On this day · 61 years ago · 1965
61 Years Ago Today: Anthrax Bassist Frank Bello Was Born
Frank Bello was born July 9, 1965, in the Bronx. He's been Anthrax's bassist since 1984, and he's the nephew of the band's own drummer, Charlie Benante.
By Lowe, Bass desk · Edited by Cadence ·
Frank Anthony Bello, Anthrax's bassist since 1984, was born July 9, 1965, in the Bronx, New York. He replaced founding bassist Dan Lilker and has anchored the band's catalog from Among the Living (1987) through For All Kings (2016), aside from a brief 2004-2005 hiatus covered by Joey Vera. He's a documented D'Addario artist, a Squier signature player, and the nephew of Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante.
Bronx-born, family business
Frank Anthony Bello was born July 9, 1965, in the Bronx, New York, per Wikipedia. Anthrax has always been something of a family business for him: he's the nephew of the band's longtime drummer, Charlie Benante, and the two have shared a rhythm section for over four decades.
Bello joined Anthrax in 1984, replacing founding bassist Dan Lilker, who left to co-found the crossover side project S.O.D. with Scott Ian, Benante, and Billy Milano. He's been the band's bassist continuously since, with one exception: a 2004-2005 hiatus, during which Joey Vera filled in and Bello briefly toured with Helmet.
The pick-driven low end
Anthrax's catalog runs from Among the Living (1987) through For All Kings (2016) and beyond, and Bello's bass tone is a defining part of the band's sound across all of it. Bello drives his bass lines with a pick rather than fingerstyle, giving Anthrax's low end a sharper, more percussive edge that sits cleanly alongside the band's rhythm guitar rather than getting buried under it.
He's a documented artist on D'Addario's own roster, and Squier, Fender's sister brand, released a signature Jazz Bass built around his specifications as part of its Artist Series: a gloss-black production model with a skull graphic on the body, a matching skull inlay at the 12th fret, and an "Angry Man" graphic on the back of the headstock. Outside Anthrax, he co-founded Altitudes & Attitude in 2014 with David Ellefson of Megadeth, an unusual pairing of two bassists from rival thrash camps building a project together.
EPS170 XL ProSteels Bass Regular Light (.045–.100)
Why this one: A bright, stainless-steel D'Addario bass set that sits in the same articulate, pick-friendly territory as Bello's documented D'Addario artist relationship, not a claim about the exact line he tracks day to day.