Today (March 28th), Anthrax announces 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 13th at MXMF the Metal Fest. Filling in on those dates, as well as two U.S. 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.
“I’m really looking forward to jamming with Anthrax again,” said Lilker. “When we parted ways back in 1984, they told me to stick around because they might need me in 40 years.”
Added the band, “We’re all very excited about with playing with Danny again, and we really appreciate his filling in for Frank. It’s been way too long since we played South America, so you don’t want to miss these shows, they’re going to be insane.”
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