Nearly as much as Metallica or Megadeth, Anthrax was responsible for the emergence of speed and thrash metal. Combining the speed and fury of hardcore punk with the prominent guitars and vocals of heavy metal, they helped create a new subgenre of heavy metal on their early albums. Original guitarists Scott Ian and Dan Spitz were a formidable pair, spitting out lightning-fast riffs and solos that never seemed masturbatory. Unlike Metallica or Megadeth, they had the good sense to temper their often serious music with a healthy dose of humor and realism. After their first album, Fistful of Metal, singer Joey Belladonna and bassist Frank Bello joined the lineup. Belladonna helped take the band farther away from conventional metal clichés, and over the next five albums (with the exception of 1988's State of Euphoria, where the band sounded like they were in a creative straitjacket), Anthrax arguably became the leaders of speed metal. As the '80s became the '90s, they also began to increase their experiments with hip-hop, culminating in a tour with Public Enemy in 1991 and a joint re-recording of PE's classic "Bring the Noise." After their peak period of the late '80s, Anthrax kicked Belladonna out of the band in 1992 and replaced him with ex-Armored Saint vocalist John Bush — a singer that was gruffer and deeper, fitting most metal conventions perfectly. Subsequently, their sound became less unique and their audience shrank slightly as a consequence, and after signing to Elektra for 1993's Sound of White Noise, the group left the label after just one more album, 1995's Stomp 442. At that point, Anthrax — now a four-piece consisting of Ian, Bush, Bello, and drummer Charlie Benante — built their own studio in Yonkers, NY, and after a three-year hiatus returned with their Ignition label debut The Threat Is Real, Vol. 8. 1999 saw the release of Anthrax's very first "hits" collection, titled Return of the Killer A's: The Best Of, also their first release for the Beyond label. The album included a cover of "Ball of Confusion," which featured a duet between current frontman Bush and former vocalist Belladonna. A proposed tour that was to include both vocalists was announced, but on the eve of its launch, Belladonna pulled out, reportedly for monetary reasons. The tour carried on, as Anthrax signed on to participate in a package tour during the summer of 2000 with Mötley Crüe and Megadeth, but left the tour after only playing a handful of dates. Anthrax appeared on the Twisted Sister tribute album Twisted Forever in 2001 (covering the track "Destroyer"), and began recording their next album the same year. In addition, guitarist Ian found time to regularly host the metal television program Rock Show on VH1, plus he appeared as part of the fictional metal band Titannica in the film Run, Ronnie, Run. VH1 programming heads eventually replaced Ian with Sebastian Bach, but the band was ready to head back into the studio anyway. New guitarist Rob Caggiano joined in the spring of 2002, just in time for the recording. A year later, Anthrax made their Sanctuary debut with We've Come for You All. The band's dynamic hadn't changed, and touring in support of that album was met with overwhelming success. The CD/DVD set Music of Mass Destruction: Live in Chicago, which arrived in spring 2004, celebrated Anthrax's two decades in the business. Then, in 2005, Anthrax's entire original lineup of Ian, Spitz, Belladonna, Benante, and Bello reunited for a tour and the CD/DVD retrospective Anhtrology: No Hit Wonders [1985-1991]. Anthrax also issued Alive 2, recorded during their summer 2005 reuninon tour.

 

CURRENT MEMBERS:

Joey Belladonna - vocals (1984-1992, 2005 - ) (Bible Black, Metal Church)
Charlie Benante - Drums/Guitars (Stormtroopers of Death)
Frank Bello - Bass (Helmet)
Scott Ian - Guitars/Vocals (Stormtroopers of Death)
Dan Spitz - guitars (Overkill, Thrasher)

 

FORMER MEMBERS:

Vocals:
John Connelly (1981) (Nuclear Assault, John Connelly Theory)
Jason Rosenfeld (1982) (Reverend)
Neil Turbin (1982-1984)
Matt Fallon (1984) (Steel Fortune)
John Bush (1992-2005) (Armored Saint, Joey Vera)

Guitars:
Greg Walls (1981-1983)
Bob Berry (1983)
Dimebag Darrell (Guest guitarist, 1995-2003) (R.I.P. 12/8/2004) (Pantera, Damageplan)
Paul Crook (M.O.D., Sebastian Bach & Friends, Meatloaf)
Rob Caggiano (2003-2005)

Bass:
Joey Vera (Touring, 2004-2005) (Armored Saint, Fates Warning, Engine, John Arch, Seven Witches)
Danny Lilker (1981-1984) (Guitars, 1981) (Nuclear Assault, The Ravenous, Crucifist, Overlord Exterminator, Brutal Truth, Exit-13, Harter Attack, Hemlock, Holy Moses, Redrum, Stormtroopers of Death, White Heat, Extra Hot Sauce)
Kenny Kushner (1981) (World Bang)
Paul Kahn (1981)

