Anthrax (band)

Anthrax
Anthrax performing in August 2009 at Knebworth, England.
Background information
Origin	New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Heavy metal, thrash metal, speed metal.
Years active	1981-present
Labels	Megaforce, Island, Elektra, Ignition, Beyond, Sanctuary, Universal
Associated acts	Stormtroopers of Death, Nuclear Assault, Damnocracy, Brutal Truth, White Lion, Armored Saint, Fates Warning, Helmet, Overkill
Website	www.anthrax.com
Members
Scott Ian Charlie Benante Frank Bello Rob Caggiano John Bush
Former members
See: List of Anthrax band members

Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene and is notable for being the first to combine heavy metal with rap music. When thrash metal began to gain a major following in the mid-to-late 1980s, Anthrax were dubbed one of the "big four" of thrash metal alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer.^[1]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early days (1981) 1.2 Neil Turbin era (1982–1984) 1.3 Joey Belladonna era (1985–1992) 1.4 John Bush era (1992–2004) 1.5 Among the Living reunion (2005–2007) 1.6 Dan Nelson era (2007–2009) 2 Side projects 3 Guest musicians 4 Band members 4.1 Current 4.2 Former 5 Discography 6 Appearances in other media 7 References 8 External links

History

Early days (1981)

Anthrax was formed in mid-1981 by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker. They found the band's name in a biology textbook and claimed it because it sounded sufficiently evil to them.^[2] John Connelly jammed with them on vocals a few times while trying out for the band, but never actually joined. He was a roadie for the band for many of their early shows, and eventually formed Nuclear Assault with Lilker in 1984. The initial line-up of Anthrax was rounded out by drummer Dave Weiss and bassist Kenny Kushner. Kushner was not felt to be adequate for the band's needs and was replaced very early by Paul Kahn, but Kahn also did not work out for the band, so Lilker chose to take over on bass and Greg Walls joined as lead guitarist. Vocalist Neil Turbin joined the group after Ian's 14-year-old brother Jason Rosenfeld was a temporary singer. Weiss soon was replaced by Greg D'Angelo.

Neil Turbin era (1982–1984)

Neil Turbin joined the band in late August 1982 and performed two weeks later at Great Gildersleeves on September 12, 1982. This line-up made frequent live performances in the New York/New Jersey tri-state area. The line-up recorded a NWOBHM-sounding demo in July 1982. Greg Walls left in the summer of 1983, and Bob Berry, who was recommended to Turbin by Rhett Forrester of Riot, temporarily replaced him.

Berry's stay was short and he was replaced by Dan Spitz who had previously been with New Jersey thrashers Overkill. With Spitz, a second demo was recorded. In September, Charlie Benante replaced Greg D'Angelo. This lineup recorded the "Soldiers of Metal" 7" single, produced by Ross the Boss of Manowar. The B-side of this single was "Howling Furies" from the previous demo recorded with Greg D'Angelo on drums, and is the only official Anthrax recording to feature his work. It was this demo that won the band a recording deal with Megaforce Records. Anthrax recorded their debut album, Fistful of Metal, in late 1983. The album reached #8 on the British Charts and garnered some other international attention. It was released in January 1984, followed by a US tour, during which tensions grew between Danny Lilker and the rest of the band due to Lilker's non-paying of rehearsal rent, lateness, sloppiness and unprofessional demeanor.^{[citation needed]} Lilker was released from the band and he went on to form Nuclear Assault with former roadie John Connelly. Greg D'Angelo joined White Lion in 1984.

Joey Belladonna era (1985–1992)

Charlie Benante's nephew Frank Bello replaced Lilker on bass guitar. Shortly after, in late August 1984, Turbin was fired. Matt Fallon (who later preceded Sebastian Bach as vocalist with Skid Row) was a temporary replacement and the band also appeared as a four-piece billed as The Diseased, with Scott Ian on vocals. They performed a few hardcore punk covers.

