Fan-filmed video of SATYRICON‘s June 8 concert at the Mystic Festival in Gdansk, Poland can be seen below.
ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello made his live debut with the Norwegian black metal veterans on Thursday, June 6 at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden.
Bello is playing bass for SATYRICON for the latter band’s summer 2024 European festival appearances, including Hellfest in France and Tons Of Rock in Norway.
When Bello‘s addition to SATYRICON‘s touring lineup was first revealed on May 27, SATYRICON wrote in an online post: “There is smoke in the chimney at the SATYRICON HQ every day. Next week we will fire up the engine again, starting at Sweden Rock and Mystic Festival. From there we go to Hellfest, Tons Of Rock, ARTmania Festival, Grieghallen/Beyond The Gates (two nights in a row),Brutal Assault, Hellsinki Metal Festival, Alcatraz Festival, Bloodstock Open Air and finally Næstved Metal Fest. In November we come to Latin America.
“As you can imagine, we look immensely forward to seeing all SATYRICON Ultras across the world again.
“If we’re not playing anywhere near you, maybe you will travel to see us, if not we will meet later some day. This is going to be THE summer!”
When one of Bello‘s Instagram followers asked him if he was in SATYRICON now, Frank responded that he was “just playing some shows with them”.
In April and early May, Bello sat out ANTHRAX‘s South American tour as well as two U.S. festival dates due to “personal reasons.” Filling in on those shows was ANTHRAX founding member and original bassist Dan Lilker, marking his first appearance with the band in 40 years. Lilker, who co-wrote and played on ANTHRAX‘s debut album “Fistful Of Metal”, was also a member of STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH with ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante and guitarist Scott Ian.
In a recent interview with Finland’s Chaoszine, Lilker was asked about the announcement that Bello was going to play a few festival shows with SATYRICON this summer and whether that meant that Dan would play more gigs with ANTHRAX in the future. Lilker responded: “I think it’s only that because ANTHRAX had no plans in the summer anyway. They weren’t doing all the Euro fests or anything. So, during the summer, everybody in ANTHRAX would go do something else. So, I think Frank had that plan anyway. So it’s funny, because SATYRICON are old friends of mine from the Norwegian scene. Scott had told me, though, that Frank might do something like that. And I, of course, was surprised, but I think SATYRICON has changed from the very grim, dark stuff to more kind of like dark rock and roll. So I think that’s cool. And I think he’ll be great with that. He’s a great bass player.”
Last July, Frank and his wife Teresa celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. They share a son, Brandon, who just turned 18 last month.
Bello released a memoir, “Fathers, Brothers, And Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, And Anthrax”, in October 2021 via Rare Bird. The foreword to the book was written by KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons.
Born into a family of five, Frank grew up in difficult circumstances. His father abandoned his wife and children, and Frank‘s mother moved heaven and earth to keep them fed and educated. Left with no male role model, Frank found inspiration in heavy metal bass players, following their example and forging a career with ANTHRAX from his early teens — first as a roadie, and then as the group’s bass player.
International stardom came Frank‘s way by the mid-to-late 1980s, when he was still in his early twenties, but tragedy struck in 1996 when his brother Anthony was murdered in New York. Although the case went to trial, the suspected killer was released without charge after a witness, intimidated by violent elements, withdrew his testimony.
Bello‘s mother Rose died in April 2023.
Rosie was the older sister of Benante, who enlisted Frank to join ANTHRAX in 1984.