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Anthrax (American band)

Anthrax is an American thrash metal band from New York City, formed in 1981 by rhythm guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker. The group is considered one of the leaders of the thrash metal scene from the 1980s and is part of the "Big Four" of the genre, along with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. They were also one of the first thrash metal bands (along with Overkill and Nuclear Assault) to emerge from the East Coast.[1] The band's current lineup consists of Scott Ian, drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Frank Bello, vocalist Joey Belladonna and lead guitarist Jonathan Donais. Anthrax's lineup has changed numerous times over their career, leaving Ian as the only constant member of the band. Ian and Benante (who replaced one-time drummer Greg D'Angelo in 1983) are the only two members to appear on all of Anthrax's albums, while Bello has been a member of Anthrax since 1984, replacing Lilker.

After cycling through a number of members, Anthrax released their debut album, Fistful of Metal (1984), with singer Neil Turbin. Turbin was replaced by Joey Belladonna later that year, stabilizing the band's lineup. Anthrax's third album Among the Living (1987), which brought the band mainstream success for the first time, is recognised as one of the greatest thrash metal albums.[2][3][4][5] The band's next two outings, State of Euphoria (1988) and Persistence of Time (1990), further cemented their reputation as one of the most successful thrash metal bands, with the latter giving Anthrax their first Grammy Award nomination.[6][7] In 1992, Anthrax signed to Elektra Records for $10 million and Belladonna was replaced by John Bush of Armoured Saint. Bush's first album with Anthrax, Sound of White Noise (1993), reached number seven on the Billboard 200 chart (their greatest chart success) and spawned the radio hit "Only". Anthrax's subsequent albums with Bush would experience less critical and commercial success; the band would part ways with Elektra following the release of Stomp 442 (1995) due to a lack of promotional support, and Volume 8: The Threat is Real (1998) suffered from the bankruptcy of their record label.


Bush left Anthrax in 2005, after which the band reunited with Belladonna and lead guitarist Dan Spitz. After Belladonna and Spitz's departure in 2007, Anthrax recruited singer Dan Nelson and commenced work on a new album, although Nelson would part ways with the band in 2009. Following a short-lived reunion with Bush, Belladonna rejoined the band for a third time in 2010. Anthrax's first album with Belladonna in 21 years, Worship Music (2011) was released to critical and commercial success, reaching number twelve on the Billboard 200. The band's most recent album to date, For All Kings, was released in 2016.


Anthrax has released 11 studio albums, several other albums, and 26 singles, including collaborating on a single with American hip hop group Public Enemy. Four of the band's studio albums (Among the Living, State of Euphoria, Persistence of Time and Sound of White Noise) have also achieved gold certifications by the RIAA.[8] According to Nielsen SoundScan, Anthrax sold 2.5 million records in the United States from 1991 to 2004, with worldwide sales of 10 million.

History[edit]

Formation (1981–1982)[edit]

Anthrax was formed in Queens, New York City, on July 18, 1981,[9] by guitarists Scott Ian and Dan Lilker, with Ian's friend Dave Weiss on drums. The band was named after the disease of the same name which Ian saw in a biology textbook, chosen because it sounded "sufficiently evil".[10] Lilker originally intended for Scott Setari to play bass in the band, during their early phases as a cover band.[11] Anthrax's initial lineup was completed by singer John Connelly, and bassist Paul Kahn. Kahn was briefly replaced by bassist Kenny Kushner before Lilker took over on bass. Future Hittman singer Dirk Kennedy replaced Connelly for a few months and the band brought in lead guitarist Greg Walls. Weiss was then replaced early on by drummer Greg D'Angelo, who was recommended to the band by Walls. Ian's younger brother Jason Rosenfeld had been a temporary vocalist until Ian's former schoolmate Neil Turbin joined the band in late August 1982. Turbin joined the band partly because of guitarist Walls, who Turbin later said was "the best guitarist Anthrax ever had".[12] The band recorded its first demo tape during this time.

Ex-members incidents[edit]

In 2012, Anthrax and former vocalist Dan Nelson reached an undisclosed settlement after the vocalist was fired during a 2009 tour.[105]


In October 2014, ex-vocalist Neil Turbin accused guitarist Scott Ian of "fabricating lies" about his split with the band in 1984 to "draw attention" to Ian's autobiography.[106]


In October 2015, former guitarist Dan Spitz took issue with a 2004 Guitar.com article (since offline) which suggested that the band's drummer, Charlie Benante, was responsible for laying down lead guitar on many of the group's classic songs.[107]


In a 2016 interview with Metal Voice,[108] and again in a video that he uploaded to YouTube in December 2020,[109] former guitarist Greg Walls claimed that he had contributed to the writing of the songs on the band's first album, Fistful of Metal, specifically claiming to have written all the music to "Metal Thrashing Mad" and the majority of "Panic" but the band copyrighted the songs without his credit. In the same videos, Walls also claimed that he told Scott to drop the name "Rosenfeld" and simply go by "Scott Ian".[110]

– rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1981–present), lead guitar, lead vocals (1981)

Scott Ian

– drums (1983–present)

Charlie Benante

– bass, backing vocals (1984–2004, 2005–present)

Frank Bello

– lead vocals (1984–1992, 2005–2007, 2010–present)

Joey Belladonna

– lead guitar, backing vocals (2013–present)

Jon Donais

(1984)

Fistful of Metal

(1985)

Spreading the Disease

(1987)

Among the Living

(1988)

State of Euphoria

(1990)

Persistence of Time

(1993)

Sound of White Noise

(1995)

Stomp 442

(1998)

Volume 8: The Threat Is Real

(2003)

We've Come for You All

(2011)

Worship Music

(2016)

For All Kings

Studio albums

(2014). Wiederhorn, Jon (ed.). I'm The Man: The Story of That Guy of Anthrax. Foreword by Kirk Hammett. Boston, MA: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-82334-3. LCCN 2014015428. OCLC 1302076125 – via the Internet Archive.

Ian, Scott

Official website

at AllMusic

Anthrax