Anthrax Sticks To Band Name Despite Anthrax Cases

10/11/2001 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Neal Weiss

(10/11/01, 4 p.m. ET) -- Perhaps no band around has felt the impact of the recent outbreak of anthrax more that the metal group that carries the same name as the lethal disease. Still, Anthrax, the band, has no plan at this time to change its name.

Singer John Bush tells LAUNCH, "I think it's important for us to get the message out that, you know, obviously we feel saddened by the circumstances that have happened of late. But, you know, we're just a rock band, it's just the name of our band and we don't feel any need to have to change name or anything like that. We try to clarify, the reality is that Anthrax has been a band together almost 20 years now and the name came up simply because it sounded like a heavy metal name, you know, back in 1981."

However, Bush tells LAUNCH that there are circumstances that would make the band consider abandoning the name. "I guess if, like, there was a large quantity of human beings that died in connection with this, you know? Obviously, back in the medieval times you wouldn't name your little minstrel group the Bubonic Plague at that time."

Anthrax, the group, hits the road with Judas Priest in January. The tour was originally scheduled to kick off just after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

-- Neal Weiss, Los Angeles

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