Drums:
Paul Weiss (1981)
Greg D'Angelo (1981-1983) (White Lion, Burning Starr, Cities)

 

Soliders Of Metal (Single 1983)

1.)Soliders Of Metal

2.)Howling Furies

Fistful Of Metal (1984)

1.)Deathrider

2.)Metal Thrashing Mad

3.)I'm Eighteen

4.)Panic

5.)Subjugator

6.)Soliders Of Metal

7.)Death From Above

8.)Anthrax

9.)Across The River

10.)Howling Furies

Note: I'm Eighteen is an Alice Cooper cover. This is the only full length album that contains the line-up of: Neil Turbin-vocals, Dan Spitz-guitars, Scott Ian-guitars, Danny Lilker-bass, Charlie Benante-drums.

Armed And Dangerous (EP 1985)

1.)Armed And Dangerous

2.)Raise Hell

3.)God Save The Queen

4.)Metal Thrashing Mad (Live)

5.)Panic (Live)

6.)Soliders Of Metal

7.)Howling Furies

Note: God Save The Queen is a Sex Pistols cover. First album with Joey Belladonna on vocals and Frank Bello on bass. The last two tracks are actually from the Soliders Of Metal single and feature the Turbin, Spitz, Ian, Lilker, Benante line-up.

Spreading The Disease (1985)

1.)A.I.R.

2.)Lone Justice

3.)Madhouse

4.)S.S.C./Stand Or Fall

5.)The Enemy

6.)Aftershock

7.)Armed And Dangerous

8.)Medusa

9.)Gung-Ho

I'm The Man (EP 1987)

1.)I'm The Man (Censored Version)

2.)I'm The Man (Uncensored Version)

3.)Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

4.)I'm The Man (Live)

5.)Caught In A Mosh (Live)

6.)I Am The Law (Live)

Note: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is a Black Sabbath cover.

Among The Living (1987)

1.)Among The Living

2.)Caught In A Mosh

3.)I Am The Law

4.)Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)

5.)A Skeleton In The Closet

6.)Indians

7.)One World

8.)A.D.I./Horror Of  It All

9.)Imitation Of Life

State Of Euphoria (1988)

1.)Be All, End All

2.)Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

3.)Make Me Laugh

4.)Antisocial

5.)Who Cares Wins

6.)Now It's Dark

7.)Schism

8.)Misery Loves Company

9.)13

10.)Finale

Penikufesin (EP 1989)

1.)Now It's Dark

2.)Antisocial (French version)

3.)Friggin' In The Riggin'

4.)Parasite

5.)Le Sects

6.)Pipeline

Persistence Of Time (1990)

1.)Time

2.)Blood

3.)Keep It In The Family

4.)In My World

5.)Gridlock

6.)Intro To Reality

7.)Belly Of The Beast

8.)Got The Time

9.)H8 Red

10.)One Man Stands

11.)Discharge

12.)Protest And Survive

Note: Track 12 is only on the Japenese version.

Attack Of The Killer B's (Compilation 1991)

1.)Milk (Ode To Billy)

2.)Bring The Noise

3.)Keep It In The Family (Live)

4.)Startin' Up A Posse

5.)Protest And Survive

6.)Chromatic Death

7.)I'm The Man '91

8.)Parasite

9.)Pipeline

10.)Sects

11.)Belly Of The Beast (Live)

12.)N.F.B.(Dallabnikufesin)

13.)I Am The Law

14.)Madhouse (Live) (Only on Japenese versions)

The Sound Of White Noise (1993)

1.)Potters Field

2.)Only

3.)Room For One More

4.)Packaged Rebellion

5.)Hy Pro Glo

6.)Invisible

7.)1000 Points Of Hate

8.)Black Lodge

9.)C11 H17 N2 O2 S Na

10.)Burst

11.)This Is Not An Exit

Notes:  "Poison My Eyes", also from these sessions, was contributed to the Last Action Hero soundtrack. The Japenese release included a bonus CD, which had the following tracklist:

1). Noisegate
2.) Cowboy Song
3). Auf Wiedersehen
4). Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun

 

Live: The Island Years (Live 1994)

1.)Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)

2.)A.I.R.

3.)Parasite

4.)Keep It In The Family

5.)Caught In A Mosh

6.)Indians

7.)Anti-Social

8.)Bring The Noise (with Public Enemy)

9.)I Am The Law

10.)Metal Thrashing Mad

11.)In My World

12.)Now It's Dark

Notes: Tracks 1-8 recorded in Irvine Meadows, California on October 19, 1991. Tracks 9-12 recorded at Electric Lady Studio in front of a live audience for Seton Hall University's radio station (WSOU), on January 28, 1992.

