Anthrax’s Scott Ian: “I’m Not Old, Nor Am I Out of Touch!”

Several weeks back, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante made some ill-informed comments about Apple’s role in the decline of the recorded music industry which prompted me to pen the headline, “Anthrax Drummer: ‘I’m Old and Out of Touch.'” Benante understandably took exception to that categorization and contacted me to let me know his displeasure, but ended up being a great sport and agreed to debate me on the topic one-on-one for a special episode of The MetalSucks Podcast. While Benante came across as more open to the role technology plays in today’s music industry during that chat than I’d gathered from his initial comments, he still came off as a bit resistant, preferring the old ways to the new.

Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, however, seems way more on board the ever-rolling train of technology than his bandmate. In a recent chat with Resurrection Fest, Ian revealed that while he was initially against streaming services such as Spotify, he’s since come to see how they can pan out for artists in the long run (emphasis added):

“I wasn’t a fan of streaming music initially, because I’m in a band and I felt like, ‘Alright, well, I don’t like this idea because the bands are getting ripped off.’
“I still feel like the bands are getting ripped off, but at the same time, I definitely enjoy… I love being able to be in my house and basically have any song ever right on my phone, and I can go on Spotify and I can have it streaming all through my house anytime. Spotify is a good tool for all bands, but streaming doesn’t make up for a loss of record sales.
“If you don’t adapt, then you don’t survive. It’s evolution – that’s really what it is. And in the last few years, we’ve adapted and we’ve accepted what’s going on in the world. You can’t constantly fight a battle against things you’re never going to win and have no control over.
“So you adapt and you accept it and you figure out, ‘What’s the best way this is gonna work for us? And how do we use this new tool to best represent Anthrax?‘ And Spotify has actually worked out really well for us in the last few years – especially on the last record. Because we really embraced it on ‘For All Kings.’
“And kids discover us on Spotify and then they go buy a ticket to come see us. And then they’re a fan for life once they see the band live.“

 

Scott Ian gets it! Look: no one ever said Spotify et al. offered great payouts to artists, although as the number of paying subscribers on those services has grown so too has the payments bands receive (in a big way). The point is that the forward march of technology cannot be stopped — the people have spoken, and this is what they want — so either you get on board and figure out how to make it work for you or you get left behind.

Next time Benante is quoted talking about the downfall of the music biz I’m just gonna have him knock on the ceiling of his tour bus bunk to talk to his old pal Scott about it. Woulda saved both of us a lot of agita!

New Black Sabbath Vinyl Box Set ‘Supersonic Years’ Celebrates Seventies Singles

Clear some space on your record shelf because Black Sabbath have just announced a new vinyl set celebrating their historic first decade.

Supersonic Years - The Seventies Singles Box Set, set for a June 8 release, boasts 10 7" discs spanning material from seven of their first eight albums together with the original lineup, sparing Master of Reality as Sabbath had been against the idea of singles during the album's cycle.

What makes this set unique is that it comes with five rare single edits (see the track listing below) alongside rare or exclusive picture sleeves and new liner notes explaining them a bit further. All tracks have also undergone a remaster from Andy Pearce.

While Sabbath have hung it up, Ozzy is looking at scaling back his touring as well with the 'No More Tours 2' farewell trek. He'll be hitting the U.S. for a full run later this year and if you're looking to see the Prince of Darkness one last time. Meanwhile, Tony Iommi has hinted he'd like to begin writing again.

Black Sabbath, Supersonic Years - The Seventies Singles Box Set Track Listing

Disc 1: Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games With Me) / Wicked World - 1970

Disc 2: Paranoid / The Wizard - 1970

Disc 3: Iron Man (Single Edit) / Electric Funeral - 1970

Disc 4: Tomorrow's Dream / Laguna Sunrise - 1972

Disc 5: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Edited Version) / Changes - 1973

Disc 6: Am I Going Insane (Radio) (Single Edit) / Hole in the Sky - 1975

Disc 7: Gypsy / She's Gone - 1976

Disc 8: It's Alright / Rock 'N' Roll Doctor - 1976

Disc 9: Never Say Die / She's Gone - 1978

Disc 10: Hard Road (Single Edit) / Symptom of the Universe (German Single Edit) - 1978

KISS’s Paul Stanley on modern rock music: 'Too much is faceless and interchangeable'

KISS vocalist Paul Stanley says “too much” of contemporary rock music lacks the “imperfection and spontaneity” of years gone by.

 

 

In a wide-ranging new interview with Business Jet Traveler, the singer was asked about his thoughts on state of rock music today.
Paul said: “Too much of it is faceless and interchangeable; between that and autotuning and mechanical beats, there’s a loss of what made all the music that came before so great.
“What we loved about Motown and Philly soul and the Beatles era was its imperfection and spontaneity. You’re missing that now.”
The sexagenarian rocker also admitted that it’s harder for bands to make an impact nowadays, explaining: “I was talking to Rod Stewart a couple of days ago, and I said, ‘Boy I wouldn’t want to be starting now,’ and he said, ‘Amen.’
“It’s a very different world. The income stream is so much less and there’s so much grey area and so many bands. I think that social media and the Internet have made for something that, besides the monetary aspect, is very homogenous.
“There was a time where there was much distinction between acts and there were far fewer of them. You didn’t have a situation where, for example, you can either take what’s offered to you in terms of a fee for your music or somebody will take it for free. That’s not how things are supposed to work.”
Paul was also asked who is the real frontman of KISS, after bassist Gene Simmons once declared himself to be the face of the band.
“A frontman is the person who does the talking and who gives a group its identity and communicates to the audience,” Paul explained.
“There’s only one person on the stage who does that. If that’s the definition of a frontman, then it’s undisputable (that I’m the frontman). If you interpret frontman as something else…if it’s being in the media, well then, it’s different.”
Elsewhere, Paul seemingly confirmed that KISS are highly unlikely to ever make an album again, saying: “I don’t know (whether we will make an album again). Invariably when people come to see us live, they want to hear classics.

“If you watch a live DVD of McCartney or the Stones, you’ll see that every time they are playing a new song, the audience sits down. So, if you want to do a new album purely as an artistic endeavour, that’s great, but I am not sure that there aren’t other things I’d rather spend that time doing.”