Anthrax mainman Scott Ian has thanked former vocalist Neil Turbin for comparing his autobiography to The Lord Of The Rings.
The singer, who left the band in 1984, recently called Ian’s autobiography I’m The Man: The Story Of That Guy From Anthrax a “new work of fiction” as he was unhappy about the way he was portrayed in the book.
He said: “I find it very sad that somebody I’ve had no contact with for 30 years feels that it’s necessary to fabricate lies about me in order to draw attention to themselves.
“I wish them all the luck in the world on their new work of fiction. I’m sure it must be as good as The Lord Of The Rings.”
Ian has now responded to Turbin’s comments and insists he doesn’t care what he or anyone else from outside the group thinks.
He tells BackstageAxxess: “It’s my book and I look at it in the same way as Anthrax looks at writing songs. When Anthrax writes songs, we don’t care what anyone has to say about anything – good or bad – outside of the five guys in the band.
“And it’s the same way I look at my book. I don’t care what anybody has to say – good or bad. It’s never changed the way I approach anything, so it doesn’t matter to me.
“I will take the compliment of comparing it to The Lord Of The Rings, though. It’s one of my favourite books of all time. I have to thank him for that.”
In the autobiography, Ian recalls Turbin’s tyrannical ways when they were touring their 1984 debut album Fistful Of Metal and said the band “hated his guts.”
He says: “As soon as we started touring, Neil got ultra-cocky. He felt like he was the boss man and he became inflexible.
“Whenever we opposed any of his ideas, he threatened to quit. We hated his guts but we were powerless to do anything about it.”
Earlier this year, Turbin said he was mentioned as a possible singer for Metallica when he was recording Fistful Of Metal. He’s currently on tour with Onslaught in the US. He’s stepped in for Sy Keeler who’s taken time out from the band as a result of a family illness.
