Post by Henny Macc on Oct 9, 2020 3:29:48 GMT
Francis Charles Joseph Bello (July 9, 1965 - )
Years active: 1984-present
Country of origin: United States of America
Recorded vocal range: G♯2-F5 (A♭2-F5) - 2¾ octaves
Band history:
- 1984-2004 - Anthrax (bass, backing vocals)
- 2004-2005 - Helmet (bass)
- 2005-present - Anthrax (bass, backing vocals)
- 2013-present - Altitudes & Attitude (lead vocals, guitar, bass)
Recorded high notes:
F5: "Anthrax" live Bochum 1986
D5: "No Time This Time"
C♯5/D♭5: "I'm Alive", "Medusa" live at the Hammersmith Odeon 1987
C5: "Fight 'em Till You Can't", "Get It Out", "I'm the Man '91", "No Time This Time", "Now It's Dark" live Electric Lady Studios 1992B4: "Be All End All '04", "Friggin' in the Riggin'", "I'm the Man", "Now It's Dark" live Electric Lady Studios 1992, "Out Here"
A♯4/B♭4: "A.I.R. '04", "Among the Living '04", "Be All End All '04", "Caught in a Mosh '04", "Booze and Cigarettes", "Friggin' in the Riggin'", "Here Again", "I'm the Man", "Now It's Dark" live Electric Lady Studios 1992, "Out Here", "Part of Me", "Pieces", "Safe Home", "Slip", "Tell the World"
A4: "Be All End All '04", "Belly of the Beast '04", "Caught in a Mosh '04", "Friggin' in the Riggin'", "I'm the Man", "No Time This Time", "Part of Me"
G♯4/A♭4: "Another Day", "Cold", "Fight 'em Till You Can't", "I'm the Man", "Keep It in the Family" '04, "Out Here", "Safe Home", "Talk to Me"
G4: "Among the Living '04", "Get It Out", "Now It's Dark" live Electric Lady Studios 1992, "Slip"
F♯4/G♭4: "Another Day", "Among the Living '04", "Belly of the Beast '04", "Booze and Cigarettes", "Cold", "Get It Out", "Here Again", "Late", "Out Here", "Part of Me", "Pieces", "Slip", "Talk to Me", "Tell the World"
Recorded low notes:
D♯3/E♭3: "Another Day", "Pieces", "Tell the World"
C♯3/D♭3: "All There Is", "Pieces", "Tell the World"
C3: "Another Day"
B2: "All There Is", "Crash"
A♯2/B♭2: "Another Day"
G♯2/A♭2: "Tell the World"
.......................................................
*Italics mark non-melodic notes.
*Underlines mark notes in backing vocals or otherwise muffled/obscured in the song mix.
{Detailed bio}
Frank Bello is best known as the bassist for Anthrax, with whom he has been a dedicated backing vocalist since first joining the band, and has occasionally sung lead vocals. However, more recently he has also started his own side project Altitudes & Attitude, in which he has handled all vocals in addition to much of the guitar and bass duties, and has proven himself to be a decently competent singer in his own right.
Bello first joined Anthrax in 1984, replacing founding bassist Danny Lilker shortly after the release of their first album, Fistful of Metal. He made his recording debut with the band on the 1985 with the Armed and Dangerous EP, which was followed by the album Spreading the Disease in 1985. In addition to his distinct bass playing in the band, Bello made a recognizable contribution to the band's backing vocals as well - with him and rhythm guitarist Scott Ian regularly singing certain lines of sings in alternation with lead vocalist Joey Belladonna. While Ian's typical backing vocal style was just a traditional raw thrash metal shout, Bello alternated between doubling these types of shouty vocals, but then also sometimes providing more melodic vocals, as he also possessed a developed range into the fifth octave that could be put to use backing up some of Belladonna's high parts. Aside from this, Bello also shared lead vocals with other members of Anthrax on a few joke tracks during this period - such as the rap metal song "I'm the Man" (on which Bello shared lead vocals with Ian and drummer Charlie Benante) and on the band's cover of the traditional drinking song "Friggin' in the Riggin'" (which is sung by the entire band in alternation).
Later on in Anthrax's career, Belladonna was replaced by John Bush as lead vocalist, during which period they released four more albums (Sound of White Noise in 1993, Stomp 442 in 1995, Vol. 8 - The Threat Is Real in 1998, and We've Come for You All in 2003). On the latter two albums, Bello made his first sole lead vocal appearances on the songs "Pieces" off Vol. 8 - The Threat Is Real and the short song "Crash" off We've Come for You All. In 2004, he left Anthrax to join the band Helmet, and was temporarily replaced by Fate's Warning bassist Joey Vera. However, he did not play on any recordings with Helmet, and only toured with them from 2004 to 2005 before leaving to rejoin Anthrax.
