REVOLVER Are you getting excited about getting back out there again and playing for the fans?
MIKE HRANICA I’m actually really, really excited. It’s been out longest break in I don’t know how long, without playing shows or recording or anything. Yeah, looking back now feels like it kind of went quick, but then I also feel like it’s been absolutely forever since I’ve gotten to play.

Are you someone that almost, now, feels at home when you’re on the road?
I never really thought that way. I never thought myself to be one of those people, but actually nowadays I actually feel like I might be transforming into someone like that. Because I definitely do enjoy being out on the road and getting to play. It’s weird being home because I just feel like I’m not like, I’m just totally like irrelevant. I’m just very non-fruitful. So, yeah, I’m ready to play.

Are you planning on anything special, production-wise, on the tour?
We haven’t done, like, a proper U.S. headline tour really since the beginning of 2009, right before we put out With Roots Above. We’ve been really excited to be able to do a tour with production for a long time. So when we had the opportunity come up for Dead Throne we’ve been very excited and were definitely putting a lot of effort into building a pretty strong live show.

Anything in particular you can reveal?
I think I can say that our logo will be present.

How did the the idea for Zombie Slay come up?
Since we made the EP, Dan [futureusgalleryWilliams], our drummer, has been talking about wanting to make an app. Dan grew up in a very computer background. He and [futureusgallerykeyboardist] James [futureusgalleryBaney] are the oldest and before we started touring full time Dan was a, like, a computer technician, so he has a very strong and educated background in that. And he always has a lot of ideas and he’s very internet savvy, very social-media driven, so he always has a lot of ideas, online based for different marketing for records and what not. And when we did the Zombie EP he, you know, since we did it, he’s been talking about wanting to make a game and wanting to make an app.

Was the game, like the comic book you put out, always in your mind when working on the EP?
We didn’t have the idea for a game, but there was definitely the idea for some outside of the box, I don’t know, toys I guess, you know? Like, the big thing off the bat was the comic book. But when we did write the EP and we had the idea it was definitely ideas like that that came to mind as far as, like, Wow, you know? With a concept and a theme like this it definitely lends a lot of ability to do projects like this which was, you know, the comic book and now the game.

Are these kind of auxiliary projects to the music going to become more common place for yourselves and other bands?
Yeah, absolutely. The music industry is very much like an online game to me, the way I see it now, as far as a guessing game really, you know? What’s gonna be the next Twitter? What’s gonna be the next Facebook? Where do you wanna lend attention to? The idea of the game was that you didn’t have to know the Zombie EP, or you didn’t have to know the Devil Wears Prada to enjoy killing zombies, which was intentional.

The Zombie EP was a big step for us as far as trying to do something where, you know, if the fans preordered it or they bought it, it wasn’t just gonna be what you get out of every preorder, you know? And we’ve taken relative sort of characteristics of that theme into Dead Throne and definitely trying to make Dead Throne last a while with other ideas we’re working on for it now. But I think games like this are definitely a step forward for bands and for music. I think it’s something that has endless potential to really pull fans into, really secure fans loyalty and give something back. That’s what we always try to do, that’s why we did the EP, was to make sure that the fans had something to enjoy from us and not forget about us, you know, and just move along to another band.

Do you have something already in mind to accompany Dead Throne?
Something I’m working on is just something that I’ve never seen from another band and does the exact same thing as far as really give the fans something and give them more to relate to. It’s a lot more serious than killing zombies on your iPhone.

Have you gotten competitive within the band playing the game?
We could very much make that happen. We have a very competitive touring crew with us, so I’m sure they would love to get involved and try to beat us. But, if we did have something like that, I’ll just say now that [futureusgallerybassist] Andy [futureusgalleryTrick] will probably win.

Andy’s the video game king in the band?
Yeah, he’s good at video games. And I don’t mean to give him credit for that because that seems like the stupidest thing to be good at, in my opinion. But Andy does pick up games and just be extraordinary at them, I suppose.

Is the game gonna keep you occupied during your downtime on the road?
I could definitely see the game keeping us busy on tour, especially European tours. In the U.S., like, we always have our phones and we have like a certain level of familiarity. On European tours, a lot of it comes down to gaming, at least for me. That is the one time where I’ll be playing iPhone games for disgusting amounts of time. So, our Australian tour is coming up before the U.S. tour; I remember the last time I was in Australia, I played iPhone games incessantly, so I can definitely, definitely see this happening again And also we have 19-hour flight on the way home, so…I’ll probably be hitting the zombie game pretty hard then.

A day before Anthrax join the other members of the Big Four—Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth—onstage at Yankee Stadium on September 14, the group will release its first album in eight years, Worship Music (Megaforce). The first track unleashed online from the record was “Fight’em ‘Til You Can’t,” a song about slaying zombies that represented a chance for Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian to combine his passion for music with his passion for the undead monsters. Ian—who is interviewed in the new issue of Revolver, available on newsstands now and online right here—has long been a zombie enthusiast, and he’s even set to play a one the hit TV show The Walking Dead (he’s pictured above on set with special effects guru Greg Nicotero). Fittingly, then, we got the axman to reveal his favorite zombie everything.

Night of the Living Dead
“I think I first saw it in the early ’70s—I was into horror movies since I was a little kid. You gotta remember, when Night of the Living Dead came out, ’68, you didn’t have special effects like we came to know later, but the subject matter at the time was extremely graphic. Night of the Living Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, that was too much for people to handle—they couldn’t deal with that shit. Looking back now, if you just look at it from a production point of view, yeah, Night of the Living Dead looks extremely tame. But at the same time, think about the subject matter: Here comes the relentless undead who are never gonna stop. That’s it—our way of life is over. Even though it doesn’t look as gory and as bloody as other movies that came after, it was the first film to really explore that subject matter of a future that is nothing but bleak.”

