When Joey Belladonna was fired from Anthrax in 1992, the decision left the singer seeking purpose in an unplanned hiatus. The thrash metal vocalist, let go over creative differences, found himself navigating a surprising new chapter outside the music industry.
Reflecting on his time away from the band, Belladonna shared with MusicInterviewCorner, “It was unexpected and it wasn’t my idea and I wouldn’t have preferred it. But it happened. And I just maintained myself.” While many might have envisioned a rocky road ahead for the displaced musician, his approach to life was steady and grounded, in more ways than one.
In a surprising twist, Belladonna and his wife Krista took on jobs at a “pretty famous riders’ facility,” a horse barn where he worked as maintenance staff. “I cut grass all day. It was so big there, I couldn’t complete all my work each day. It was a long, long day. It took me two, three days to weedy the whole place,” he recalled.
The job was far from glamorous, but Belladonna embraced it. “A lot of people don’t realize that you would even do that. I didn’t really necessarily have to do that job. It was one of those things that fell into place and I enjoyed it and I got a lot of experience from it.”
Despite the departure from the stage, music remained a vital part of Belladonna’s life. Alongside his barn duties, he immersed himself in cover band performances, played drums, and worked on original projects. “But I also had a band. I was doing some cover music and I was playing drums. And it was kind of like the old days for me. So I just continued to do that and work on some original music and stuff,” he explained.
Through it all, Belladonna kept moving forward, waiting for the right opportunity to return to the spotlight. “I kept myself busy. I didn’t really fall apart. I kept busy and just waited for some time, and all of a sudden I’d come back. So here I am.”
And come back he did. After a brief reunion with Anthrax in 2005, Belladonna rejoined the band full-time in 2010. Since then, his contributions to albums like “Worship Music” (2011) and “For All Kings” (2016) have reaffirmed his place as a cornerstone of the band’s legacy.
