title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: Police initially stated that a security officer allegedly fell unconscious after feeling a prick to his neck and that he had a puncture wound consistent with an injection. It was initially reported by "The Wall Street Journal" that part of the investigation into the deaths was to determine if drugs laced with fentanyl were taken by concertgoers and potentially contributed to the deaths of some. On November 8, HPD emphasized that the drugging theory was unconfirmed, while toxicology experts and concert attendees cast doubt on its validity. On November 9, Chief Finner confirmed that evidence of drugs on the festival grounds existed, but it was not clear what those drugs were. On November 10, Chief Finner confirmed the security guard who made the allegations was located and that his story was not consistent with the reporting of injected drugs, clarifying he was actually struck in the head and fell unconscious.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: On December 16, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science's medical examiner concluded the cause of death for all 10 victims was accidental compressive asphyxiation, with one of the 10 having a contributing cause as well from the combined toxic effects of cocaine, methamphetamine and ethanol in his system. Houston Police Department's homicide and narcotics divisions' investigation into the incident is still ongoing.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: On December 22, the United States House of Representatives' Committee on Oversight and Reform announced the launch of a bipartisan investigation into Live Nation's role in the incident, requesting in a letter to its CEO Michael Rapino documents be overturned by January 7, 2022, related to reports including the company's withholding of pay for employees until they signed revised contracts that released them from liability, the delay in stopping the concert in the 40 minutes after a mass-casualty incident was declared, and improper training for the medical staff on-duty. The committee also requested Rapino attend their briefing on the matter on January 12. "Variety" reported on January 7, 2022, that Live Nation had begun providing relevant information in response to the committee's requests, the company had been granted an extension to complete their request and the briefing would likely take place in early February. On January 14, HPD announced on Twitter the establishment of a public-facing FBI website seeking photo and video from the main venue area that night between 8 and 11 p.m. which attendees could upload to their portal to capture all possible evidence for a complete investigation. A law enforcement expert working with one of the plaintiffs criticized the length of time it took for the department to launch the website to "Rolling Stone" while another lawyer tempered concerns the outlet presented that valuable data was gone forever given the time by clarifying plaintiffs likely already had it stored.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: Lawyers for the victims and local officials, including Harris County judge Lina Hidalgo, proposed an independent investigation to avoid conflicts of interest, and Chief Finner indicated on November 10 he would be open to it if the HPD's investigation revealed there was a need, however, subsequent reporting indicated the ability of the county to take action had been complicated by Finner's announcement of his own investigation and by Scott's ties to and investment in the city. The latter was questioned by several outlets as to whether it factored into Scott being granted less scrutiny and more leeway regarding usual concert rules that night. Amid a conflict over jurisdiction between the city and the county on instituting additional permitting at NRG Park post-incident, Mayor Turner also said he would not wait for the county commissioners to institute changes before taking action on his own.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: The following week, crowd management expert and head of L.A.-based Crowd Management Strategies, Paul Wertheimer, who served on a task force following The Who concert disaster (1979), argued to "The Washington Post" that only an independent commission would provide a satisfactory analysis and to "Texas Monthly" that until festival organizers were found criminally liable for their role in fatal disasters, a punishment he said rarely happened, no progress would be made towards preventing a future disaster. On November 15, despite what she described as public and private lobbying and clarification she did not wish to interfere with the HPD investigation, Judge Hidalgo could not get three votes on the Harris County Commissioners Board to have a county auditor pick a firm to do an assessment then give recommendations and best practices. Instead, Judge Hidalgo joined her colleagues for a unanimous vote for an internal review by Harris County Administrator David Berry of the safety practices at scheduled outdoor events at NRG Park, HCSCC and the Harris County Houston Sports Authority, in coordination with Mayor Turner's office and relevant departments. The commissioners' reasoning was initially unclear as executive sessions were not public, however, Commissioner Adrian Garcia, a former HPD officer, indicated prior to the session his concern about the county being exposed to liability from new revelations. Hidalgo later expressed her concerns on whether Administrator Berry would come back with actionable lessons that were not vague and soon forgotten. Local political observers noted Garcia's foresight as to the likely damage to his career had he granted an independent investigation.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: In response to inquiries about the 40-minute delay after a mass casualty declaration, Chief Finner later cited, in addition to his deference to festival authorities on the decision to stop the show, concerns about possible riots with a younger crowd, saying that "you cannot just close when you have over 50,000 individuals". Responding to eyewitness allegations of two large mosh pits several concertgoers attempted to form towards the front of the crowd, Finner similarly deferred to Live Nation on culpability. Numerous outlets and live entertainment experts disputed both explanations, citing clauses in Houston's charter for what qualified as an emergency as well as intermediate steps that could've been taken such as a longer show pause, partial evacuation, or emergency messaging on the speakers or video boards, none of which were utilized. Finner's reasoning as to why deference had to be given to festival organizers to stop the show was not clarified as of November 24.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: Chief Peña told "The New York Times" on November 7 that he felt Scott and the organizers were the people responsible to stop the show, explaining that the one person who can really call for and get a tactical pause when something goes wrong is the performer, clarifying it would have been very helpful if Scott had said 'Hey, shut this thing down and turn on the lights until this thing gets corrected'. Chief Finner said on Twitter following a press conference on November 10 that HPD had told organizers to shut down the performance while at least one person was receiving CPR, but did not clarify when or whether the show stopped after police had made the request.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: Scott’s spokesperson Stephanie Rawlings-Blake called Peña's claim ludicrous, citing the festival operations’ chain of command for Scott’s lack of authority to stop the show and a communications breakdown in an interview on CBS News, a statement whose logic was ridiculed in an opinion piece by "Variety" and called implausible. Scott’s lawyer Ed McPherson called Finner and Peña's claims blame-shifting and inconsistent to several outlets, citing the former's implied retraction of an initial claim that concerns about rioting explained the delay for their response, prior precedent with HPD shutting off power and sound at the 2019 iteration of the festival when it ran 5 minutes over, as well as video of Houston cops seen taking photos and video approximately 15 to 25 minutes after a mass-casualty event was declared. He also supported the initial reporting of his client’s lack of knowledge of the events that transpired until the following day and defended Scott’s calls to rage as simply a form of audience engagement, pointing to Scott’s attempts to help fans and distractions from the lights and his earpiece.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: "USA Today"’s Editorial Board called Chief Finner’s initial claim of concern about rioting to explain the procedural delay in stopping the show inexplicable, noting the event was not a "sovereign entity, where emissaries negotiate a conclusion", and called for city or county officials who relinquished their authority to be properly investigated. Videos of other concerts being paused by artists such as Kurt Cobain, Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Dave Grohl, ASAP Rocky, Chris Martin, Mike Shinoda, and Lil Pump to address safety concerns and medical emergencies soon went viral in response to the incident. Artist SZA who finished her set at Astroworld at about 8:30 p.m. prior to Scott's countdown stopped her concert less than a week later in Salt Lake City due to someone fainting in the audience, insisting her team bring them water, and arguing during the break for a culture shift for shows going forward.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: In Facebook posts made during and immediately after the event, Houston security director for CSC Jason Huckabey blamed festival attendees, who he called "idiots...from 15-22 in age," while attributing deaths to a generation that "has no value in other peoples lives" and "waves of dumbasses breaking down fences trying to rush in" while his guards tried to halt them.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: Describing the events as an impossible feat for which he would have nightmares the rest of his life, ParaDocs CEO Pollak defended his on-hand event staff of more than 70 to reporters on November 15, emphasizing his firm did not have the ability to stop the concert which he felt personally should have been done earlier, but understood early concerns about possible rioting. He later described to the "Houston Chronicle" highlighting to his staff in a meeting after the concert the three patients they had helped regain blood pressure and a pulse, expressing personally that no one likely could have done a better job, and repeated his insistence they had enough medical equipment for the show, comparing it to a festival for 270,000 that had worked smoothly a weekend later.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: HFD Deputy Chief Isaac Garcia, who had lobbied for years with his union with little success to mandate a greater presence of their firefighters at larger events, told "USA Today" that no communication opportunities by radio or in pre-planning left them with no recourse but to assume ParaDocs was being overrun, at which point any of their recovery efforts would come too late and likely have been in vain.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: Attorneys representing the deceased, injured, and traumatized fans stated in court documents that organizers were motivated by profit at concertgoers' expense and should have foreseen the potential for a disastrous outcome. The attorneys of the injured and traumatized security guards stated in court documents that their hiring companies lied about their compensation and failed to provide a safe workplace or basic training. Over 50 defendants were involved, including Travis Scott and Drake (as Drake joined Scott in his headline set), Scott's company Jack Enterprises (as well as personal foundation and label Cactus Jack), the concert's streamer Apple Music, concert promoters (including Live Nation Entertainment, The Bowery Presents LLC and ScoreMore Holdings LLC), venues and security firms (including ASM Global, XX Global Inc., AJ Melino & Associates, Contemporary Services Corporation, ParaDocs Worldwide, Strike Force Protective Services, NRG Energy, NRG Park, Valle Security Services, Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group and the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation), other record labels behind production (Epic Records and Grand Hustle Records), and various other producers, promoters, subcontractors, and public relations officials. Neither Houston nor Harris County were sued, which plaintiff Tony Buzbee explained to "Texas Monthly" was common practice for lawyers in the state given the historical difficulty of successful cases against those entities as a result of the Texas Tort Claims Act. The most prominent counsel retained by high-profile defendants included Susman Godfrey representing Live Nation, Norton Rose Fulbright representing ASM Global, and Daniel Petrocelli representing Travis Scott.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: According to the ACORD certificate of liability insurance for NRG Park that was filed with the city of Houston and subsequently obtained by TMZ, NRG Park had $1 million in primary coverage with umbrella coverage of $25 million. The news outlet reported that as of November 9 there was not any evidence of other coverage, and speculated regarding which parties would be held responsible and possibly have to file for bankruptcy if insurance coverage turns out to be inadequate to pay out all the claims. While some involved lawyers that spoke to the "Houston Chronicle" on November 26 were eager to learn how much the named defendants had in insurance coverage, others agreed with prior concerns raised regarding the likelihood of bankruptcy filings resulting from the large damage amounts sought from defendants ultimately leading to less compensation for victims. Plaintiff Chad Pinkerton, who had previously fought in court against Live Nation in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, said that based on the defendant's choice of legal counsel, they were preparing for high-stakes, "bet-the-company" litigation, estimating they likely had about $200 million in general insurance coverage with another $100 million in premises liability insurance, the security firms had about $20 million in insurance, and it was unclear how much insurance coverage Scott had, if any.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: In the weeks following the incident, Houston NBC affiliate KPRC-TV reported a sharp increase in digital and television ads for personal injury lawyers seeking Astroworld victims who still had not filed, and, inferencing that not all of these were created with the victims' best interests in mind, warned prospective clients of fraud, providing tips on protecting private information.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: As of December 3, 2021, more than 275 civil wrongful death, personal injury, and premises liability lawsuits had been filed from more than a dozen law firms, including Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and attorney Tony Buzbee, representing more than 1,250 people seeking billions in total damages. Buzbee told "Rolling Stone" that neither the authorities nor organizers were incentivized to stop the show because of the money at stake, stating that if the performance itself had been interfered with, their reactions would have been vastly different. On December 6, attorney Brent Coon and crowd surge expert Dr. G. Keith Still announced a lawsuit on behalf of another 1,547 concertgoers seeking a further $10 billion in damages, pushing for legislative steps to mandate both certification of events from crowd control specialists and training programs for workers, and stricter criminal liability for errors in live entertainment going forward.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: TMZ obtained legal documents that day indicating Travis Scott's first general denial to a civil suit from one concertgoer, which asked that the charges be dismissed with prejudice as they pertained to himself, his foundation, and his company. A representative for Scott confirmed a similar sweeping request for dismissal for 11 current and potentially all future cases shortly afterwards, while Live Nation, ScoreMore, and HCSCC all denied the allegations against them in legal filings. Coon described Scott's denial and request for dismissal as standard for this kind of case, while plaintiff James Lassiter, representing the family of the 22-year-old victim that died, condemned Scott's motion as astonishing and shameful.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: After filings from Brent Coon & Associates raising concerns on discussions to consolidate the cases were withdrawn, on January 26, 2022, the Texas Judicial Panel On Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) granted joint motion from both victims and organizers that the then 387 separate lawsuits representing nearly 2,800 alleged victims (which had previously been placed before over a dozen different Harris County judges) as well as any subsequent tag-along cases be combined down to a single case before one judge. Both parties requested Judge Lauren Reeder of the 234th District Court of Harris County oversee the MDL for reasons not disclosed, and the order did not disclose which state judge would be handling the case.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: On February 15, 2022, 11th District Court Judge Kristen Hawkins, previously assigned by the Judicial Board to handle all civil pretrial matters to avoid scheduling issues, conflicting rulings, or duplicative findings and evidence, issued a sweeping gag order for all involved parties restricting public comment on the character of any persons involved in the trial that would be inadmissible in a court of law (despite no request from any for the motion), citing the "volume of pre-trial and in-trial publicity" and the "right to a fair trial by an impartial jury". The motion does not affect the ongoing criminal investigation where no charges have yet been filed, but several local legal observers noted a likely chilling effect. On the first pretrial hearing on March 1, 2022, concertgoers suing were placed into four main categories: those who were killed, those who suffered traumatic brain injury, those with bodily injury and those with PTSD.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: On March 9, 2022, an emergency motion was filed with the court by representatives of the 9-year-old victim to either cover Travis Scott under the gag order or rescind it entirely for a level playing field among the parties, as the day before Scott had announced his new initiative "Project HEAL" with a $5 million funding commitment for his Cactus Jack foundation towards his HBCU scholarship fund, an expansion of Houston’s CACT.US Youth Design Center, mental health coverage for minority and low-income and minority youth, and the funding of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force of Event Safety he had partnered with earlier. A relative of the victim similarly argued to "Rolling Stone" Scott's announcement was a PR effort to sway jurors before they were even assembled, and Scott's spokesperson called the plaintiff's filing a shameful and cynical publicity stunt. On March 10, Scott's lawyers argued in a filing for Scott's 1st amendment right to speak publicly about his philanthropic work, and on March 11, the victim's lawyer replied in a filing their concerns were not with donations but his marketing campaign of reputation repair. At a March 28 emergency motion hearing, no motions, including filings on the gag order, sealing of autopsy records, case management, nor leadership structure disagreements regarding inclusiveness versus local experience to assign a liaison counsel between either plaintiffs Benjamin Crump or Sean Roberts, were ruled upon.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: Defendants for Live Nation argued in a legal filing on April 8 that the documentary "Concert Crush: The Travis Scott Festival Tragedy", if released in several Texas cities for a limited one-week run (despite being available later for rental online), could taint the jury pool but did not request its release be blocked, which a lawyer for a victim responded to in a filing questioning their motives. Major plaintiff's claims without secondary verification from other authorities as a result of the gag order thus far have included a May 9, 2022 legal filing detailing 732 claims tied to injuries that required extensive medical treatment, 1,649 tied to less extensive treatment, and 2,540 claims for injuries where the severity was still under review, in addition to a suit filed in December 2021 but not reported until May 2022 from a woman who claimed that as a result of being trampled at the concert that she had lost her unborn child.


