Anthrax have been busy working on their new album on and off for the past year. In a new update from the group, they discuss their forthcoming disc and also tease a bit of what fans can expect from their upcoming shows with Volbeat.

The as-yet-untitled follow-up to Worship Music will be the band's first offering featuring guitarist Jon Donais, who joined the group after the exit of Rob Caggiano during the last album cycle. "Jon's been great," says fellow guitarist Scott Ian. "So far he's played lead on at least seven or eight of the tracks and they all sound amazing."

The band started formal writing sessions last fall and came out with around 20 songs. By November, the group began the recording process. Drummer Charlie Benante says, "Worship Music started a new chapter in our career, and it has served as an inspiration for this new album. Worship was made up of a lot of different types of songs, some thrashy, some very mid-90s Anthrax-sounding, but this new one is REALLY thrashy."

Bassist Frank Bello adds, "The thing about Anthrax … we have this heavy, thrashy music and Joey [Belladonna]'s powerful and melodic vocals. I love heavy music, but I also love melody, so the challenge is to blend them together so they sound like Anthrax, and I think we've done a really good job of that, especially on this new record."

Speaking of the lyrical direction, Ian states, "The lyrics I write tend to go along with the way the music sounds, and this new music is very angry. Lots of people said that Worship Music was a return to the roots of the band. Well, this record is even more so. Unlike Worship Music, we wrote this new album with a different lineup, with Joey in the band, and that has made all the difference in the world."

The guitarist says having Belladonna back in the band makes it feel like a unit again and everything that fans loved about having his vocals on Worship Music is even more so on the new disc.

Bello says there's a feeling amongst the band that Worship Music was the best album of their career, but with their new disc they've "raised the bar on this one." He concludes, "I think we have the goods with the new songs, and I'm proud to say that. At the end of the day, all you can do is have it come from the heart, do your best, and hope that people like it. That's what we did with Worship Music and look what happened." The disc will be released later this year.

But fans won't have to wait that long to see the band in person. The group will be hitting the road with Volbeat next month and they've mixed in a number of major festivals as part of the run. During this first leg of dates for the band, the group will play a "fan favorites" set featuring such classics as "Anti-Social," "Madhouse," "Caught in a Mosh," "I am the Law" and "Indians." Anthrax will also include the new song "Soror Irrumator," their contribution to the recent Catch the Throne, Volume 2 mixtape saluting the Game of Thrones TV series. The full mixtape is currently available on iTunes for free. Check out Anthrax's current itinerary below.

Anthrax 2015 Tour Dates

4/24 -- Denver, Colo. -- 1stBank Center
4/25 -- Rapid City, S.D. -- Rushmore Plaza Civic Center
4/27 -- Spokane, Wash. -- Spokane Arena
4/28 -- Missoula, Mont. -- Adams Center
4/29 -- Seattle, Wash. -- WaMu Theatre
5/1 -- Grand Prairie, Alberta -- Revolution Place
5/2 -- Edmonton, Alberta -- Rexall Place
5/3 -- Calgary, Alberta -- Calgary Stampede Corral
5/4 -- Saskatoon, Saskatchewan -- SaskTel Centre
5/6 -- Regina, Saskatchewan -- Brandt Centre
5/7 -- Grand Forks, N.D. -- Ralph Englestad Arena
5/9 -- Somerset, Wis. -- Northern Invasion Festival
5/10 -- Madison, Wis. -- WJJO MayDay MayLay
5/12 -- Oshawa, Ontario -- General Motors Centre
5/13 -- Ottawa, Ontario -- TD Place
5/14 -- Quebec City, Quebec -- Quebec Colisee Pepsi
5/15 -- Montreal, Quebec -- CEPSUM Montreal
5/17 -- Columbus, Ohio -- Rock on the Range
5/18 -- Saginaw, Mich. -- Dow Events Center
5/19 -- Evansville, Ind. -- Ford Center
5/20 -- Chicago, Ill. -- Aragon Ballroom
5/22 -- Sioux City, Iowa -- Tyson IBF Events Center
5/23 -- Pryor, Okla. -- Rocklahoma/Prior Creek Music
5/24 -- San Antonio, Texas -- Rockfest, AT&T Center
5/25 -- El Paso, Texas -- Baloonfest, Wet & Wild Water World
5/27 -- Dallas, Texas -- Verizon Grand Prairie
5/28 -- Houston, Texas -- Bayou Music Center
5/30 -- Kansas City, Mo. -- Rockfest
5/31 -- Sauget, Ill. -- Outdoors at Pop's
6/2 -- New York, N.Y. -- Hammerstein Ballroom

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