ANTHRAX's FRANK BELLO: Canceling Tour In Wake Of Paris Attacks 'Was Never An Option'

ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello has commented on the events of November 13 in Paris, France, when more than 129 people were killed in seven coordinated terrorist attacks.

The greatest number of deaths took place at the Bataclan, a French music venue where EAGLES OF DEATH METAL were performing when terrorists began a siege that ended with 89 people in the club either shot to death or killed in explosions.

A number of artists halted their European treks in the wake of the Paris attacks, including LAMB OF GOD, FOO FIGHTERS, DEFTONES and others.

Speaking to Kaaos TV, Bello was asked if ANTHRAX and European tourmates SLAYER had considered canceling any of their shows because of the recent concert tragedy. He said: "Right after that happened in Paris, the next show, I think we played in Brussels, I think it was, they had a lot of security, with big guns — cops with big guns — bomb-sniffing dogs, and, for the first time — I never saw this before — they had an exit… They came on stage with us for soundcheck and had an exit strategy for the band in case there was an incident. And we had never had this before. So that was a little weird."

He continued: "The thing is, with us — and I'm not speaking for any other band — as long as we didn't hear from the promoter that we had to cancel the tour, it was never an option; us andSLAYER, we were always gonna keep the tour going and play in spite of what's going on, because I don't wanna give in to that. I don't wanna make people make me afraid to play and entertain people and make people get away from their problems for a little while. I think it's really important that people get out and go see bands and not be intimidated and just live their life."

The attacks in Paris led to a military response by France against the radical Islamic organization ISIS, as French jets bombed a series of targets in Syria.

The murders have stepped up worldwide concern over ISIS, as well as a debate in the U.S. over whether to accept Syrian refugees.