Guitarist Rob Caggiano talked about leaving Anthrax back in 2013 and then joining Volbeat, explaining to Eon Music how the Danish act was “more me”:
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“What ended up happening was I quit Anthrax just because I felt like I needed a change.
“It’s a bit of a long story, but basically, I’d known the Volbeat guys a while, since we did The Damned Things [a supergroup founded in 2009 featuring Rob, Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley of Fall Out Boy, Scott Ian of Anthrax, and Keith Buckley and Josh Newton of Every Time I Die].
“We did a big tour with Volbeat back then, we all clicked, we became really good friends and we stayed in touch. And these guys were really big fans of The Damned Things record, and also the Anthrax stuff, so we talked about the possibility of going into the studio and recording.
“I was totally keen on that, and I always knew we could make a great record. Anyway, fast forward a number of years, and I decided to leave Anthrax, and I guess just the timing was perfect.”
So how did you make the jump from band producer, to band member with Volbeat?
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“I talked to Michael, he gave me a ring, and he asked me if I was interested in producing the record, and of course I was interested – the timing was perfect. So a few days later, I found myself in Copenhagen, we got together in the rehearsal room, and they were playing me the new ideas and stuff.
“A few of the songs weren’t totally finished, and we kind of wrote them together, finished them together on the spot. So we just kind of had that chemistry. But as far as me joining the band being the guitar player, that didn’t happen until a few weeks later, until we were actually in the studio. That’s when it happened.”