Since then, Bello has continued playing with Anthrax (who have also since reunited with Belladonna as their lead vocalist), and released two more studio albums - Worship Music in 2011 and For All Kings in 2016. Meanwhile, in the early 2010s Bello began performing at bass clinics alongside Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, which led to the two of them writing original music together. This collaboration would culminate as a full project together in 2013, called Altitudes & Attitudes, which featured Bello on lead vocals, rhythm guitar, and some bass, Ellefson on lead guitar, and additional bass parts, and Frank Friedl of A Perfect Circle on drums. Altitudes & Attitude released their first self-titled EP in 2014, which was followed by the full-length album Get It Out. The band has also performed with a variety of live musicians, including Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Mike Portnoy, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, and Chris Broderick.
Though Bello's vocals in Anthrax tended to be on the higher side and showcase his upper fourth/lower fifth octave abilities a decent bit, I was surprised to find how much of a lower tessitura he focused on for Altitudes & Attitude, with many songs being centered around the F♯4/G4 range, as well as some occasional low notes down to the B2/B♭2 area. The band's musical direction seems to be somewhat post-grunge/modern rock inspired, so perhaps that is why the vocals aren't as focused on crazy high note wailing, and instead more oriented towards gritty mid fourth octave belting. Regardless, I'm glad to see that Bello is finally taking the opportunity to showcase some of his vocal abilities as well, and welcome hearing more of that from him down the line if he chooses to continue doing so.
Frank Bello is best known as the bassist for Anthrax, with whom he has been a dedicated backing vocalist since first joining the band, and has occasionally sung lead vocals. However, more recently he has also started his own side project Altitudes & Attitude, in which he has handled all vocals in addition to much of the guitar and bass duties, and has proven himself to be a decently competent singer in his own right.
Bello first joined Anthrax in 1984, replacing founding bassist Danny Lilker shortly after the release of their first album, Fistful of Metal. He made his recording debut with the band on the 1985 with the Armed and Dangerous EP, which was followed by the album Spreading the Disease in 1985. In addition to his distinct bass playing in the band, Bello made a recognizable contribution to the band's backing vocals as well - with him and rhythm guitarist Scott Ian regularly singing certain lines of sings in alternation with lead vocalist Joey Belladonna. While Ian's typical backing vocal style was just a traditional raw thrash metal shout, Bello alternated between doubling these types of shouty vocals, but then also sometimes providing more melodic vocals, as he also possessed a developed range into the fifth octave that could be put to use backing up some of Belladonna's high parts. Aside from this, Bello also shared lead vocals with other members of Anthrax on a few joke tracks during this period - such as the rap metal song "I'm the Man" (on which Bello shared lead vocals with Ian and drummer Charlie Benante) and on the band's cover of the traditional drinking song "Friggin' in the Riggin'" (which is sung by the entire band in alternation).
Later on in Anthrax's career, Belladonna was replaced by John Bush as lead vocalist, during which period they released four more albums (Sound of White Noise in 1993, Stomp 442 in 1995, Vol. 8 - The Threat Is Real in 1998, and We've Come for You All in 2003). On the latter two albums, Bello made his first sole lead vocal appearances on the songs "Pieces" off Vol. 8 - The Threat Is Real and the short song "Crash" off We've Come for You All. In 2004, he left Anthrax to join the band Helmet, and was temporarily replaced by Fate's Warning bassist Joey Vera. However, he did not play on any recordings with Helmet, and only toured with them from 2004 to 2005 before leaving to rejoin Anthrax.
Since then, Bello has continued playing with Anthrax (who have also since reunited with Belladonna as their lead vocalist), and released two more studio albums - Worship Music in 2011 and For All Kings in 2016. Meanwhile, in the early 2010s Bello began performing at bass clinics alongside Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, which led to the two of them writing original music together. This collaboration would culminate as a full project together in 2013, called Altitudes & Attitudes, which featured Bello on lead vocals, rhythm guitar, and some bass, Ellefson on lead guitar, and additional bass parts, and Frank Friedl of A Perfect Circle on drums. Altitudes & Attitude released their first self-titled EP in 2014, which was followed by the full-length album Get It Out. The band has also performed with a variety of live musicians, including Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Mike Portnoy, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, and Chris Broderick.
Though Bello's vocals in Anthrax tended to be on the higher side and showcase his upper fourth/lower fifth octave abilities a decent bit, I was surprised to find how much of a lower tessitura he focused on for Altitudes & Attitude, with many songs being centered around the F♯4/G4 range, as well as some occasional low notes down to the B2/B♭2 area. The band's musical direction seems to be somewhat post-grunge/modern rock inspired, so perhaps that is why the vocals aren't as focused on crazy high note wailing, and instead more oriented towards gritty mid fourth octave belting. Regardless, I'm glad to see that Bello is finally taking the opportunity to showcase some of his vocal abilities as well, and welcome hearing more of that from him down the line if he chooses to continue doing so.
{Album ranges}
Anthrax:
Altitudes & Attitudes:
Anthrax:
- Vol. 8 - The Threat Is Real (1998) - C♯3-F♯4-A♯4
- We've Come for You All (2003) - B2-G♯4
Altitudes & Attitudes:
- Get It Out (2019) - G♯2-C5