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Anthrax.
"To be honest Adam, I'm one of these guys who gives the future little consideration," sighs Anthrax vocalist John Bush. "I'm one of these guys who really just lives for the moment. Tomorrow I could tell you that I am boarding a plane and going to play seven or eight shows in Japan, then coming to Australia to play five shows, but that's about as far in the future as I am able to go."
Anthrax require little introduction. Over the past 18 years they've released 19 albums, are cited as being one of the first metal bands to effectively blend rap elements into their music, and are arguably one of the few heavy metal acts able to successfully adapt to the changing trends in music whilst leaving their core fanbase intact.
"I think that we definitely have a lot of endurance, but I think that maybe more so we are all afraid of the 'what if?'" Bush laughs. "It's a scary thought because none of us really know what we could do if we weren't doing music, so we have to succeed - there's no choice in the matter!
"We're lucky enough that people still get excited about the music which we make and come to see us perform live. We're not a pop band, and don't rely on singles or one or two really good songs, we are aiming to achieve eleven or so really good songs so that an album is thoroughly enjoyable from front to back. I think that people recognise that, and that's why many have chosen to stick with us.
"I think that as long as we are trying to do something different, then we are definitely on the right path. We know what we are, and we know we're a metal band and that's what Anthrax is at heart, but this band has always been willing to stick their neck out and try different things: believe me when I say that sometimes they love it, but there are other times when they don't, but no-one can say that we don't take chances, and that's a healthy thing. We don't want to put out the same record every year; that's boring no matter how heavy it is."
Although Anthrax have experienced many high points over the past 18 years, Bush was quick to explain that the group have still been subjected to their fair share of drawbacks also.
"We have definitely had some issues over the past seven or eight years especially, many of them specifically relating to label problems," he sighs. "I'm the first to admit that some of it was self-inflicted. I don't want to be one of these guys whose always blaming every one else, I think we made some bad decisions, but regardless we try to work as hard as we can. I don't think any record label can say that we don't work hard, and at the end of the day we want to sell as much as we can, and although it helps to have a label behind you, it basically all comes down to your own efforts anyway."
Whilst discussing various aspects of the music industry, Bush is sounds intrigued when I present him with a hypothetical challenge to change one aspect of the industry, which would allow things to be better for both artists and consumers alike.
"Wow, that's a good question," he muses. "Well, I think that what's going on right now in the music industry is quite bad. I think that the days of building bands and kind of letting them develop are over. These days if you don't have a hit with your first album then you're done - and even if you do and then try and change things around a little on your next one you can be finished also. If you think about a band like U2, if they didn't have a label which really stuck by them through their first two records, then they never would have released an album like 'War', which is now a classic rock record. Bands don't really develop until their third or fourth record, and I think that is a really sad state of affairs right now."
Bush joined Anthrax in 1992 after the group sacked original vocalist Joey Belladonna. The first album which the group released under the new line-up was instantly hailed as their strongest ever work.
"I am really happy about where my voice is going and what I can now achieve. I really became a better singer over the past few years, and really honed in on my sound, and now know what I can and can't do, but I think these days it's sounding really warm and rich, a bit different to the grittiness which I originally entered the group with.
"I'm going to sound great in Adelaide man, don't worry - I've been pacing myself especially," he laughs, loudly. "Singing is really just an extension of your soul, and I have really tapped into this train of thought over the past few records, and I think this is one of the things you guys will really notice when you come and see our show."
Adam Hood
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Anthrax play at Heaven on Fri 23 April with Soilwork, Killswitch Engage and Embodiment 12:14.
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