Belladonna is not the first singer to be roasted for his rendition of the national anthem. Last month, Pat Monahan and his son got blasted for their version.

Belladonna, who has sung the U.S. national anthem at a number of sporting events over the past several years, spoke to “Panini Unwrapped” about the experience of performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in front of huge crowds of people, many of whom are unfamiliar with his name or the band’s music.

“I just love doing the anthem,” he said. “People get off on it. And I really respect the game and the anthem itself, so it’s a pleasure to be able to be asked to be a part of that.”

Asked how he would compare singing the anthem at a stadium to playing to large audiences composed of heavy metal fans, Joey said: “The anthem is even more tense, because you’re all by yourself, everything goes quiet, and there’s really no key to sing in. I just kind of go out there and just wing it, but I like to keep it traditional. But it is a very unnerving… Once it’s ten minutes before they give you the okay [to go out there and sing], it’s, like, ‘Woah!’ I’ve gotten nervous, but once you get going, you just focus on doing it.”

ANTHRAX has previously released the official music video for “Cursum Perficio”, the fourth single and title track of the band’s album. “Cursum Perficio” arrived on September 18 via Megaforce in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast in Europe. 

Watch “Cursum Perficio” below.