Dawn of the Dead
“I thought the original and the remake were both brilliant. That remake is probably the only remake I’ve ever seen that not only was worthy but as a standalone was amazing. I loved that the zombies just did what they were used to doing, so the zombies just went to the mall. I dig that social commentary, because I’ve never been a mall person.”

The Walking Dead
“The comic and the TV show. It’s the most realistic depiction [futureusgalleryof a zombie apocalypse]. The comic book, which I’m a massive fan of, almost moves at a real-life pace. Nobody is safe—there are no real heroes and main characters that just hang around, because it’s reality and people are going to die. That’s what I love so much about Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead: He’s really, really, really put the time and energy and the thought into this. In my mind, it’s a true depiction of what it would be like.”

The Road
“It isn’t a zombie movie, per se, but it really is. There’s no undead walking, but it might as well be. That truly is a post-apocalyptic future that I can wrap my brain around, and I feel like that’s probably how it would be. No one would even really know—shit is just going to stop. Just imagine for one second if all the power just went off—if the grid turned off, for whatever reason, and nobody knew why, and they couldn’t get the power back up. How long would it take for society to just devolve into complete and absolute chaos? Less than a week. There would be riots, and the world would be over in a week, if even that long. The book is an amazing depiction of the bleakest, darkest possible future of this planet—and certainly a possible future that I hope I don’t see in my or my child’s lifetime. The movie captured the essence of the book, although the book still for me… I can think about it and I’ll start to freak out a little bit. Cormac McCarthy’s book boiled down to the simplest love between a father and his child and the knowing that this isn’t going to last and what am I going to do? There’s no hope. There’s no happy ending. For me, the book is a masterpiece.”

“At this moment, I’m standing on a stretch of post-apocalypse interstate in Georgia,” Executive producer, writer, and director Frank Darabont commented from the set, ”littered with abandoned cars and blessing my good luck to be reunited with our amazing cast, and our fantastic directors and crew. Across the board, there are none better. It’s great to be shooting again. I think we’ve embarked on a great season.”

Check out the stills below:

Hi, hello, 911? Oh God, finally. Uh. Not too good, actually. Well, my wife was just bitten in the throat by this…person. I could’ve sworn he was missing his intestines—well, not missing, they were everywhere, but they weren’t…he was sick. He looked sick. Anyway. She stopped moving a few minutes ago, and it sounds like the guy who bit her has a couple of friends with him, and none of them sound too happy that there’s a door between us. Does this have anything to do with all these sirens and that big billow of smoke coming from downtown—wait, hold on. My wife just got up. Honey? You okay?

The dead rising from their graves and attacking the living is one of the oldest stories mankind has to offer. Death is the ultimate destination, and the idea of someone, or some thing in a human body, returning from it suggests to us that all bets are off, here comes the end. And while most metalheads have dreamed of the day they can grab a machete and take on the silent majority, let’s not forget that the gore-soaked end of days is going to be a serious bummer. So here to help you weigh your options—and they’re growing slimmer with each victim—is my list of the Six Most and Least Metal Things About the Zombie Apocalypse.

The Six Most Metal Things About the Zombie Apocalypse:

1) Wholesale murder! Zombies are like Nazis—no one’s going to miss ’em, and they’re good for not much other than being butchered. Ever wanted to exercise your scarier side? Now’s your chance.

2) The downfall of society! Mankind is sick—with greed, with ignorance, with distraction. And nothing gets everyone back on the same page like a horde of ravenous corpses. In a few minutes, your checking account is going to be the last thing on your mind.

3) Death metal will become culturally significant! One of the chief arguments against death metal is that it’s just a bunch of violent fantasies. In the zombie apocalypse, violence is reality, at all times. Here they come—someone cue up “Death Walking Terror.”

4) Everyday access to deadly weapons! When the panic breaks out and people are doing everything they can not to be eaten, no one will care if you toss a TV through a gun store window and grab an AK. In fact, they’ll probably be relieved. Oh, thank God—a man with a huge gun.

5) The chance to murder the people you hate! That teacher who tormented you all through high school? That boss who loved humiliating you in front of everyone? They’re all here. And now it’s legal to put an axe through their head.

6) Repopulating the earth! Hey, you know how you said you wouldn’t sleep with me if I was the last living man on the planet? Well, guess what?

The Six Least Metal Things About the Zombie Apocalypse:

1) No weed! Aw, does it suck to have to wait for your dealer to swing by? Trust me, you’ll remember it fondly when you’re scoping the horde for a walking corpse in tie-dye whose pockets you can search. There! The fat one in the beads!

2) No new tunes! We’ll all be a little too busy to be writing music, and while death metal may be culturally relevant, you just know the zombie war will result in a lot of acoustic let’s-never-forget crap.

3) Uninhibited natural selection! The law of the jungle dictates that only the strong will survive. And that doesn’t mean strong-willed. That jock from high school? He made it out. And he’s a decorated war hero.

4) Death is boring! There was a time when brutal murder was an exciting thing, the kind of idea that could spawn an amazing title track. But much like chocolate or tequila, too much can put you off. Ugh, Jesus, not more unholy carnage. Someone just put some fucking Portishead on.

5) Sexiness no longer exists! Sure, there’ll be a burst of instinct-spawned fucking when the panic first sets in, but after that, it’s just nightmares and the scent of stinking flesh. You nuzzle your girl’s hair and all you smell is decayed eyelid. Gross.

6) The clean-up! The good news is, the human race overcame its undead attackers. The bad news is that there are now mountains of corpses everywhere. Here’s a pitchfork.