Anthrax Settle Lawsuit With Former Vocalist Dan Nelson
If you heard that Anthrax was in a Manhattan Federal Court earlier this week, you may have assumed the worst. But in this case, the band actually was settling a lawsuit by former vocalist Dan Nelson, who had sued the band for $2.65 million dollars.
Anthrax have been fronted by eight different vocalists over the course of their 31-year career. That's a lot. When you have parted ways with that many frontmen, there is bound to be some bad blood somewhere down the line. For that very reason, the thrash metal legends were in federal court on June 26.
Dan Nelson served as vocalist for the New York metal outfit from 2007 to 2009, and was initially intended to provide vocals on their 2011 release, 'Worship Music.' However, Nelson's tenure in the band ended before the project got to that point. After a nasty split under some confusing circumstances, Nelson slapped the band with a $2.65 million lawsuit.
The band and Nelson reached an undisclosed settlement on that suit this week after a two hour conference on Monday. “I’ve got to put a Band-Aid on my tongue from biting it so much,” bassist Frank Bello told the New York Post following the meeting. Tongue-biting aside, the mediation seemed to have ended favorably for Anthrax -- the New York Daily News reported that Bello, along with guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante, all emerged from the court with smiles on their faces.
Prior to the settlement, Anthrax's attorney informed the judge that the band had previously offered Nelson writing credit on 11 of the tracks on 'Worship Music,' as well as a "fairly small dollar amount."
Anthrax, now back with vocalist Joey Belladonna of their classic lineup, will head to San Bernardino, Calif., this weekend (June 30) to begin their stint on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival tour, during which they will be headlining the Jagermeister stage.