Anthrax and Altitudes & Attitude’s Frank Bello: My Dream Supergroup

Alfred Nitsch, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT , via Wikimedia Commons
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Anthrax bassist Frank Bello knows something about supergroups. He was part of one of the greatest and most historic metal all-star collectives in history: the Big 4 jam that saw members of thrash OGs Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax joining forces for a stage-packing rendition of Diamond Head’s “Am I Evil?” He also plays in another supergroup, Altitudes & Attitude, with fellow four-string icon, David Ellefson of Megadeth; the duo, which has been percolating since 2010, recently dropped its debut full-length, Get It Out, which, for Bello, was a highly cathartic album to make. “I’ve learned that writing songs is very cathartic,” Bello said ahead of the record’s release. “A lot of these lyrics are about the inner struggles of my life, and about the rage that has built up from my life experiences — my brother’s murder, my father abandoning my family when we were young, leaving us with no funds to pay the bills. … The ups and downs of life in general. I’ve always had an anger inside that music really helps me deal with.”

Considering his experience with killer supergroups and his very personal understanding of the power of music, we asked Bello what would be is dream all-star lineup of musicians, alive or dead. Below is what he offered up.

Freddy Mercury

Because he was amazing and could sing any kind of music.

John Lennon

Because he is John Lennon.

Tony Iommi

Because he is the riff master.

Neil Peart

Because he would add amazing drum parts to any song as he always does.