title: Astroworld Festival crowd crush

text: Tony Buzbee's's law firm announced on Thursday, October 20, 2022 the settlements with several defendants of two lawsuits brought by two victims who died from the concert's incident for confidential terms and damages.


title: Republic Records

text: Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an imprint of the Universal/Motown Records Group, and was renamed Universal Republic Records after a reorganization in 2006 before going back to its original name in 2012.


title: Republic Records

text: According to Avery Lipman, he and his brother Monte conceived the idea for Republic Records at their apartment in New York. Lipman stated that both had previously been employed by record companies and were in between jobs at the time. They began putting records out as a hobby, the first of which was the Bloodhound Gang's "Dingleberry Haze". Republic Records was formed in 1995 as a subsidiary of MCA's Geffen Records, but soon after its foundation, the distribution changed to the newly established Universal Records.


title: Republic Records

text: In January 2000, it was announced that the Universal Music Group acquired the Lipman brothers' Republic Records as a wholly owned subsidiary. Monte Lipman was named president of the Universal Records label, while Avery Lipman became Republic's president.


title: Republic Records

text: In 2006, corporate restructuring saw the formation of Universal Republic Records through a merger between the two labels. Monte Lipman became the president and CEO of the restructured label while Avery Lipman served as co-president and COO. Other changes were made at the label's parent, Universal Motown Republic Group, during the summer of 2011. Universal Motown Records was shut down, transferring its artists to the newly recreated Motown Records or Universal Republic Records. Universal Republic Records became stand-alone label and the Universal Motown Republic Group was shut down. In August 2011, the restructured Universal Republic signed Ariana Grande to a record contract.