Stomp 442 (1995)

1.)Random Acts Of Senseless Violence

2.)Fueled

3.)King Size

4.)Riding Shotgun

5.)Perpetual Motion

6.)In A Zone

7.)Nothing

8.)American Pompeii

9.)Drop The Ball

10.)Tester

11.)Bare

Note: The 1998 Japense version contains the following bonus tracks:

12.)Remember Tomorrow

13.)Grunt And Click

14.)Watching You

15.)Dethroned Emperor

16.)No Time This Time

17.)Celebrated Summer

The 2001 re-issue on Beyond records contains the following bonus tracks:

12.)Grunt & Click

13.)Dethroned Emperor

14.)Celebrated Summer

15.)Watching You

Original 1998 cover

2003 Re-issue cover

Volume 8: The Threat Is Real (1998)

1.)Crush

2.)Catharsis

3.)Inside Out

4.)Piss 'n' Vinegar

5.)604

6.)Toast To The Extras

7.)Born Again Idiot

8.)Killing Box

9.)Harms Way

10.)Hog Tied

11.)Big Fat

12.)Cupa Joe

13.)Alpha Male

14.)Stealing From A Thief

15.)Pieces

Notes: A limited edition European version of the album contains "Giving The Horns" as track 15 with "Pieces" coming after it as a hidden track. "Giving The Horns" was also a bonus track on the Japenese version. In 2003 Sanctuary records re-released the album with the following bonus tracks:

16.)Giving The Horns

17.)The Bends

18.)Snap/I'd Rather Be Sleeping

We've Come For You All (2003)

1.)Contact

2.)What Doesn't Die

3.)Superhero

4.)Refuse To Be Denied

5.)Safe Home

6.)Any Place But Here

7.)Nobody Knows Anything

8.)Strap It On

9.)Black Dahlia

10.)Cadillac Rock Box

11.)Taking The Music Back

12.)Crash

13.)Think About An End

14.)W.C.F.Y.A. (We've Come For You All)

Music Of Mass Destruction (Live 2004)

1.)What Doesn't Die

2.)Got The Time

2.)Caught In A Mosh

4.)Safe Home

5.)Antisocial

6.)Nobody Knows Anything

7.)Belly Of The Beast

8.)Inside Out

9.)Refuse To Be Denied

10.)I Am The Law

11.)Only

12.)Fueled

13.)Metal Thrashing Mad

The Greater Of Two Evils (Compilation 2004)

1.)Deathrider

2.)Metal Thrashing Mad

3.)Caught In A Mosh

4.)A.I.R.

5.)Among The Living

6.)Caught In A Mosh

7.)Indians

8.)Madhouse

9.)Panic

10.)I Am The Law

11.)Belly Of The Beast

12.)N.F.L.

13.)Be All End All

14.)Gung-Ho

Notes: Recorded live in the studio over the course of two days, "The Greater Of Two Evils" is covering their history from 1984 to 1990, and is made up of 14 classic Anthrax songs the fans demanded by way of the thousands of votes from all over the world received on the band's official web site, www.Anthrax.com. Based on those votes, the band entered Avatar studios in New York City and took a trip back in time to revisit songs from their formative releases "Fistful Of Metal" (1984), "Spreading The Disease" (1985), "Among The Living" (1987), "State Of Euphoria" (1988), and "Persistence Of Time" (1990).

There's a limited edition digipack which contains a three-track-bonus-CD:

1.)Anthrax

2.)Lone Justice

3.)In My World

Anthrology: No Hit Wonders 1985-1991 (Compilation 2005)

Disc 1:

1.)A.I.R.

2.)Lone Justice

3.)Madhouse

4.)The Enemy

5.)Armed And Dangerous

6.)Medusa

7.)Gung-Ho

8.)Among The Living

9.)Caught In A Mosh

10.)I Am The Law

11.)Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)

12.)A Skeleton In The Closet

13.)Indians

14.)Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Black Sabbath cover)

15.)I'm The Man (Def Uncensored radio version)

Disc 2:

1.)Be All, End All

2.)Make Me Laugh

3.)Antisocial (Trust cover)

4.)Who Cares Wins

5.)Now It's Dark

6.)Finale

7.)Time

8.)Keep It In The Family

9.)In My World

10.)Intro The Reality

11.)Belly Of The Beast

12.)Got The Time (Joe Jackson cover)

13.)Discharge

14.)Bring The Noise (with Public Enemy)

15.)Antisocial (French version)

Alive 2: The Music (Live 2005)

1.)Among The Living

2.)Caught In A Mosh

3.)I Am The Law

4.)A.I.R.

5.)N.F.L.