Turbin formed his own band, Deathriders, in early 2003 and released an album entitled Back With a Vengeance in 2009. He has stated that he does not want reconciliation with Scott Ian and Charlie Benante.^[3]

Vocalist Joey Belladonna debuted live with the band on February 27, 1985, and an EP titled "Armed and Dangerous" was recorded. Some older material was added to fill out the EP including two live tracks from early 1984, and the two songs from the "Soldiers of Metal" 7". Later the same year, Ian, Benante and Danny Lilker colloborated with Billy Milano to produce the satricial album Speak English or Die under the name Stormtroopers of Death.

Anthrax's next album, Spreading the Disease, came out in the same year and was followed by US and European touring. The follow-up album Among the Living, recorded during 1986 and released in January 1987, developed the band's humorous and more experimental side. Anthrax radically departed from the "traditional" heavy metal look in favour of brightly colored "surfer" jam shorts style of appearance and began a lyrical trend that focused on movies, comic books and Stephen King novels, elements that became typical for fans to expect. "I Am the Law" is a tribute to comic book hero Judge Dredd. "Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)" ("nise fukin life" spelt backwards) is about comedian John Belushi's drug addiction and death. "Indians" and the mosh pit anthem "Caught in a Mosh" are still considered Anthrax classics today. The album was dedicated to the memory of Cliff Burton, the late Metallica bass player. "I Am the Law" was issued as a single, backed with "I'm the Man", a song that combined rap with metal, and Anthrax toured Europe with Metallica and Metal Church. "I'm the Man" was originally intended to be a teaming with Beastie Boys, although this did not occur until a 1991 remake.

Anthrax stuck to its thrash metal formula on the 1988 album State of Euphoria. The single "Antisocial," originally by French heavy metal band Trust, soon became a staple on MTV in regular rotation as well as on Headbangers Ball. The group continued to expand its horizons by touring the US with funk metal band Living Colour; the previous year they further indulged their appreciation for rap by appearing on the title track of U.T.F.O.'s album Lethal.

In 1989, MTV held a contest in which the winner would get to have the band come to their home and trash it. The contest was won by a female fan, and the band subsequently came to her house and caused havoc. This was the inspiration for the band's 1992 appearance on Married... with Children, where the main characters of the show win a similar television contest.

In 1990, Anthrax released the more serious Persistence of Time to even greater success than State of Euphoria. The album was considerably darker, more technical and progressive than Anthrax's previous work. This struck a chord with metal fans who had been previously wary of embracing the band because of their "silly" side. The biggest single off the album was a cover of Joe Jackson's "Got the Time". Jackson himself even claimed that he enjoyed Anthrax's cover version of his song.^{[citation needed]} In My World" and "Belly of the Beast" were also successful.

During 1991 they collaborated with pioneering rap artists Public Enemy on a joint version of "Bring the Noise". This was a hit, and the band played a successful joint tour with Public Enemy.

John Bush era (1992–2004)

The EP "Attack of the Killer Bs" was recorded during 1991, featuring a new version of "I'm the Man" and a cover of "Bring the Noise" on which Scott Ian did the vocals. A short time later during 1992, Joey Belladonna was fired from Anthrax.

He was replaced by John Bush, formerly of Armored Saint who had recently disbanded. Ten years earlier, Bush had been approached by Metallica to sing for them. The band also left Island Records and signed with Elektra Records to release Sound of White Noise in 1993.

Though it was quite a change from their earlier work with a dark, rockier feel, Sound of White Noise received mostly positive reviews and "Only" was a major hit (in the liner notes for Return of the Killer A's, Ian says James Hetfield once told him it was a "perfect song"). In keeping with the band's eye for unlikely collaborations, classical composer Angelo Badalamenti provided music for the track "Black Lodge," a tribute to the TV show "Twin Peaks". Importantly, the album demonstrated that Anthrax had at last shed its sometimes cartoonish outlook in favor of mature, thoughtful songwriting, a trend which had begun on the previous album Persistence of Time.

During the hiatus between Sound of White Noise and Stomp 442, longtime guitarist Dan Spitz left the band to quit music and become a watchmaker^[4], leaving Anthrax officially a quartet for years. In 1995, the band released Stomp 442,, on which Charlie Benante played much of the lead guitar parts, assisted by Paul Crook -- who would become the band's touring lead guitarist for several years -- and Dimebag Darrell from Pantera. Elektra refused to provide real promotion for the album and it quickly disappeared without a trace. Upset at what they felt was an attempt by the label to kill the album, Anthrax severed ties with Elektra.