title: Republic Records

text: In October 2012, Universal Republic Records returned to the Republic Records moniker. Just prior to the label's return to the Republic name, it signed Canadian artist, The Weeknd, through his imprint label, XO. In addition to artists' albums, the label has released soundtracks with the Fox Broadcasting Company ("Star"), NBC ("The Voice"), and former UMG parent Universal Pictures ("Fifty Shades" and "Sing"), among numerous other partnerships, films, and television series. Republic Records had songs in six of the top-10 spots on the Mediabase Top 40 Chart in 2015, tying a 2013 record. Also in 2015, the label signed American rapper and singer, Post Malone.


title: Republic Records

text: In November 2017, the company was named "Variety"s Hitmaker Label of the Year. In 2018, Taylor Swift signed to Republic Records after releasing her music through the Republic imprint, Big Machine Records, for a majority of her career. In December of that year, Republic partnered with Sony Pictures on the release of the for "". The soundtrack's lead single was Post Malone and Swae Lee's "Sunflower" which reached number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and broke the record for most weeks in the top ten of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at 45. Early 2019 saw the signing of a reunited Jonas Brothers, as well.


title: Republic Records

text: Also in 2019, Republic Records was named the "Label of the Year" by both "Billboard" and "Variety". It has been "Billboard"s label of the year for 4 of the last 5 years and "Variety"s for each of the last three. Republic was also named "Billboard"s Hot 100 Label of the Year for the sixth straight time. Five Republic albums (Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next", Taylor Swift's "Lover", Post Malone's "Beerbongs & Bentleys", Drake's "Scorpion" and Post Malone's "Hollywood's Bleeding") also appeared in the top 10 of the year-end "Billboard" 200 chart.


title: Republic Records

text: In 2020, Republic Records partnered up with JYP Entertainment for the South Korean girl group Twice as the group's first American label and distributor. Twice will be first artist from JYP Entertainment to be powered under the alliance. Twice's signing represents a diversifying market for K-pop in the US. On April 8, 2020, it was stated that the record has partnered up with the South Korean girl group (G)I-dle after the release of their third EP "I Trust", marking the group's official debut in the US.


title: Republic Records

text: Republic Records became the first label to partner with DistroKid, allowing it to mine data from the company looking for new artists. The initiative began in 2021 and allowed DistroKid to receive a finder's fee for any new artist signed to the label. In January 2021, the label had five of the top seven albums on the "Billboard" 200 chart, including the top three spots with Morgan Wallen's "", Taylor Swift's "Evermore", and Pop Smoke's "Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon". The Weeknd's "After Hours" and Ariana Grande's "Positions" were sixth and seventh respectively. That month, Republic also had six of the top ten albums on the "Rolling Stone" album chart and nine of the top 20 songs on the "Rolling Stone" song chart. In March 2021, Taylor Swift became the first Republic artist to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for her album, "Folklore". On November 24, 2021, Jim Roppo and Wendy Goldstein were named co-presidents of Republic Records.


title: Republic Records

text: In July 2022, Universal Music Group formally launched and expanded the Republic Records imprint label in international markets. The label made its launch in the Philippines via its local subsidiary UMG Philippines, with Darren Espanto, Elha Nympha and Zack Tabudlo were among the artists joined the label.


title: Republic Records

text: Republic Records released the Bloodhound Gang's 1994 EP, "Dingleberry Haze", and their first LP, "Use Your Fingers". Kevin Rudolf's single, "Let It Rock", was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Jay Sean's debut single, "Down", sold six million copies in the United States and received a large airplay on radio worldwide. Sean's follow-up single, "Do You Remember", sold over one million copies.


title: Republic Records

text: American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift recorded with Nashville-based Big Machine Records. Swift is a quadruple-platinum artist with 11 Grammy Awards and over 175 million units moved worldwide as of 2014. As her contract with Big Machine ended in 2018, she signed with Republic, with her first single "ME!" with the label released on April 26, 2019. Jack Johnson has received a number of gold and platinum certifications. Damian Marley's debut album was certified gold and sold one million copies worldwide.


title: Republic Records

text: Other prominent Republic releases in recent years have come from acts like Ariana Grande (2013's "Yours Truly", 2014's "My Everything", 2016's "Dangerous Woman", 2018's "Sweetener", 2019's "Thank U, Next," and 2020's "Positions"); the Jonas Brothers (2019's "Happiness Begins"); Taylor Swift (2019's "Lover", 2020's "Folklore" and "Evermore", 2021's "Fearless (Taylor's Version)" and "Red (Taylor's Version)", and 2022's "Midnights"); The Weeknd (2013's "Kiss Land", 2015's "Beauty Behind the Madness", 2016's "Starboy", 2020s "After Hours", and 2022's "Dawn FM"); Florence and the Machine (2015's "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful" and 2018's "High as Hope"); Lorde (2013's "Pure Heroine", 2017's "Melodrama", and 2021's "Solar Power"); James Blake (2019's "Assume Form"); Pearl Jam (2020's "Gigaton"); and Kim Petras (2019's "Clarity" and "Turn Off the Light").


title: Republic Records

text: As of 2020, the current Republic Records roster includes Amanda Reifer, Ariana Grande, BoyWithUke, Drake, Benee, James Bay, James Blake, Kid Cudi, Florence + the Machine, Seth MacFarlane, John Mellencamp, Julia Michaels, Post Malone, Of Monsters and Men, Hailee Steinfeld, Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, Twice, Stevie Wonder, Conan Gray, Peach PRC, Kim Petras and FLO.


title: Republic Records

text: Republic has also brought numerous other artists under its umbrella with strategic partnerships with labels like Brushfire Records (Jack Johnson), XO (The Weeknd, Belly, Nav, Black Atlass), Casablanca Records (Lindsay Lohan, MIKA, Tiësto), Cash Money Records (Drake, Jacquees, Nicki Minaj), Young Money Entertainment (Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj), Hollywood Records (Sofia Carson, Zendaya), Lava Records (Greta Van Fleet, Jessie J, Lorde, Poppy, The Warning), Monkeywrench Records (Pearl Jam), American Recordings (The Avett Brothers), Roc Nation (Jaden Smith, Justine Skye, The-Dream), Victor Victor Worldwide (Pop Smoke, Ski Mask the Slump God), Twice, Itzy, Stray Kids, Tomorrow X Together) Big Loud (Morgan Wallen), and others.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Anthrax is an American heavy 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. The band has released 11 studio albums, several other albums, and 26 singles, including collaborating on a single with American hip hop group Public Enemy. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Anthrax sold 2.5 million records in the United States from 1991 to 2004, with worldwide sales of 10 million. Four of the band's studio albums have also achieved gold certifications by the RIAA, including their third full-length record "Among the Living" (1987), which cemented Anthrax's reputation as one of the most successful thrash metal bands.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Anthrax's lineup has changed numerous times over their career, leaving Ian as the only constant member of the band. The band has had a revolving cast of singers and lead guitarists, including Neil Turbin, John Bush, Dan Spitz and Rob Caggiano. Since 2013, the band has consisted of Ian, drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Frank Bello, vocalist Joey Belladonna and lead guitarist Jonathan Donais. Ian and Benante (who replaced one-time drummer Greg D'Angelo in 1983) are the only two members to appear on every album, while Bello has been a member of Anthrax since 1984, replacing original bassist Dan Lilker. After two stints in Anthrax, from 1984 to 1992 and again from 2005 to 2007, Belladonna returned to the band in 2010.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Anthrax was formed in Queens, New York City, on July 18, 1981, 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". Lilker originally intended for Scott Setari to play bass in the band, during their early phases as a cover band. Anthrax's initial line-up was completed by singer John Connelly, and bassist Paul Kahn. Kahn was briefly replaced by bassist Kenny Kushner before Lilker took over on bass 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". The band recorded its first demo tape during this time.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: The band's first performance with Neil Turbin was at Great Gildersleeves, a New York club, in September 1982. This line-up played regularly in the New York–New Jersey area over the next several months. Anthrax was also on the same bill as the up-and-coming Metallica for several shows in the spring of 1983. Guitarist Walls left Anthrax that summer because of friction with Ian, and drummer D'Angelo left a month later. Turbin said he was seriously considering leaving because of the loss of Walls and D'Angelo, but he stuck it out for another year. Walls was replaced by Bob Berry, who was recommended to Turbin by Rhett Forrester of Riot. Berry was in turn soon replaced by Dan Spitz, who was previously a member of the New Jersey thrash band Overkill.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Drummer Charlie Benante replaced D'Angelo in September 1983 after a several-month courtship by Ian. By this time, Ian and Lilker had befriended New Jersey record store owner Jon Zazula, to whom they had given their demo tapes to critique. Zazula's new record label Megaforce Records had recently released Metallica's debut album "Kill 'Em All" to great success. In late 1983, Zazula agreed to sign Anthrax and the band recorded the "Soldiers of Metal" single, which was produced by Ross the Boss of Manowar. The B-side was the song "Howling Furies" which was taken from a previous demo with Greg D'Angelo on drums (his only Anthrax recording).


