Anthrax’s Frank Bello talks European tour cancellation: “financially it wasn’t feasible”

Anthrax would've been wrapping up their 2022 European tour earlier this month, but they were forced to cancel the run because of "ongoing logistical issues and 2022 costs that are out of our control." Bassist Frank Bello elaborated further in a new conversation with Neil Jones of TotalRock, which you can watch below.

"When I saw the numbers, they were literally triple what they originally started at,” Bello told Jones. "We would be coming home at such a loss. You don’t mind a little bit of a loss just to play to the fans, but such a loss — we would have been really bad off for a while. So it didn’t make sense."

When asked if a "Brexit thing" caused the cancellation, Bello said, "it’s a human thing at this point, my God. I mean, it’s a budgetary thing," continuing, "After COVID, when everything went crazy, money-wise, financially it wasn’t feasible to do it anymore. When [we] looked at it, we said, ‘All right. There’s better times ahead.’ And that’s the way to look at it now. Look, heating costs and everybody’s gotta put food on the table. I get it right now. So it’s just a really hard time for everybody."

Animal Collective, Santigold, and Metronomy have all been forced to cancel or postpone tours in the current fraught economic landscape for live music, and festivals Firefly and Forecastle announced they wouldn't be happening in 2023. Lorde recently discussed the situation, writing, "Basically, for artists, promoters and crews, things are at an almost unprecedented level of difficulty. It’s a storm of factors."

They haven't announced more European dates yet, but Anthrax will head out on a North American tour with Black Label Society and Exodus in early 2023, including a Montclair, NJ show at Wellmont Theater on January 31. See all dates below.

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Anthrax/Black Label Society/Exodus: 2023 Tour
JANUARY 17 Boise, ID, Revolution Concert House
JANUARY 18 Seattle, WA, Paramount Theatre
JANUARY 20 Vancouver, BC PNE Forum
JANUARY 21 Penticton, BC, So. Okanagan Events Ctr.
JANUARY 22 Calgary, AB, Grey Eagle Events Centre
JANUARY 24 Winnipeg, MB, Burton Cummings
JANUARY 25 Grand Forks, ND, Alerus Center
JANUARY 27 Madison, WI, The Sylvee
JANUARY 28 Mt. Pleasant, MI, Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort
JANUARY 29 Chicago, Il, Radius
JANUARY 31 Montclair, NJ, Wellmont Theater
FEBRUARY 2 Portland, ME, Cross Insurance Arena
FEBRUARY 3 Uncasville, CT, Mohegan Sun Arena
FEBRUARY 4 Bethlehem, PA, Windcreek Events Center
FEBRUARY 5 Boston, MA, House of Blues
FEBRUARY 7 Corbin, KY, Corbin Arena
FEBRUARY 8 St. Louis, MO, The Factory at The District
FEBRUARY 10 San Antonio, TX, Tec Port Center + Arena
FEBRUARY 11 Houston, TX, Bayou
FEBRUARY 13 Wichita, KS, The Cotillion
FEBRUARY 14 Oklahoma City, OK, The Criterion
FEBRUARY 15 Albuquerque, NM, Revel
FEBRUARY 17 Riverside, CA, Municipal Auditorium
FEBRUARY 18 Oakland, CA, Fox Theater

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