NY metal community and the original thesis of the interview was for two friends to catch up and reflect on Dan's career in heavy metal. By no means did Danny intentionaly try to use this interview platform to capitalize on the recent Anthrax developments. We hope to have Dan back at a later date to take a much deeper deep dive into his musical career."

Danny shares his excitement for playing with Joey Belladonna and John Donais for the first time along with learning the newer Anthrax material. He mentions that this will be the first time playing live some of the material he helped write in the early 80s.

There is set list teases, great personal reflections on his time in Anthrax, Nuclear Assault and S.O.D., as well as extensive commentary on the political correctness of Speak English or Die back in the 80's.

Lilker on getting the invitation to rejoin Anthrax: 

"I got a text from Scott (Ian / guitar) when he was in Japan on tour with Mr. Bungle - late February or something - saying 'Do you think you'd be able to do some shows with us next month?' I looked at my boss, who is also a metalhead, and said 'I just got asked to do some Anthrax shows next month...' and he goes 'You'd be fucking crazy not to.' I knew it would be cool there, so I said 'Sure.' Everybody at the company (where I work) has been super supportive. I'm very lucky in that aspect."

"As far as I know, I'm just doing the 10 shows I was asked to do. I'm just filling in for Frank; I want to make sure and stress that. This isn't gonna be 'Finally, after 40 years...' (laughs). I'm doing my friends a favour. If that situation changes in the future, it wil not have to do anything with me taking any steps to do so."

Lilker has not been idle over the past four decades, having played in a wide variety of bands. He was the bassist for the thrash/metal band Nuclear Assault and the grindcore band Brutal Truth. He also plays bass for Exit-13, Malformed Earthborn, The Ravenous, Overlord Exterminator, Venomous Concept, and more.

With Lilker on bass, dates for Anthrax’s upcoming tour are as follows:

April
13 - MXMF The Metal Fest - Ciudad De México, Mexico
15 - Cancha Diamante - San Salvador, El Salvador
17 - Pepper's - San Jose, Costa Rica
19 - The Metal Fest - Quito, Ecuador
21 - The Metal Fest - Santiago, Chile
23 - Sala de Museo - Montevideo, Uruguay
25 - El Teatro Flores - Buenos Aires, Argentina
28 - Summer Breeze Open Air - São Paulo, Brazil

May
9 - Welcome to Rockville - Daytona Beach, FL
17 - Sonic Temple Festival - Columbus, OH

(Photo courtesy of Dan Lilker)