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Anthrax released their debut album "Fistful of Metal" in January 1984. Former guitarist Walls said he was shocked that the album was released without giving credit to Walls as the primary songwriter on "Panic" and "Metal Thrashing Mad", as well as smaller songwriting contributions throughout the album. Tensions were building between Lilker and the rest of the band for various reasons, eventually leading to the band firing Lilker. He would soon form the band Nuclear Assault with former Anthrax roadie / vocalist John Connelly. Lilker was replaced by Benante's nephew and roadie Frank Bello. The band then went on a successful US tour opening for Raven and others to support "Fistful of Metal".


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In August 1984, Turbin and Anthrax went their separate ways after long-standing personal issues. In his book "Eddie Trunk's Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal", music journalist Eddie Trunk admits pressuring Jon Zazula, Scott Ian and Anthrax into firing Turbin because of his personal taste in vocals. Singer Matt Fallon was briefly hired in late 1984, but he and the band soon parted ways. The remaining members decided to play live shows as a four-piece billed as "The Diseased" with Scott Ian on vocals, performing hardcore punk covers until a permanent singer could be found.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In 1984, Joey Belladonna was chosen as the new vocalist. The "Armed and Dangerous" EP marked Belladonna's recording debut with Anthrax. The 1992 reissue of the EP included the two songs from the "Soldiers of Metal" single that had Neil Turbin performing on them.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Anthrax's second album "Spreading the Disease" was released in October 1985. It was well-received as both a technical leap forward from "Fistful of Metal" and as a more original effort, and remains one of the band's most highly regarded albums. With leftover studio time from these sessions, Ian, Benante and former bandmate Dan Lilker collaborated with vocalist Billy Milano to form the side project Stormtroopers of Death, and recorded the album "Speak English or Die" in three days. It was released in August 1985 and is now considered a pioneering crossover thrash release, featuring one of the earliest examples of a blast beat on record. Afterwards, the project was put on hold as Ian and Benante turned their focus back on Anthrax.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: The US tour to support "Spreading the Disease" opening for Black Sabbath was cancelled after four dates due to Sabbath singer Glenn Hughes' voice problems. In April 1986, Anthrax attempted its first tour of Europe beginning in Bochum, Germany, supported by Overkill and Agent Steel. The tour included a show near Chernobyl, Ukraine, immediately after the Chernobyl disaster. Later that year, Anthrax toured Europe with Metallica. The tour began on September 10 at St David's Hall and ended on September 26 in Solnahallen, Sweden. The Swedish show was Anthrax's last performance before the bus accident the following day, which killed Metallica bassist Cliff Burton.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: The band's third studio album "Among the Living" was released in March 1987, and is often considered by both the band and critics to be a major breakthrough for Anthrax. Produced by Eddie Kramer, it showcased the band's humorous, experimental side and began a lyrical trend focusing on movies, politics, comic books and Stephen King novels. The album was dedicated to Cliff Burton's memory. Propelled by the singles "Indians" and "I Am the Law", the success of "Among the Living" not only turned Anthrax into a household name (along with the remaining "big four" of thrash metal–Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer), but eventually earned them one of their first certified-gold records by the RIAA. "I Am the Law", which was released as the album's second single, was backed with a rap-metal hybrid "I'm the Man" as its B-side. Anthrax further indulged its appreciation for rap by appearing on the title track of U.T.F.O.'s album, "Lethal", and their worship for the genre was also attributed to Ian wearing a t-shirt of Public Enemy both on stage and for publicity photo shoots; in response, Public Enemy name-checked Anthrax in the lyrics to their 1988 single "Bring the Noise". Anthrax toured for over a year to promote "Among the Living", touring Europe again with Metallica, the United States with Metal Church, Testament, D.R.I., Exodus and Celtic Frost, and supporting Kiss on their "Crazy Nights" tour.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Anthrax released their fourth album "State of Euphoria" in September 1988, and it was produced by Mark Dodson, who had previously worked with Judas Priest, U.D.O. and Metal Church. While the album was not quite as well-received as "Among the Living", owing to its "rushed" finish, "State of Euphoria" was certified gold about five months after its release, and one of the singles "Antisocial", originally by French heavy-metal band Trust, became an MTV staple as part of the rotation on "Headbangers Ball". By 1989, Anthrax was starting to play at arenas as a headlining or opening act, first supporting Ozzy Osbourne on his "No Rest for the Wicked" tour in North America, and then headlining European tours with Living Colour, Suicidal Tendencies and King's X, and the U.S. Headbangers Ball Tour with Exodus and Helloween. Also in 1989, MTV sponsored a contest in which the winner had her home trashed by the band. This would later inspire Anthrax's 1992 appearance on the television series "Married... with Children", in which the Bundys win a similar TV contest.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Anthrax returned to the studio at the end of 1989 to work on their fifth album, again with Dodson as the producer. Released in August 1990, "Persistence of Time" was written and recorded during a period of turmoil for Anthrax, as Ian had recently been divorced from his first wife, and the middle of the recording session was interrupted by a fire that caused the band to lose more than $100,000 worth of gear and their rehearsal studio. The band members also claimed it was during this period that there were talks of potentially working with a different singer, a situation that Belladonna was unaware of at the time. Considered by fans to be their serious effort, "Persistence of Time" was darker, more technical and more progressive than the band's previous work, striking a chord with metal fans wary of Anthrax's "silly" side. The most successful single from the album was a cover of Joe Jackson's "Got the Time", which Jackson said he enjoyed. "Persistence of Time" was certified gold by the RIAA in early 1991, and the band toured for nearly two years to promote the album, opening for Iron Maiden on their "No Prayer for the Dying" tour in Europe and North America, and appearing on the Clash of the Titans tour with Megadeth, Slayer and opening act Alice in Chains.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In 1991, Anthrax collaborated with Public Enemy on a version of "Bring the Noise". This was a hit, and a successful tour with Public Enemy followed. "Bring the Noise" has been a live staple for Anthrax since they first played it in concert in 1989. The compilation "Attack of the Killer B's" was released in 1991, and featured three tracks from their 1989 EP "Penikufesin", a new version of "I'm the Man" and a cover of "Bring the Noise" on which Ian did some vocals. In early 1992, shortly after their appearance in "Married... with Children", Belladonna was fired from Anthrax over creative and stylistic differences.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: After firing Belladonna, the remaining members of Anthrax auditioned several vocalists including Mark Osegueda of Death Angel and Spike Xavier of Mind Over Four. However, Armored Saint vocalist John Bush was the standout favorite and had in fact been floated as a potential replacement for Belladonna a few years earlier, due to questions about his reliability stemming from drug and alcohol abuse. The band left Island Records to sign with Elektra, releasing "Sound of White Noise" in 1993. Produced by Dave Jerden (then-known for his work with Jane's Addiction and Alice in Chains), the album marked a change from Anthrax's earlier work, with a dark sound influenced by alternative rock, and it received mostly positive reviews. Critic Dave Connolley of AllMusic wrote that Bush "has a lower-register voice than Belladonna, and the result is menacing, premeditated, and sinister." The song "Only" was released as the album's first single. In the liner notes for "Return of the Killer A's", Ian said that James Hetfield told him it was a "perfect song". In keeping with the band's eye for unlikely collaborations, classical composer Angelo Badalamenti provided music for "Black Lodge" (a nod to "Twin Peaks"). This album demonstrated that Anthrax had fully shed its cartoonish persona in favor of mature, thoughtful songwriting, which began with "Persistence of Time". The success of "Sound of White Noise" dissolved any fan worries that the band would not recover from their split with Belladonna; it was certified gold by the RIAA nearly two months after its release, and gave Anthrax their highest chart position to date at number seven on the "Billboard" 200. The album also saw Anthrax continuing to headline arenas and theaters or amphitheaters, taking several bands such as Suicidal Tendencies, White Zombie, Quicksand, Fight and Clawfinger out as supporting acts.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: After "Sound of White Noise" longtime guitarist Dan Spitz left the band to become a watchmaker, leaving Anthrax a quartet temporarily. In 1995, Anthrax released their seventh studio album "Stomp 442", on which Charlie Benante played most of the lead-guitar parts. Benante was assisted by Paul Crook, who later became the band's touring lead guitarist for several years, and Dimebag Darrell of Pantera. Because Elektra did not promote the album it was less commercially successful than its predecessor, and Anthrax severed its ties with the label.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: The band signed with independent label Ignition Records, releasing "" in 1998. As on "Stomp 442", Benante performed lead guitar parts along with Crook and Darrell. The album also features Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo making a guest vocal appearance. After the album's release the label went bankrupt, disrupting its distribution. Anthrax then signed with Beyond Records, who released the greatest-hits album "Return of the Killer A's" (1999), after which Beyond went out of business as well. During this period a two-vocalist tour with Belladonna and Bush was planned, but Belladonna decided not to participate at the last minute; however, on the mentioned "Return of the Killer A's" compilation, a cover of The Temptations song "Ball of Confusion" was recorded with the then-current lineup of the band (Ian/Benante/Bello/Bush/Crook), in addition to former vocalist Belladonna and former bassist Lilker. This is the only song to feature both Belladonna and Bush on co-vocals.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Despite hardships and legal entanglements over album rights, Anthrax continued. In 2001, Rob Caggiano joined the band on lead guitar. During the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States the band changed its website, providing information about the disease after people began searching "anthrax.com" on internet search engines. Amid a potential PR nightmare, Anthrax issued a press release on October 10, 2001, joking that the band's name would be changed to "something more friendly, like 'Basket Full of Puppies'." Anthrax dispelled any name-change rumors derived from the press release at the November 2001 New York Steel 9/11 benefit concert, when they took the stage in boiler suits with a different word on each one which ultimately read "We're not changing our name". Bello has stated they did so after receiving support from members of the NYPD and FDNY, who believed that changing the name of the band would send the wrong message. A picture of the band in the suits is on the inner tray card of "We've Come for You All".


