‘That Metal Show’ Recap: Anthrax, Dave “The Snake” Sabo Invade the Studio

It was an action-packed episode of 'That Metal Show' last night, with Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante invading the studio, alongside legendary Skid Row guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo.

Ian wore a black t-shirt with "New York" scrawled across the front. It was fitting, since the episode aired after the East Coast version of the Big Four, even though the episode was taped months ago. Ian was all about displaying his hometown pride.

Ian and Benante talked about how the two of them, along with bassist Frankie Bello, had been going nonstop for years, ever since 'The Sound of White Noise.' For Anthrax, it was record, tour, record, tour, record, tour. The guys took a break in 2007 but got together to write 'Worship Music' without the band in place, without a singer and without a label. They plucked singer Dan Nelson from obscurity, recorded with him and then parted ways. Joey Belladonna came back into the fold and the version of 'Worship Music' with Nelson was scrapped in favor of the version of 'Worship Music' with Belladonna.

"We wrote the record and it was written just like any other Anthrax album in the past," Ian said. "It was written by the core that is us. These were our songs. Anything Dan had a hand in, those songs never made it. Any lyrics he wrote, we got rid of and updated."

Ian and Benante likened the return of Belladonna to "the clouds parting," since they knew he had to be a part of any Big Four shows, since he was the band's singer from the '80s era. "Everything was right and went the right way," Ian said. He and Benante joked about how good Belladonna's range is this late in life, joking that they didn't want to mention how old they are!

Ian is a brand new father and while he loves and cherishes this new role, he said it's like the worst tour schedule ever. Welcome to parenting, Scott!

Dave 'The Snake' Sabo was also a guest. The Skid Row guitarist revealed that he was a member of Anthrax for a hot second in 2000, but it didn't work out due to scheduling conflicts. He said he'd probably be a member of the band if it did work out, time-wise. Ah, some things just aren't meant to be.

Sabo said that he has no beef with the always vocal Sebastian Bach, who split from Skid Row years ago and has appeared on 'That Metal Show' and does not shy away from the topic. "I have no rebuttal and never had any animosity towards him," Sabo said. "I was fortunate to have good times with him in that band, and I'm not trying to sound like a spiritual idiot."

Sabo also talked about his "other gig," which is managing bands. One of his clients? Philip Anselmo's Down! Sabo elected to go into artist management because when Skid Row were coming up, he constantly grilled the band's managers about their duties. "I became a pain in the ass to those guys," he said. "I wanted to know everything. I was extremely curious and I wanted to know the business."

That's why he pursued band management, because he knew he could help his peers as he has sat on their side of the table. He also revealed that he will always side with his artists, even if there is a situation that's at odds with his firm's philosophies. That's the kind of manager you want in your corner.

It was a fun, information and educational episode of 'That Metal Show.' Can you believe we're already on episode five?