Anthrax signed with independent label Ignition Records for the 1998 release Volume 8: The Threat Is Real that once again saw Benante playing lead guitar along side Crook and Dimebag. Pantera's Phil Anselmo also guested. Unfortunately, almost immediately after tghe album's release, the label went bankrupt and disappeared, making the album difficult to find. Regrouping, the band signed Beyond Records and released the greatest-hits album Return of the Killer A's, although Beyond soon went out of business as well. During this period, a two-vocalist tour featuring both Joey Belladonna and John Bush was proposed and set to go, until Bush decided to pull out at the last minute.^{[citation needed]}

During the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, the band altered its website to provide information about the disease after people began simply typing anthrax.com into their browsers. Amid what could have become a PR nightmare for the band, Anthrax issued a press release on October 10, 2001, that jokingly mentioned that they were going to change the name of the band to "something more friendly, like 'Basket Full of Puppies'."^[5] They later sank all name-change rumors that erupted from the press release at the New York Steel 9/11 benefit concert in November 2001, when they took the stage wearing boiler suits with a different word on each one that spelled out the sentence "WE'RE NOT CHANGING OUR NAME". A picture of the band wearing the suits can be seen on the inner tray card of We've Come for You All.

Despite the hardships and various legal entanglements regarding who had the rights to certain albums, Anthrax managed to continue. In 2002, new lead guitarist Rob Caggiano joined, and the following year the band released We've Come for You All, through Sanctuary Records—an album hailed by the metal press as a return to form.

In early 2004, the band returned to the studio to record The Greater of Two Evils—a "live in the studio" re-recording of the band's early work with the then-current lineup. Shortly afterward, bassist Frank Bello announced he was leaving the band to join Helmet and was replaced for touring purposes by Fates Warning and former Armored Saint member Joey Vera.

Among the Living reunion (2005–2007)

On April 1, 2005, the band announced that the Among the Living lineup of Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Dan Spitz, Joey Belladonna, and Frank Bello would be reforming. On some dates of the resultant tour, they performed Among the Living in its entirety for the first time. At the conclusion of the tour, it was expected the reformed line-up would begin a new album, but on January 24, 2007, Scott Ian posted a message to Blabbermouth.net,^[6]

Finally, we're going back to work. We're going to Chicago to work our asses off and write a record. [...] One problem... no singer. We were offered a direct support slot on a major tour this spring and Joey [Belladonna] decided he did not want to move forward. The reunion is over. We tried to make it work but I guess that's the problem, you can't 'make' something work. [...] My curiosity was piqued by the idea of what Anthrax would sound like now with Joey singing. Over the last few months we've discussed this endlessly to no avail. The problems that were there could not be fixed no matter how hard we tried and in the end Joey made the decision.

Following that announcement, speculation was cast over whether John Bush would return. Bush had stated on February 7 that he was not ready to commit to Anthrax again.^[7] In May 2007, Scott Ian said that the announcement of who will be singing for Anthrax would be made at the end of June, though the actual announcement didn't come until December.

In June 2007, Bush was interviewed by Rock Hard about being asked to return to Anthrax, and whether or not he was bitter about the reunion. He replied:

"No. Bitter is not the way I wanna be about anything. I'm not bitter at all. There was probably not a perfect way to do that, what they did. It was like, how are they gonna say...? I mean, they asked me to do it—the tour with Joey—and it just wasn't right for me, I couldn't do it. So, whatever...if they felt they had to do that, I understand. It wasn't like I was going, 'Yeah, do it. That's great.' But once it happened, I was like, 'okay.' It was like a book ended. It's okay. I mean, it's much better to look at it that way than to be angry or frustrated, 'cause I really don't feel that way."

When asked if he was approached to rejoin the band once Belladonna left the group, Bush said,

"I was asked to write, and it just wasn't right for me. I couldn't go back and say, 'Here I am...' It would be like coming in with my tail between my legs, and that's not right for me. I just couldn't do that. It just didn't feel right to do that. It was about soul, your gut. How does that feel? Does it feel right? Good enough. Sold. Answer."