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In 2003, the band signed to Sanctuary Records and released their ninth studio album "We've Come for You All", praised by metal journalists as a return to form. The band then spent the summer of 2003 on tour with Motörhead.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In early 2004, Anthrax released "The Greater of Two Evils", a "live in the studio" re-recording of the earlier work with the band's then-current lineup. Bassist Frank Bello announced shortly afterwards that he was leaving the band to join Helmet, and was replaced by Fates Warning and Armored Saint member Joey Vera.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In April 2005, Anthrax announced that the "classic" lineup of Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Dan Spitz, Joey Belladonna and Frank Bello would reform. At some shows on the following tour, they played "Among the Living" in its entirety. Although the lineup was expected to record a new album after the tour, in January 2007 Ian said that Belladonna had not agreed to a reunion. John Bush also said he wasn't ready to re-commit to Anthrax and said he had been asked to return but had declined. Asked if he wanted to rejoin the band when Belladonna left, Bush said that he "just didn't feel right to do that."


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In December 2007, it was announced that the band's new vocalist would be Dan Nelson, formerly of Devilsize, and Rob Caggiano would return as lead guitarist. In May 2008, Anthrax played its first show in 19 months at Double Door in Chicago.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In his monthly Food Coma column posted in December 2008, Scott Ian wrote that he had "been in the studio working on the new Anthrax album", promising to be "giving birth to a really pissed off, loud, fast and heavy child." He later wrote that the album was being mixed by Dave Fortman, who had worked with Evanescence and Slipknot.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In early 2009, Anthrax began a brief tour opening for Iron Maiden in South America. In July, band manager Izvor Zivkovic confirmed the departure of Dan Nelson due to illness. Nelson denied this, saying that he was fired. All subsequent performances were canceled except the August UK Sonisphere Festival, which featured John Bush on vocals. Fan response after his performance led to a "Bring Back Bush" campaign, which was endorsed by Ian.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Soon afterwards, Benante said that Bush had rejoined the band. In February 2010, Anthrax performed five shows as part of Soundwave in Australia. After the Australian shows, Bush said the band intended to re-record the vocals of several tracks from the upcoming album.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In late 2009, Anthrax confirmed their participation in several "Big Four" concerts with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer as part of the 2010 Sonisphere Festival dates in Europe. John Bush decided that he did not want to commit to the band full-time, and left Anthrax for the second time. Joey Belladonna returned to the band in early 2010 for the Sonisphere dates as well as committing to record a new studio album with the band. In June 2010 Anthrax, Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer performed on the same bill for the first time ever at seven Sonisphere shows. The Sofia, Bulgaria show was broadcast in cinemas and later . The bands would also play a few shows in the U.S. the following year, including a concert at Yankee Stadium in September 2011.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In April 2011, Anthrax headlined in the Philippines for the first time at the annual Pulp Summer Slam with Death Angel and Hellyeah. The band also headlined the Jägermeister side stage at the Mayhem Festival of 2012, co-headlined by Slayer and Slipknot, and toured with Testament and Death Angel. In June Anthrax released the single "Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't" from the then-upcoming new album on their website as a free download to thank fans for their patience in waiting several years for new material. "Worship Music" was released on September 12, 2011, and debuted at #12 on the Billboard Top 200 album charts, their highest chart position since "Sound of White Noise" in 1993.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In January 2013, Anthrax announced that lead guitarist Rob Caggiano had left the band to join Volbeat. It was announced shortly afterwards that Jonathan Donais of Shadows Fall had been hired as the band's touring lead guitarist. Donais was confirmed as an official member in August of that year. In March, Anthrax released the "Anthems" EP featuring cover versions of 1970s rock songs as well as two new versions of the song "Crawl" from "Worship Music". According to Ian, the band began working on its next studio album in late 2013. They released a live DVD, "Chile on Hell" in 2014 which featured the band's 2013 performance at the Teatro Caupolican in Santiago, Chile. In early 2015, the band confirmed that they had recorded new material and embarked on a tour with Volbeat.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Since Belladonna's return to Anthrax the band has been nominated for three Grammys, in 2012, 2013, and 2014.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: The band began 2016 with a short US tour with Lamb of God and released their eleventh studio album "For All Kings" on February 26, 2016. The album debuted on the "Billboard" 200 charts at number 9, surpassing the number 12 debut of "Worship Music". In March, they opened for Iron Maiden on the Latin American leg of their The Book of Souls World Tour. Anthrax spent the summer playing festivals in Europe before embarking on a fall US and Canadian tour with Slayer and Death Angel. The band continued to tour within the next two years, embarking on The Killthrax Tour with Killswitch Engage twice (in 2017 and 2018), and along with Lamb of God, Behemoth, Testament, Napalm Death and Obituary, they supported Slayer on their final world tour from May to December 2018.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: On February 1, 2017, the band embarked on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise. They played two sets and became the first of the "Big Four" to attend the open seas festival. During the theater set, they played a cover of Stormtroopers of Death's "March of the S.O.D." and debuted the song "Blood Eagle Wings".


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Anthrax released the live album and DVD "Kings Among Scotland" in 2018 which was recorded during their Glasgow, Scotland show on the "For All Kings" tour.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In a March 2017 interview, drummer Charlie Benante hinted that Anthrax would begin working on their twelfth studio album that summer. He also revealed that there are a few unreleased tracks from the "For All Kings" sessions that could serve as a genesis for the follow-up album, stating, "I think there are two or three that we could dust off and use as a starting point." When asked in May 2018 if they were working on the album, guitarist Scott Ian stated, "Very, very, very preliminary stages. There's a couple of really great riffs. Charlie's sent around some really great ideas. But we haven't actually started working on anything. We've just been too busy touring." A month later, bassist Frank Bello claimed that Anthrax had intended to be back in the studio by mid-2018, but because they agreed to open for Slayer on their farewell tour, they were not expected to start writing their new album until at 2019 at the earliest. In a November 2020 interview with "Full Metal Jackie", Ian stated that Anthrax would "certainly be ready to make a record next year", but added that its release date could be pushed back to 2022: "In my brain, I don't wanna put a record out until I can play shows." He later stated that "at some point there should be a [new Anthrax] record" in 2023.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: The band's recording of "Antisocial" was prominently featured in the 2017 movie "It" but was not included on its official soundtrack release.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Anthrax – alongside Testament, Corrosion of Conformity, Armored Saint, DevilDriver, John 5, Doro and Metal Church – participated in Megadeth's first-ever cruise called "Megacruise", which took place in October 2019. They resumed live activity during the summer and fall of 2021, with a livestream performance that saw the band celebrate its 40th anniversary, as well as appearances at U.S. festivals such as Aftershock and Welcome to Rockville.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Although 2021 marked the band's 40th anniversary, the planned global anniversary tour was delayed due to travel complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic; instead, the band performed a livestream concert on July 16 of that year. The tour was delayed to 2022, with a North American leg beginning on July 16 with Black Label Society and Hatebreed as support, followed by a European tour to begin on September 27 with Municipal Waste, and then they will tour North America again in January and February 2023 with Black Label Society and Exodus. The band also released the full livestream setlist as a live album under the title "XL" on July 15.


title: Anthrax (American band)

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


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In October 2014, ex-vocalist Neil Turbin slammed guitarist Scott Ian for "fabricating lies" about his split with the band in 1984 to "draw attention" to Ian's autobiography.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: 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.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: In a 2016 interview with Metal Voice, and again in a video that he uploaded to YouTube in December 2020, 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".


