MEGADETH‘s DAVE ELLEFSON has teamed up with ANTHRAX‘s FRANK BELLO to form ALTITUDES & ATTITUDE.
Supported by drummer JEFF FRIEDL of A PERFECT CIRCLE, the band is getting ready to release their self-titled debut EP, preceded by ‘Booze and Cigarettes.’
Despite the band’s thrash pedigree, ‘Booze and Cigarettes’ is firmly rooted in hard rock. A riffing guitar leads the proceedings, switching from a soaring lead to a down-in-the-dirt rumble, revealing the influence these guys have had on modern guitar-rockers.
As the riffs snap about, BELLO commands, “So get your booze and cigarettes/ Do what you want, forget the rest!”
Despite the song’s party-hardy refrain, the bacchanalian message has a somber background.
“My grandmother never smoked or drank a day in her life,” BELLO tells Rolling Stone.
“When she was receiving chemo, I would wheel her to treatment and jokingly say to her, ‘Come on, Gram, get your booze and cigarettes for the ride,’ and that would make her smile. It’s a tribute to my grandmother, who passed in 2012.”
Altitudes & Attitude will be released on January 14th.
Listen to the track HERE