It doesn't take John being gone from the band to be disappointed that now I'm expected to pay $25 per year to get what I was previously receiving for free. But now that you mention it, nobody ever has given a straight answer about what's going to happen to my favorite part of my favorite band, so why should I pay $25 to find out whether or not he's a part of it anymore? Why can't somebody just give us a straight fucking answer? If John's going to be back, fine, take my $25, I'll support the band, but if he's not, I will not support it. You think I'm fickle? Why didn't you sign up prior to April 2005 when it was still free? You didn't even care enough to show your own discontent.
I didn't mind Anthrax with Joey, but I was never a huge fan. When John joined the band, I became a fan, because I loved their stuff. "Great stuff" is a matter of opinion, and you're entitled to yours, but in my opinion, the great stuff Anthrax put out has been from 1992 onwards. SOWN and Volume 8 are classics, while Stomp 442 probably also would crack my personal 10 favorite albums of all time. Now wouldn't you be just a little disappointed if the band that created 3 of your 10 favorite albums of all time ceased to exist in the line-up that created them?
The fact is, maybe Anthrax will put out a killer album with Joey, but I'm not going to know about it and I'll tell you why: I still haven't heard a straight answer. Is John gone forever? Is Joey back for good? Shit or get off the pot, man, just tell us so we can move on and accept what's happening. But instead, we get this "We'll see how the tour goes..." ambivalent non-commital bullshit which tells me this: the band hasn't decided themselves, and so they'll see how the tour goes...if it sells well, they'll stick with Joey, if it doesn't net anymore profits, they'll go back to John (the guy that they actually got along with, but hey, money can mend relationships, I guess). So in the end, the average fan is being asked to vote with their wallet, and if I have to vote between John and Joey, I'll vote John everytime, so I'm voting for John by NOT buying anything with Joey on it.
I could be way off base with this. Maybe the Joey thing really is just a temporary fun thing that everyone wanted to do, and maybe they'll put out an album, but John will be back next year, in which case, sure, I'd buy the album and join the fan club to support the band. BUT NOBODY CONNECTED TO THE BAND HAS GIVEN ANY INDICATION OF WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON SO I'M SURE AS HELL NOT GOING TO SPEND $25/YEAR ON THE OFF-CHANCE THAT MAYBE I'LL FIND OUT THE REAL STORY. I'll save my money and keep reading Blabbermouth instead. [/rant]