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Anthrax is one of the bands responsible for the emergence of speed metal and thrash metal. It exhibited a typical thrash metal sound on its early albums and was known for humor and comic book references in the lyrics, distinguishing the band from its contemporaries. According to "Rolling Stone", Anthrax was one of the few heavy metal bands to receive critical praise and redefine the genre during the 1980s. Original guitarists Scott Ian and Dan Spitz' styles were described as "aggressive and head pounding", with power chords and "chugging" pedal points providing the sonic drive. Author Thomas Harrison wrote that Anthrax played metal at a faster tempo because of its punk influences. In 1989, Brad Tolinski of "Guitar World" magazine noted that, "If Exodus is a speed metal equivalent of the Rolling Stones, then New York-based Anthrax must surely be the genre's Beatles." The band's sixth album, 1993's "Sound of White Noise" (its first with singer John Bush), incorporated grunge and alternative metal influences in a darker vein. Critics consider the band's studio releases from the Bush era as having a more alternative metal and groove metal sound. The album "Worship Music" marked a return to thrash metal and the return of singer Joey Belladonna. Although the songs are credited to the whole band, since "Spreading the Disease" the music has been written almost entirely by Charlie Benante and the lyrics by Scott Ian, although John Bush made some lyrical contributions during his tenure in the band.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Anthrax has been influenced by a variety of music, including classic rock and hard rock acts as Rush, Cheap Trick, AC/DC, Kiss, Queen, Thin Lizzy, Boston and Journey, all of whom the band had covered on its EP "Anthems". Their other influences include heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Accept, Motörhead, Exodus, UFO, Saxon, and Raven, as well as hardcore punk bands such as Bad Brains, D.R.I., Suicidal Tendencies, and GBH. Anthrax is a member of the "big four" of thrash metal with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, and often credited as one of the first bands of the genre to emerge from the East Coast, along with Overkill and Nuclear Assault. The band has been credited for laying the groundwork for rap metal and nu metal. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Anthrax sold 2.5 million records in the United States from 1991 to 2004, and 10 million worldwide.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Anthrax has influenced multiple bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Pantera, Sepultura, Testament, Death Angel, Korn, Limp Bizkit, 311, Papa Roach, Killswitch Engage, Sevendust, Terror and Insane Clown Posse.


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: Anthrax has been known to reference or draw influences from numerous sources in popular culture. "I Am the Law" is about the comic book character Judge Dredd. The title track to the album "Among the Living" is based on the Stephen King novel "The Stand", in particular the character of villain Randall Flagg, while "A Skeleton in the Closet" is based on King's novella Apt Pupil and "Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)" pays tribute to actor and original "Saturday Night Live" cast member John Belushi. The song "The Constant" is based on an episode of "Lost".


title: Anthrax (American band)

text: The band, for a period of time, used a caricature of a bald man's face as a mascot; he was colloquially christened the "Not Man". The face itself comes from a rubber kids toy called "Magic Monster".


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournament is named after the "Libertadores" (Spanish and Portuguese for "liberators"), the leaders of the Latin American wars of independence, so a literal translation of its former name into English is ""America's Liberators Cup"".


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The competition has had several formats over its lifetime. Initially, only the champions of the South American leagues participated. In 1966, the runners-up of the South American leagues began to join. In 1998, Mexican teams were invited to compete and contested regularly from 2000 until 2016. In 2000 the tournament was expanded from 20 to 32 teams. Today at least four clubs per country compete in the tournament, with Argentina and Brazil having the most representatives (six and seven clubs, respectively). A group stage has always been used but the number of teams per group has varied.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: In the present format, the tournament consists of eight stages, with the first stage taking place in late January. The four surviving teams from the first three stages join 28 teams in the group stage, which consists of eight groups of four teams each. The eight group winners and eight runners-up enter the knockout stages, which end with the final in November. The winner of the Copa Libertadores becomes eligible to play in the FIFA Club World Cup and the Recopa Sudamericana.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: Independiente of Argentina is the most successful club in the cup's history, having won the tournament seven times. Argentine clubs have accumulated the most victories with 25 wins, while Brazil has the largest number of winning teams, with 10 clubs having won the title. The cup has been won by 25 clubs, 15 of them more than once, and seven clubs have won two years in a row.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The clashes for the Copa Aldao between the champions of Argentina and Uruguay kindled the idea of continental competition in the 1930s. In 1948, the South American Championship of Champions (), the most direct precursor to the Copa Libertadores, was played and organized by the Chilean club Colo-Colo after years of planning and organization. Held in Santiago, it brought together the champions of each nation's top national leagues. The tournament was won by Vasco da Gama of Brazil. The 1948 South American tournament began, in continent-wide reach, the "champions cup" model, resulting in the creation of the European Cup in 1955, as confirmed by Jacques Ferran (one of the "founding fathers" of the European Cup), in a 2015 interview with a Brazilian TV sports programme.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: In 1958, the basis and format of the competition were created by Peñarol's board leaders. On October 8, 1958, João Havelange announced, at a UEFA meeting he attended as an invitee, the creation of "Copa de Campeones de America" (American Champions Cup, renamed in 1965 as Copa Libertadores), as a South American equivalent of the European Cup, so that the champion clubs of both continental confederations could decide "the best club team of the world" in the Intercontinental Cup. On March 5, 1959, at the 24th South American Congress held in Buenos Aires, the competition was ratified by the International Affairs Committee. In 1965, it was named in honor of the heroes of South American liberation, such as Simón Bolívar, José de San Martín, Pedro I, Bernardo O'Higgins, and José Gervasio Artigas, among others.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: Most teams qualify for the Copa Libertadores by winning half-year tournaments called the Apertura and Clausura tournaments or by finishing among the top teams in their championship. The countries that use this format are Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Peru and Ecuador have developed new formats for qualification to the Copa Libertadores involving several stages. Argentina, Brazil and Chile are the only South American leagues to use a European league format instead of the Apertura and Clausura format. However, one berth for the Copa Libertadores can be won by winning the domestic cups in these countries.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: Peru, Uruguay and Mexico formerly used a second tournament to decide qualification for the Libertadores (the "Liguilla Pre-Libertadores" between 1992 and 1997, the "Liguilla Pre-Libertadores de América" from 1974 to 2009, and the InterLiga from 2004 to 2010, respectively). Argentina used an analogous method only once in 1992. Since 2011, the winner of the Copa Sudamericana has qualified automatically for the following Copa Libertadores.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The winners of the previous season's Copa Libertadores are given an additional entry if they do not qualify for the tournament through their domestic performance; however, if the title holders qualify for the tournament through their domestic performance, an additional entry is granted to the next eligible team, "replacing" the titleholder.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: Unlike most other competitions around the world, the Copa Libertadores historically did not use extra time, or away goals. From 1960 to 1987, two-legged ties were decided on points (teams would be awarded 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss), without considering goal differences. If both teams were level on points after two legs, a third match would be played at a neutral venue. Goal difference would only come into play if the third match was drawn. If the third match did not produce an immediate winner, a penalty shootout was used to determine a winner.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: From 1988 onwards, two-legged ties were decided on points, followed by goal difference, with an immediate penalty shootout if the tie was level on aggregate after full-time in the second leg. Starting with the 2005 season, CONMEBOL began to use the away goals rule. In 2008, the finals became an exception to the away goals rule and employed extra time. From 1995 onwards, the "Three points for a win" standard, a system adopted by FIFA in 1995 that places additional value on wins, was adopted in CONMEBOL, with teams now earning 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The current tournament features 47 clubs competing over a six- to eight-month period. There are three stages: the first, the second and the knockout stage.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The first stage involves 12 clubs in a series of two-legged knockout ties. The six survivors join 26 clubs in the second stage, in which they are divided into eight groups of four. The teams in each group play in a double round-robin format, with each team playing home and away games against every other team in their group. The top two teams from each group are then drawn into the knockout stage, which consists of two-legged knockout ties. From that point, the competition proceeds with two-legged knockout ties to quarterfinals, semifinals, and the finals. Between 1960 and 1987 the previous winners did not enter the competition until the semifinal stage, making it much easier to retain the cup.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: Between 1960 and 2004, the winner of the tournament participated in the now-defunct Intercontinental Cup or (after 1980) Toyota Cup, a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested against the winners of the European Cup (since renamed the UEFA Champions League) Since 2004, the winner has played in the Club World Cup, an international competition contested by the champion clubs from all six continental confederations. It is organized by the "Fédération Internationale de Football Association" (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. Because Europe and South America are considered the strongest centers of the sport, the champions of those continents enter the tournament at the semifinal stage. The winning team also qualifies to play in the Recopa Sudamericana, a two-legged final series against the winners of the Copa Sudamericana.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The tournament shares its name with the trophy, also called the "Copa Libertadores" or simply "la Copa", which is awarded to the Copa Libertadores winner. It was designed by goldsmith Alberto de Gasperi, an Italian-born immigrant to Peru, in Camusso Jewelry in Lima at the behest of CONMEBOL. The top of the laurel is made of sterling silver, except for the football player at the top (which is made of bronze with a silver coating).


