Frank Bello performed his first show with Anthrax in almost a year and a half on October 12 at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California.
Bello and Anthrax were scheduled to perform at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 27, but their show was canceled because of bad weather. Before Aftershock, the musician last performed with the band in May 2023 at the Milwaukee Metal Fest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In April and early May, Bello didn’t join Anthrax on their South American tour and two U.S. festival dates because of ‘personal reasons.’ The band’s original bassist Dan Lilker filled in for him. This was Lilker’s first performance with the band in 40 years.
The band shared, “Due to personal reasons, Frank will not be able to accompany the band on its upcoming South American tour, set to kick off April 13 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.”
They added, “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. When we parted ways back in 1984, they told me to stick around because they might need me in 40 years,” Lilker also said at the time.
Bello made his live debut with the Norwegian black metal band Satyricon on June 6 at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden. He played bass for Satyricon during their summer 2024 European festival shows, including Hellfest in France and Tons of Rock in Norway.
Last month, Charlie Benante talked about whether Bello will be part of the new Anthrax album after their break. “Yeah, Frank’s on the record,” the drummer revealed about the bassist.
Bello recently joined Spector and is getting his own signature bass, which will be released in 2025. Until then, he will use Spector basses for rehearsals, recording, and the upcoming European tour in November. Anthrax will co-headline the tour with Kreator and Testament.