The show must go on, and in the wake of lead guitarist Rob Caggiano's departure from Anthrax, the band have just announced that Shadows Fall guitarist Jon Donais will be filling in during the band's upcoming Metal Alliance tour dates.
"Jon is a bro and he's also a total fucking ripper," said Scott Ian in an official press statement. "I've worked with him twice before on side projects and he tears it up. I'm excited to have him on my right burning up the stage with Anthrax. 13's gonna be a good year."
Donais revealed that Caggiano has been helpful in preparing for his Anthrax debut, going so far as to video chat with the Shadows Fall guitarist to help with guitar parts.
"I grew up on Anthrax, they're the thrash scene, they're one of The Big Four, I'd be crazy to not want to play with them," said Donais. "Initially, Rob called and told me he was leaving the band, and asked if I'd be interested in filling in. Then Scott called me and everything fell into place. Rob and I are using Skype to work on solos and other guitar parts, so he's being great. I also have to give special thanks to my band - Brian, Matt, Jason and Ed - who have been incredibly supportive and encouraged me to do this."
Shadows Fall are no strangers to loaning talent to Anthrax. Drummer Jason Bittner filled in for Charlie Benante on a handful on live dates in 2012.
There is no word yet on who the band might be considering as a full-time replacement for Caggiano.
Metal Alliance Tour Dates
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MARCH
22 House of Blues, Anaheim, CA
23 House of Blues, Las Vegas, NV
24 Marquee, Tempe, AZ
25 House of Blues, San Diego, CA
27 House of Blues, Los Angeles, CA
28 Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, CA
29 Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR
30 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC CANADA
31 Showbox SODO, Seattle, WA
APRIL 2 Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO 4 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 5 House of Blues, Chicago, IL 6 The Fillmore, Detroit, MI 7 Bogart's, Cincinnati, OH 9 House of Blues, Dallas, TX 10 House of Blues, Houston, TX 12 House of Blues, Orlando, FL 13 Tremont Music Hall, Charlotte, NC 14 Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD 16 House of Blues, Cleveland, OH 18 Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA 20 Irving Plaza, New York, NY
Josh Hart is a former web producer and staff writer for Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado magazines (2010–2012). He has since pursued writing fiction under various pseudonyms while exploring the technical underpinnings of journalism, now serving as a senior software engineer for The Seattle Times.