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The pedestal, which contains badges from every winner of the competition, is made of hardwood plywood. The badges show the season, the full name of the winning club, and the city and nation from which the champions hail. To the left of that information is the club logo. Any club which wins three consecutive tournaments has the right to keep the trophy. Today, the current trophy is the third in the history of the competition.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: , clubs in the Copa Libertadores receive US$500,000 for advancing into the second stage and US$1,000,000 per home match in the group phase. That amount is derived from television rights and stadium advertising. The payment per home match increases to US$1,050,000 in the round of 16. The prize money then increases as each quarterfinalist receives US$1,200,000, US$1,750,000 is given to each semifinalist, US$6,000,000 is awarded to the runner-up, and the winner earns US$12,000,000.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The Copa Libertadores occupies an important space in South American culture. The folklore, fanfare, and organization of many competitions around the world owe its aspects to the "Libertadores".


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The (""Liberator Dream"") is a promotional phrase used by sports journalism in the context of winning or attempting to win the Copa Libertadores. Thus, when a team gets eliminated from the competition, it is said that the team has awakened from the liberator dream. The project normally starts after the club wins its national league (which grants them the right to compete in the following year's Copa Libertadores).


title: Copa Libertadores

text: It is common for clubs to spend large sums of money to win the Copa Libertadores. In 1998 for example, Vasco da Gama spent $10 million to win the competition, and in 1998, Palmeiras, managed by Luiz Felipe Scolari, brought Júnior Baiano among other players, winning the 1999 Copa Libertadores. The tournament is highly regarded among its participants. In 2010, players from Guadalajara stated that they would rather play in the Copa Libertadores final than appear in a friendly against Spain, then reigning world champions, and dispute their national league. Similarly, after their triumph in the 2010 Copa do Brasil, several Santos players made it known that they wished to stay at the club and participate in the 2011 Copa Libertadores, despite having multimillion-dollar contracts lined up for them at clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League, such as Chelsea of England and Lyon of France.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: Former Boca Juniors goalkeeper Óscar Córdoba has stated that the Copa Libertadores was the most prestigious trophy he won in his career (above the Argentine league, Intercontinental Cup, etc.)


title: Copa Libertadores

text: Since its inception in 1960, the Copa Libertadores had predominantly been won by clubs from nations with an Atlantic coast: Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Olimpia of Paraguay became the first team outside of those nations to win the Copa Libertadores when they triumphed in 1979.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The first club from a country with a Pacific coast to reach a final was Universitario of Lima, Peru, who lost in 1972 against Independiente of Argentina. The following year, Independiente defeated Colo-Colo of Chile, another Pacific team, creating the myth that the trophy would never go to the west, giving birth to the saying, "La Copa se mira y no se toca" (). Unión Española became the third Pacific team to reach the final in 1975, although they also lost to Independiente. Atletico Nacional of Medellín, Colombia, won the Copa Libertadores in 1989, becoming the first nation with a Pacific coastline to win the tournament. In 1990 and 1998 Barcelona Sporting Club, of Ecuador also made it to the final but lost both finals to Olimpia and CR Vasco da Gama respectively.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: Other clubs from nations with Pacific coastlines to have won the competition are Colo-Colo of Chile in 1991, Once Caldas of Colombia in 2004, and LDU Quito of Ecuador in 2008. Atletico Nacional of Colombia earned their second title in 2016. Particular mockery was used from Argentinian teams to Chilean teams for never having obtained the Copa Libertadores, so after Colo-Colo's triumph in 1991 a new phrase saying "la copa se mira y se toca" () was implemented in Chile.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: Pelé, regarded by many football historians, former players and fans to be the best footballer in the game's history, was appointed ambassador of the Copa Libertadores in 2008 by Banco Santander, the competition's main sponsor by then. The assignment was then renovated as the corporation considered Pelé "a promoter of the competition with his team Santos FC during the 1960s".


title: Copa Libertadores

text: In 1999, he was voted as the "Football Player of the Century" by the IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics. In the same year, French weekly magazine France-Football consulted their former "Ballon D'Or" winners to elect the Football Player of the Century. Pelé came in first place. In 1999 the International Olympic Committee named Pelé the "Athlete of the Century".


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The tournament attracts television audiences beyond South America, Mexico, and Spain. Matches are broadcast in over 135 countries, with commentary in more than 30 languages, and thus the Copa is often considered one of the most watched sports events on TV; Fox Sports, for example, reaches more than 25 million households in the Americas. Movistar+ broadcasts live Copa Libertadores matches in Spain.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: As of January 19, 2019 beIN Sports has obtained the broadcasting rights for Australia, Canada, MENA, New Zealand, and the United States beginning in 2019 through 2022.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: From 1997 to 2017, the competition had a single main sponsor for naming rights. The first major sponsor was Toyota, who signed a ten-year contract with CONMEBOL in 1997. The second major sponsor was Banco Santander, who signed a five-year contract with CONMEBOL in 2008. The third major sponsor was Bridgestone, who signed a sponsorship deal for naming rights for a period of five years from 2013 edition to 2017.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: Nike supplies the official match ball since 2003, as they do for all other CONMEBOL competitions. As of 2022, the current match ball for the Copa Libertadores is the Nike Flight.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The Flight model was introduced in 2020 in replacement of the "Merlin" by the same manufacturer. A different version of the Flight had been used during the 2021 Copa América.


title: Copa Libertadores

text: The data below does not include the 1948 South American Championship of Champions, as it is not listed by Conmebol either as a Copa Libertadores edition or as an official competition. However, at least in the years 1996/1997, Conmebol entitled equal status to both Copa Libertadores and the 1948 tournament, in that the 1948 champion club (CR Vasco da Gama) was allowed to participate in Supercopa Libertadores, a Conmebol official competition that allowed participation for former Libertadores champions only (for example, not admitting participation for champions of other Conmebol official competitions, such as Copa CONMEBOL).


title: Copa Libertadores

text: Bolivia and Venezuela are the only countries never to reach a final. Beyond them, Peru (and Mexico in their invitational period) are the only ones never to win a final.


title: Avatar: The Last Airbender (upcoming TV series)

text: Avatar: The Last Airbender is an upcoming American adventure fantasy television series. It is a live-action adaptation of the (2005–2008). It was first announced in September 2018. Albert Kim is set to be the showrunner, with an ensemble cast including Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, Ian Ousley, Dallas Liu, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Daniel Dae Kim.


text: The series is set in an Asiatic, war-torn world where certain people can "bend" one of the four classical elementswater, earth, fire, or air. Aang, the "Avatar" and the last living Airbender, is the "bridge" between the mortal and spirit world, and the only one capable of bending all four of the elements. The Avatar maintains the balance of the world and nature to bring peace, and Aang is now faced with the responsibility of ending the ambitions of the militaristic Fire Nation to conquer the world. With his new companions and Sokka, Aang sets out to master the elements while pursued by the exiled Fire Nation prince Zuko, who seeks to regain his honor by capturing him.


