Singer Belladonna Bows Out Of Anthrax Tour

Claiming that the band and its former lead singer Joey Belladonna were unable "to come to a financial agreement," speed metal purveyors Anthrax have announced that their upcoming tour won't feature two frontmen. Late last year, the band announced plans to tour with both Belladonna, who was booted from the band in 1992, and John Bush, Belladonna's replacement.

The band, which opens its tour in support of its latest album "Return of the Killer B's (A's)" (Beyond Music) next week, was to feature Belladonna on the band's older songs, while Bush was to handle vocals on the more recent material. Both lead singers were to perform on the band's rendition of the Temptation's classic "Ball Of Confusion," which appears on the new album.

''We asked Joey to do this because we thought it would be something really cool for the fans, and they could enter a new millennium with a special Anthrax event,'' drummer Charlie Benante said in a statement. ''However, Joey has decided that he doesn't want to take part in the festivities with us. He's the one who's going to miss out in seeing all those happy faces in the crowd that have been waiting for something like this for years, but we don't intend to let our fans down.''

Belladonna appeared with Anthrax at an in-store appearance in Chicago last month, signing autographs for the more-than-500 fans in attendance.

According to a statement issued by the band's publicist, Bush will handle all lead vocal duties on the tour, and set lists will include both older Anthrax material and more recent tracks.

The tour, which is scheduled to hit 21 cities in less than a month, opens Jan. 16 in Springfield, Va.