Bush subsequently did appear with Anthrax for Sonisphere 2009 festival in the UK. Due to the overwhelming fan response following his performance, a 'Bring Back Bush' campaign was set up and subsequently endorsed by Scott Ian.^[8]

Dan Nelson era (2007–2009)

On December 10, 2007, it was announced the band's new vocalist would be Dan Nelson, formerly of Devilsize.^[9] Around the same time, it was confirmed that Rob Caggiano would return as lead guitarist.

On May 28, 2008 Anthrax played their first show in 19 months at The Double Door in Chicago. Along with new singer Nelson, the band played new material which was well received by the sold-out crowd despite some equipment problems. Anthrax then played in South Korea for the first time on August 17, 2008.

In his monthly Food Coma column,^[10] which was posted on December 22, 2008, Anthrax's Scott Ian revealed that he'd "been in the studio working on the new Anthrax album since November 4." Ian went on to say that drums, bass and rhythm had been laid down on a total of 19 tracks, and that the process of laying down vocals had begun. "We should be mixing at the end of January and soon after that giving birth to a really pissed off, loud, fast and heavy child."^[10] In a subsequent May 2009 Food Coma column,^[11] Scott announced that the album was being mixed by Dave Fortman whose previous credits include both of Evanescence's multi-platinum selling albums and Slipknot's album All Hope Is Gone. In a post to the Anthrax website, Charlie Benante stated that "Worship Music should be out in May".^[12]

On Saturday March 7, 2009 Anthrax played Bogota, Colombia for the first time in their career, opening for Iron Maiden. Then, on July 21, 2009 manager Izvor Zivkovic confirmed the departure of Dan Nelson, due to illness. Nelson has since denied this, saying: "I was never seriously ill or sick at all, as reported in Anthrax’s 7/17/09 press release. This extremely inflammatory statement hurt me tremendously. This statement misled fans, friends and family members into believing that I was seriously ill when I was not. I was not aware such a statement was being issued and it came as a total shock to me, as I’m sure it did to all of you. It was the other band members’ decision to cancel the tour dates, not mine. I was ready, willing and able to do my job. After issuing the press release the other band members decided, on their own accord, that I had 'resigned' from the band. I never resigned from the band."^[13].

On September 3, 2009, it was announced that John Bush would be yet again singing with Anthrax at the Loud Park '09 Festival in Japan on October 17.^[14]

Anthrax with John Bush are also scheduled to take part in the February 2010, 5-show touring Soundwave 2010 festival in Australia. While details still aren't clear as to whether or not Bush's membership in the band is permanent, Benante has said that the band is "in the process of regrouping with [Bush]. We played two shows with him, and we are looking forward to proceeding with this lineup."^[15]

Anthrax has also confirmed a "big 4 tour" (with Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer) as part of the 2010 Sonisphere festival. This will be the first time that all four bands have played together. ^[16]

Side projects

Several members have launched affiliated side projects, such as Scott Ian's project with Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, original Anthrax bassist/lead guitarist Danny Lilker and Billy Milano called Stormtroopers of Death. After leaving Anthrax, Joey Belladonna began a series of solo albums, Belladonna, Spells of Fear, and 03, and John Bush is involved with his former band Armored Saint and original Anthrax vocalist Neil Turbin has been touring Japan, Europe, Mexico and US with his band Deathriders and recording their debut album "Back With A Vengeance" slated for release in 2009.

Guest musicians

A number of Anthrax albums have featured guests, most notably Dimebag Darrell, who appeared on "King Size" and "Riding Shotgun" from Stomp 442; "Inside Out" and "Born Again Idiot" from Volume 8: The Threat Is Real; and "Strap It On" and "Cadillac Rock Box" from We've Come for You All. Vocalist Roger Daltrey of The Who has also appeared on the band's We've Come for You All disc, providing backing vocals for "Taking the Music Back". Phil Anselmo of Pantera appears on Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, on the song "Killing Box." Public Enemy worked with Anthrax on a metal version of, "Bring the Noise" from Public Enemy's album "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back".

