Anthrax are still recovering from singer Joey Belladonna’s brush with a security guard where he was crash tackled on stage during the middle of their concert. So we’ll forgive them for being a bit sensitive.

The band have just released their long-awaited 10th studio LP Worship Music and are happy the record went number 12 on the Billboard charts. But guitarist Scott Ian is angry that a mere 30,000 records got them there as he lashed out at fans in an explosive interview with New York Times saying he knows that fans stole the album and that file-sharers should have their internet cut off.

In the interview Ian said “The fact that we sold 30,000 the first week and entered at number 12 was awesome, for 2011. If you put that in 2011 we would have sold probably 250,000 the first week and been number 12. In 1993 Sound of White Noise entered the charts at number seven and it sold like 110,000 copies. A lot of it has to do, of course, with what other records come out the same week as you, and all that. But it just sucks that 30,000 is considered a huge success in 2011.”

When the newspaper asked him if he thought fans had stolen the album he candidly replied “I don’t think – I know they did. People have this sense of entitlement now where thy think music is free and that’s the way it is. Before the internet, the only way to steal music was to walk into a music store and physically walk out with something. You were stealing and you knew it. If you got caught you were going to get into trouble.’

He continued “On the internet there’s no consequence for stealing. Until there is a consequence it’s going to happen more and more and more – and people are going to see less and less and less original and good content from the record industry and movie industry.”

Ian was also quick to point out that it costs the band money to produce new records and that he believes that the punishments for stealing music online should fit the crime. “It’s not free for us to make these records,” he said. “You lose your internet – that’s it, no more internet for you. Seriously. Like you drive drunk, you lose the privilege of driving. You download illegally, you lose the privilege of having the internet. Why these service providers don’t stop the torrent sites and put a consequence on this, I have no idea. Everybody complains about the trillions of dollars being lost but nobody does anything about it. Believe me, if I could do something about it, I would.”

Woah, Scott. Lars Ulrich called. Obviously you didn’t get the message.

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