Bello: Helmet made me better bassist

Anthrax bass player Frank Bello says his short spell with Helmet made him a better musician.

Bello left Anthrax in 2004 and hooked up with his friends in Helmet for an 18-month spell. He says he needed a break from Anthrax and that the band probably needed a rest from him too – but the separation proved fruitful for everyone involved.

He tells Hangar 19: “It’s just like a marriage. We decided to take a little break from each other. I went to go jam with Helmet for a year and a half of fucking the best fun. Page Hamilton, John Tempesta and Chris Traynor, we had a ball.

“Great musicians in that group — absolutely great musicians. And you know what? I think it made me a better bass player. It made me dig in with a pick, and it was a different form of playing for me. And I really enjoyed it. Everything is meant for a reason, but that was a great time in my life.”

Anthrax are currently recording a new album, set for release in 2015. Bello previously described the new material as “thrashier” than the band’s most recent album, 2011’s Worship Music.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.