Metal Vocalist Discusses His Surprising Job Between Gigs
If you’re the lead singer of one of the biggest metal bands in the world, then if seems like you wouldn’t need to have a side job. – Author: Charles Ken, Photo via Jimmy Hubbard
If you’re the lead singer of one of the biggest metal bands in the world, then if seems like you wouldn’t need to have a side job. But, if you’re in between gigs, maybe you do need some extra dough, and one metal vocalist is talking about the interesting gig he had for a period when he was out of the band.
It’s not all bad, though, and he said that he actually enjoyed the gig.
Joey Belladonna of Anthrax Worked at a Horse Barn
Joey Belladonna and Anthrax are synonymous at this point. He’s been the lead vocalist for the thrash metal darlings for about 15 years now, but he was actually kicked out of the band twice in the history of their time together. While he was away from Anthrax, Belladonna worked some random jobs that could seem unexpected, including a gig at a horse barn.
Belladonna helped make Anthrax one of the biggest names in thrash metal in the 1980 and early-1990s. He was with Anthrax from 1984 to 1992 and sang lead vocals on four of their famed albums: “Spreading the Disease,” “Among the Living,” “State of Euphoria” and “Persistence of Time.”
Belladonna was let go from the band in 1992. John Bush replaced him and appeared with Anthrax for most of the ’90s and into the 2000s. Belladonna was back in Anthrax in 2005, but that didn’t last long, and he was replaced by Dan Nelson in 2007. Finally, he came back to the fold in 2010 and has been with them every since. Most recently, he sang on their latest full-length albums: 2011’s “Worship Music” and 2016’s “For All Kings.” He’s working with the band on their upcoming album, too.
One of the jobs Belladonna had during the ’90s and early 2000s when he wasn’t with the group was cutting grass on a horse farm. He talked about that experience in in an interview with “Music Interview Corner.”
Belladonna Said It Was ‘Almost Too Long’ Being Out of Anthrax
“Well, for me to be out of the band for that long, it’s almost too long,” Belladonna said about being away from the metal band. “It was unexpected and it wasn’t my idea and I wouldn’t have preferred it. But, it happened, and I just maintained myself.”
Then, he added that he was “working in a horse barn for a couple of years. I was [in] maintenance, and Krista, my wife, we both worked at a pretty famous riders’ facility. I cut grass all day. It was so big there, I couldn’t complete all my work each day. It was a long, long day. It took me two, three days to weedy the whole place.”
He added that he “didn’t really necessarily have to do that job” but that “it was one of those things that fell into place, and I enjoyed it, and I got a lot of experience from it.”
He also said that he had a band at the time, and they were doing covers, and he was playing drums. “It was kind of like the old days for me,” he added.
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