Anthrax are currently in the studio hard at work on the follow-up to their 2011 album ‘Worship Music.’ In a new interview, drummer Charlie Benante says the group is “firing on all cylinders” and that they have recorded drums, guitars and bass on six new tracks.

In an interview with Revolvermag.com, Benante gives details about the group’s new effort. The band has been making quick progress in the studio with producer Jay Ruston. The drummer says, “We’re definitely firing on all cylinders,” adding, “I know what we have in our pockets as far as new material goes, and that gets me really excited.”

He divulges that the band has drums, guitars and bass recorded for six songs and as soon as singer Joey Belladonna records his vocals, they will move on to the next batch of songs. Benante said the group has enough material for an additional 15 tracks. While the upcoming effort is as yet untitled, the band does have song titles floating around, including 'The Battle Chose Us,' 'You Gotta Believe' and 'The Evil Twin.'

So far the band has only recorded music in Los Angeles but they could move production to New York or Chicago. Benante said the process will be similar to their last effort, “We recorded ‘Worship Music’ in sections because we had to, but some good things came out of that," he explains. "Last time I did the drums for a lot of the songs and then moved on to other things, and when I listened back later to the original tracks, I felt like they weren’t fully realized. So I went back and redid a lot of them and it made the songs more exciting. We wanted the opportunity to work that way again, only this time on purpose.”

He also shared that some of the new songs are “more aggressive” and “pretty thrashy,” including a song Benante says is the “one of the fastest songs we’ve recorded in years.” The effort will mark the first Anthrax album to feature lead guitarist Jon Donais (Shadows Fall), who joined the band early last year. Benante says that Donais is “an amazing player and he’s spot-on with everything he does.”

Fans can read the entire Revolver interview here.

Just a few days ago, Anthrax released a one-minute video showing some behind-the-scenes footage of the recording of the new album. Hopefully fans will get to hear some new Anthrax tunes sooner than later.

In other Anthrax news, the band are nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for the song ‘Neon Knights’ from the Ronnie James Dio tribute album ‘This Is Your Life.” The 57th Annual Grammy Awards take place on Sunday (Feb. 8).

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