Band members

Current

• John Bush – lead vocals (1992–2005, since 2009)
• Rob Caggiano – lead guitars (2001–2005, since 2007)
• Scott Ian – rhythm guitars, backing vocals (since 1981)
• Frank Bello – bass, backing vocals (1984–2004, since 2005)
• Charlie Benante – drums, percussion (since 1983)

Former

Lead vocals John Connelly (1981) Dirk Kennedy (1981) Jason Rosenfeld (1981–1982) Neil Turbin (1982–1984) Matt Fallon (1984) Joey Belladonna (1984–1992, 2005–2007) Dan Nelson (2007–2009) Drums Dave Weiss (1981) Greg D'Angelo (1981–1983)

Lead guitars Danny Lilker (1981) Greg Walls (1981–1983) Bob Berry (1983) Dan Spitz (1983–1995, 2005–2007) Paul Crook (1995–1998) Bass Kenny Kushner – bass (1981) Paul Kahn – bass (1981) Danny Lilker (1981–1984) Joey Vera (2004–2005)

Discography

• Fistful of Metal (1984)
• Spreading the Disease (1985)
• Among the Living (1987)
• State of Euphoria (1988)
• Persistence of Time (1990)
• Sound of White Noise (1993)
• Stomp 442 (1995)
• Volume 8: The Threat Is Real (1998)
• We've Come for You All (2003)
• Worship Music (TBA)^[17]

Appearances in other media

Anthrax has made several appearances on television, including the programs Married... with Children, WWE Raw, NewsRadio, Cheers, and Ask Dr. Ruth among others. Scott Ian has a cameo in the film Run Ronnie Run ( also performing on the soundtrack as part of the band Titannica) and the band appear in the 2003 comedy Calendar Girls. Their song "Madhouse" was used in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in-game radio station V-Rock and in Guitar Hero II. The song "Now It's Dark" was also converted into simlish on the metal radio station for The Sims PC game. Their song "Caught in a Mosh" was featured in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, and it is also featured on Guitar Hero: Smash Hits. In 2006, guitarist Scott Ian was a cast member of VH1's reality show SuperGroup and is also featured on many other VH1 shows such as I Love the 80s and I Love the 90s. Anthrax contributed a song to The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience CD, a cover of the Beastie Boys song "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun". They also contributed a song, Poison My Eyes, to The Last Action Hero soundtrack and provided the title track on the Bordello of Blood soundtrack. Anthrax also worked on the Soundtrack to the John Carpenter film, Ghosts of Mars, working with the Director and other Musicians rather than writing their own songs. On the compilation album ECW:Extreme Music Anthrax recorded a cover of the Metallica song Phantom Lord.

References

External links

• Official website
• Interview with Dan Nelson and Joey Z

v • d • e Anthrax Scott Ian • Charlie Benante • Frank Bello • Rob Caggiano Dan Lilker • Greg D'Angelo • Neil Turbin • Dan Spitz • Matt Fallon • Joey Belladonna • John Bush • Joey Vera • Dan Nelson Studio albums Fistful of Metal • Spreading the Disease • Among the Living • State of Euphoria • Persistence of Time • Sound of White Noise • Stomp 442 • Volume 8: The Threat Is Real • We've Come for You All • Worship Music Live albums The Island Years • Music of Mass Destruction • Alive 2 Extended plays Armed and Dangerous • I'm the Man • Penikufesin • Inside Out • Summer 2003 Compilations Attack of the Killer B's • Return of the Killer A's • Madhouse: The Very Best of Anthrax • The Greater of Two Evils • Anthrology: No Hit Wonders (1985-1991) Related articles Discography • Band members • Stormtroopers of Death • Nuclear Assault • Armored Saint

v • d • e Stormtroopers of Death Charlie Benante • Scott Ian • Dan Lilker • Billy Milano Demos Crab Society North Studio albums Speak English or Die • Bigger Than the Devil • Rise of the Infidels Live albums Live at Budokan Related bands Anthrax • M.O.D. • Nuclear Assault

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