ANTHRAX has abandoned plans to utilize the services of SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor on its next album due to scheduling conflicts with Taylor's other projects. ANTHRAX is said to be currently looking for a new singer to join the fold, although this has not yet been officially confirmed by the band or its management.

ANTHRAX split with singer Joey Belladonna in January, less than two years after reuniting with him and other members of the band's "classic" lineup of the '80s and early '90s. Vocalist John Bush had been a member of the band before that, from 1992 to 2005.

Taylor confirmed that he was working with ANTHRAX on material for their next studio album in a June 2007 interview with Germany's Rock Hard magazine. Asked if he would become the group's vocalist, Taylor said, "It's been bandied about. I'm not saying anything right now because all it's been is just talked about...It kind of started as a joke. And then the more we talked about it, the more serious it got. I'm gonna at least help them out. It's kind of a dream come true — ANTHRAX is one of my favorite bands."

Taylor said in June that he and ANTHRAX were "taking baby steps," but that he had written lyrics for eight or nine songs. He also admitted that while he was interested in singing for ANTHRAX, "I'm in two huge bands right now. So it's like I barely get enough time to sleep, let alone do another band."

Taylor is currently on the road with STONE SOUR and is scheduled to regroup with SLIPKNOT later in the year. It is also unlikely that Taylor would be able to record with ANTHRAX since he is signed to Roadrunner Records (ANTHRAX is believed to still have a European record deal with Nuclear Blast).