Breathing Lightning

Anthrax played this song live for the first time on January 27, 2016 in Columbus, Ohio.

The novelist Stephen King was very much an influence on this song. Guitarist and lyricist Scott Ian said: "I feel like, and Stephen King has been such a giant part of my life. His 'Dark Tower' series is… If I had to pick one thing that I love the most from him, it would be 'The Dark Tower' books, 'cause there's seven books, so I don't have to choose one. The character Roland, it's just something that stays with me a lot, this character from those books. So I kind of re-entered that world again. 'Cause I wrote ['Lone Justice'] way back when, on the Spreading The Disease record, which was based on that character, and I decided to re-visit it, because, metaphorically, there's so many things you could use it for. But then I kind of wrap it up all in this giant ball of this Roland character from 'The Dark Tower' series, because I just love that world so much. So I'm kind of weaving in and out of reality and fantasy in that song. And 'Breathing Lightning', of course, is a metaphor for shooting."

Drummer Charlie Benante: "'Breathing Lightning' was a song that… I would call it more of an accessible song on the record. It just came out that way. I just had this really nice, pretty intro, and then it built into this song, and it has a really, really catchy chorus. So I like this song a lot."