6.)Deathrider

7.)Medusa

8.)In My World

9.)Indians

10.)Time

11.)Be All, End All

12.)Antisocial

Caught In A Mosh: BBC Live In Concert (Live 2007)

Disc 1:

1.)A.I.R.

2.)Metal Thrashing Mad

3.)Panic

4.)The Enemy

5.)I Am The Law

6.)Madhouse

7.)Howling Furies

8.)Medusa

9.)Armed And Dangerous

10.)Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Black Sabbath cover)

11.)God Save The Queen (Sex Pistols cover)

12.)Gung-Ho

Disc 2:

1.)Among The Living

2.)Caught In A Mosh

3.)Madhouse

4.)I Am The Law

5.)Medusa

6.)Indians

7.)God Save The Queen (Sex Pistols cover)

8.)A.I.R.

9.)I'm The Man

Notes: Disc 1 was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on Febuary, 15th 1987. Disc 2 was recorded at Donnington on August 22nd, 1987.

Madhouse (Single 1986)

1.)Madhouse

2.)A.I.R.

3.)God Save The Queen

Note: Issued as a 12" picture disc.

I Am The Law (Single 1987)

1.)I Am The Law

2.)I'm The Man

3.)Bud E. Luvbomb And Satan's Lounge Band

Note: Bud E. Luvbomb And Satan's Lounge Band can only be found on this single. Also issued as a picture disc.

Indians (Single 1987)

1.)Indians

2.)Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

3.)Taint

Note: Taint never appears anywhere else except on this single.

Make Me Laugh (Single 1988)

1.)Make Me Laugh

2.)Friggin' In The Riggin'

3.)Antisocial (Live)

Note: Friggin' In The Riggin' is a Sex Pistols cover.

Anti-Social (Single 1989)

1.)Anti-Social

2.)Parasite

3.)Le Sects

Got The Time (Single 1990)

1.)Got The Time

2.)I'm The Man (Illest version ever, live in Japan)

3.)Who Put This Together

In My World (Single 1990)

1.)In My World

2.)Keep It In The Family

Bring The Noise (Single 1991)

1.)Bring The Noise

2.)Keep It In The Family (live)

3.)I Am The Law '91

Hy Pro Glo (Single 1993)

1.)Hy Pro Glo (edit)

2.)London

3.)Room For One More (Live at Irvine Meadows, CA)

Only (Single 1993)

Part I:

1.)Only (Radio edit)

2.)Cowboy Song

3.)Sodium Pentathol

Part II:

1.)Only (Remix)

2.)Auf Wiedersehen

3.)Noisegate

Notes: There was a cassette verion that included a remix of "Potters Field" along with the edited title track.

COVER ART COMING SOON

Room For One More (Single 1993)

1.)Room For One More

2.)Hy Pro Glo

Notes: This was a promo only single.

Black Lodge (Single 1993)

1.)Black Lodge (Black Strings Mix)

2.)Black Lodge (Tremelo Mix)

3.)Black Lodge (Mad To Mellow Mix)

4.)Love Her All I Can (Kiss cover)

5.)Cowboy Song

Fueled (Single 1995)

1.)Fueled

2.)Watchin You (Kiss cover)

3.)Celebrated Summer

Note: European only single.

High Octane (Single 1995)

1.)Random Acts Of Senseless Violence

2.)Fueled

3.)King Size

Bordello Of Blood (Single 1996)

1.)Bordello Of Blood (Edit)

Notes: Promo single, came in a card sleeve.

US Cover

European Covers

Nothing (Single 1996)

US Version:

1.)Nothing

2.)Fueled (Remix)

3.)Remember Tomorrow (Iron Maiden cover)

4.)Grunt & Click

5.)No Time This Time

European Part I:

1.)Nothing

2.)Fueled (Remix)

3.)Remember Tomorrow (Iron Maiden cover)

4.)Grunt & Click

Europena Part II:

1.)Nothing

2.)Dethroned Emperor

3.)No Time This Time

NO COVER ART

Born Again Idiot (Single 1998)

1.)Born Again Idiot

2.)Giving The Horns

3.)Phantom Lord (Metallica cover)

Inside Out (Single 1998)

1.)Inside Out

2.)Snap/I'd Rather Be Sleeping (D.R.I. cover)

3.)Phantom Lord (Metallica cover)

4.)The Bends

Ball Of Confusion (1999)

1.)Ball Of Confusion (Edit)

2.)Ball Of Confusion (Album version)

Safe Home (2003)

1.)Safe Home (Radio Edit)

2.)Safe Home

3.)Taking The Music Back

Taking The Music Back (2003)

1.)Taking The Music Back

2.)Ghost

3.)No Exit (U2 cover)

4.)Next To You (The Police cover)

Notes: This is an enhanced CD and contains the following video tracks:

1.)Safe Home

2.)Taking The Music Back