Frank Bello and Rare Bird have announced the Anthrax bassist’s debut solo EP, Then I’m Gone, set for release on November 4, 2022. Issued as a deluxe gatefold split 12-inch, the EP contains three songs alongside excerpts from his 2021 autobiography, read by the author and accompanied by additional new music.
Bello performs all instruments (except drums) on “Then I’m Gone,” “It Won’t Be Long” and “See Me Now,” as well as the score accompanying the narrated pieces, each selected and read from the book released with Rare Bird last year, Fathers, Brothers, And Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, And Anthrax.
“I revisited some really dark times in my life when I was writing my book, and writing these songs was the result of reliving them,” explains Bello, who appears on every Anthrax release since 1985. “Music has always been a great outlet for me as a coping mechanism. I felt it was a good time to put out these songs for people who connected with the book and maybe some who haven’t yet. Thanks for listening!”
Like the book, the songs on Then I’m Gone are intimate, revealing, and powerful. Then I’m Gone EP deluxe gatefold vinyl is available for preorder now in limited-edition purple and white/purple splatter variants, as well as standard black vinyl, direct through Rare Bird and Experience Vinyl. All preorders include a digital download code with the full vinyl audiobook in the sealed vinyl jacket and a monthly email with links to audio, video, instrumentals, and bonus material.
Then I’m Gone track listing:
Side A:
01. Then I’m Gone
02. It Won’t Be Long
03. See Me Now
Side B:
01. First Kiss
02. Compass Point
03. See Me Now (Revisited)
