Anthrax bassist Frank Bello tells Ultimate Guitar in a new interview that he is “hoping” and “praying” the New York band’s next album and follow-up to 2016’s For All Kings will be out in 2024.

Bello on the upcoming album: "We're recording. We're recording guitars, drums, and I'm actually recording my bass next month. And what Anthrax does these days, we do a bunch of songs together, like a bulk of songs. I think we have eight or nine right now, and we'll keep writing [through the recording process]. I think that's important. That's how we did the last record, and it came out the way we wanted it to."

"We have a good bulk of songs right now that we know already. But we still want to have a couple of more. So that's the way we go. We'll digest these for a while. I'll do my bass next month. Melodies are written pretty much, and the lyrics are getting written as we speak. So then vocals will come on, and we'll have this locked up."

"Then we'll start writing a few more songs. And then we'll choose what's best for the record and how the record goes. We're hoping… I'm praying, because it's been a while, man. Next year, for sure. That's the idea."

"And look, I don't know what's gonna happen, pray to God there's not another pandemic. I don't know what the hell tomorrow brings at this point. All I know is we're very happy and very psyched about what we have right now. That's all you could say. It's really all you got. Because I don't know about tomorrow anymore after what we've been through. It's almost eight years from the last record. I want to have a record out. We all do. I can't wait to play new songs. I want to go on tour, but it's got to be right."