text: In September 2018, Netflix announced that a "reimagined" live-action remake of "Avatar" was to start production in 2019. The series' original creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, were initially announced to be the executive producers and showrunners. In June 2020, the creators departed the series due to creative differences. This was revealed after DiMartino published an open letter on his own website on August 12, 2020. The pair cited differences in their approach to the show compared with Netflix's vision, also citing a "negative and unsupporting" environment during their time with the studio. In August 2021, Albert Kim had officially joined as a writer, executive producer and showrunner; he commented in a blog post: "My first thought was, 'Why? What is there I could do or say with the story that wasn't done or said in the original?' But the more I thought about it, the more intrigued I became. We'll be able to see bending in a real and visceral way we've never seen before." In the same post, Kim emphasized that "throughout this process, our byword has been 'authenticity'. To the story. To the characters. To the cultural influences. Authenticity is what keeps us going, both in front of the camera and behind it." Dan Lin, Lindsey Liberatore, Michael Goi, and Roseanne Liang were also announced as executive producers with Goi and Liang both directing episodes of the series.


text: It was reported that each episode cost more than $15 million to make, with eight episodes per season.


text: The creators are committed to "culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed casting" according to a statement from Konietzko. In August 2021 following leaked casting reports, Netflix revealed the show's cast for the main four characters: Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, Ian Ousley and Dallas Liu as Aang, Katara, Sokka and Zuko respectively. Kim felt that "this was a chance to showcase Asian and Indigenous characters as living, breathing people. Not just in a cartoon, but in a world that truly exists, very similar to the one we live in." In November 2021, Daniel Dae Kim, who previously voiced General Fong in the animated series and later Hiroshi Sato in "The Legend of Korra", joined the cast of the series as Fire Lord Ozai. Later that month, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Lim Kay Siu, and Ken Leung joined the cast of the series, playing Iroh, Gyatso, and Commander Zhao respectively. In December, Elizabeth Yu, Yvonne Chapman, Tamlyn Tomita, Casey Camp-Horinek and Maria Zhang were added to the cast, respectively playing Azula, Avatar Kyoshi, Yukari (a new character added as Suki's mother in replacement of the mayor of Kyoshi Island), Gran Gran and Suki.


text: Co-creator Bryan Konietzko said that he was hoping to include Dante Basco, the original voice actor who played Zuko.


text: In April 2022, Arden Cho and Momona Tamada joined the cast as June and Ty-Lee. Later that month, C. S. Lee was cast as Avatar Roku. In June 2022, A Martinez and Amber Midthunder were cast as Master Pakku and Princess Yue respectively. In July 2022, it was revealed that James Sie would reprise his role as the Cabbage Merchant from the animated series. In September 2022, more additional roles were announced, with two of them being George Takei as the voice of Koh the Face Stealer and Randall Duk Kim as the voice of Wan Shi Tong. Takei previously voiced the Fire Nation Prison Rig Warden in the animated series, while Duk Kim had a minor role in the 2010 live-action film "The Last Airbender".


text: Production and filming began in Vancouver, British Columbia on November 16, 2021. The series was filmed under the working titles "Trade Winds" and "Blue Dawn". Principal photography wrapped on June 17, 2022. Stewart Whelan served as a cinematographer.


text: Jeremy Zuckerman, who composed music for the original show, was originally set to return to compose the music for the remake but later denied his involvement with the show after DiMartino and Konietzko left the project.


title: Audioslave

text: Audioslave was an American rock supergroup formed in Glendale, California, in 2001. The four-piece band consisted of Soundgarden's lead singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell with Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello (lead guitar), Tim Commerford (bass/backing vocals), and Brad Wilk (drums). Critics first described Audioslave as a combination of Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine, but by the band's second album, "Out of Exile", it was noted that they had established a separate identity. Their unique sound was created by blending 1970s hard rock and 1990s alternative rock, with musical influences that included 1960s funk, soul and R&B. As with Rage Against the Machine, the band prided themselves on the fact that all sounds on their albums were produced using only guitars, bass, drums, and vocals, with emphasis on Cornell's wide vocal range and Morello's unconventional guitar solos.


title: Audioslave

text: In their six years together, Audioslave released three albums, received three Grammy nominations, sold more than eight million records worldwide and became the first American rock band to perform an open-air concert in Cuba. They disbanded in February 2007 after Cornell issued a statement announcing that he was leaving the band. Later that year, Cornell and Morello released solo albums, and Morello, Commerford, and Wilk reunited with Zack de la Rocha for the Rage Against the Machine Reunion Tour.


title: Audioslave

text: Audioslave reunited to perform at Prophets of Rage's Anti-Inaugural Ball, which took place on January 20, 2017. Cornell's death later that year precluded any chance of further reunions.


title: Audioslave

text: Audioslave's history dates back to October 18, 2000, when Rage Against the Machine broke up after lead vocalist Zack de la Rocha announced he was leaving the band, citing a breakdown in the band's "decision-making process". The remaining three members of the band—Tim Commerford, Tom Morello, and Brad Wilk—decided to stay together and announced plans to search for and continue with a new vocalist. Several vocalists jammed with the three, including B-Real of Cypress Hill, but they did not want another rapper or anybody who sounded like de la Rocha. Contrary to popular belief, Layne Staley of Alice in Chains never auditioned for the new project; this rumor was debunked by Morello on his Twitter account in 2015. Music producer and friend Rick Rubin suggested that they play with Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. Rubin also persuaded the three of them to go into group therapy with performance coach Phil Towle after the breakup. Rubin was confident that with the right new voice, Rage Against the Machine had the potential to become a better band; he believed "it could turn into a Yardbirds-into-Led Zeppelin scenario." Commerford later credited Rubin for being the catalyst that brought Audioslave together. He called him "the angel at the crossroads" because "if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here today."


title: Audioslave

text: The chemistry between Cornell and the other three was immediately apparent; as Morello described: "He stepped to the microphone and sang the song and I couldn't believe it. It didn't just sound good. It didn't sound great. It sounded transcendent. And...when there is an irreplaceable chemistry from the first moment, you can't deny it." The quartet wrote 21 songs during 19 days of rehearsal, and began working in the studio in late May 2001 with Rubin as producer, while sorting out the label and management issues.


title: Audioslave

text: On March 19, 2002, Audioslave was confirmed for the seventh annual Ozzfest; despite, at that time, having neither an official name nor a release date for their debut album. A few days later, reports surfaced that the band had broken up before they had played for a public audience. Cornell's manager confirmed that the frontman had left the band, with no explanation given.


title: Audioslave

text: Initial rumors suggested that Cornell took issue with having two managers actively involved in the project (Jim Guerinot of Rebel Waltz represented Cornell, and Peter Mensch of Q Prime handled Rage Against the Machine). According to the band, however, the split was not triggered by personal conflicts, but by their quarreling managers. After the mixing of the album was finished, roughly six weeks later, the group reformed and simultaneously fired their former management companies and hired another, The Firm. Their previous labels, Epic and Interscope, settled their differences by agreeing to alternate who released the band's albums.


title: Audioslave

text: Meanwhile, 13 rough mixes of songs the band had created months previously were leaked to peer-to-peer filesharing networks in May 2002, under the name "Civilian" (or "The Civilian Project"). According to Morello, the songs were unfinished and, in some cases, "weren't even the same lyrics, guitar solos, performances of any kind." To MTV, he described them as "inferior sketches of works-in-progress, sent to Seattle for Chris to work on. Someone at that studio helped themselves to a copy and, after eight months, it made its way to an Italian website. Then it went global and everyone thought they had the record, which was so frustrating."


title: Audioslave

text: The band divulged their official name and launched their website in early September. The first single, "Cochise", was posted online in late September, and was on the radio in early October. Critics praised Cornell's vocal style, a distinct departure from the rapping of de la Rocha, and found that "the former members of RAtM have gone and done a Paul Weller, retreating from the ground they broke back [to] the sounds that inspired them." Director Mark Romanek shot a music video for "Cochise", which shows the band playing atop a tower under construction in the midst of a giant fireworks display providing all the lighting. The firework explosions during filming prompted fears of a terrorist attack among residents living near Los Angeles' Sepulveda Dam, the shooting location.


title: Audioslave

text: The self-titled debut album, "Audioslave", was released on November 19, 2002, and entered the "Billboard" 200 chart at No. 7 after selling 162,000 copies in its first week. It was certified gold by the RIAA within a month of release, and by 2006 achieved triple platinum status. It is the most successful Audioslave album to date, having sold more than three million copies in the United States alone. Despite its commercial success, "Audioslave" received mixed reviews. Some critics lambasted the group's effort as uninspired, and predictable. Pitchfork Media praised Cornell's voice, but criticized virtually every other aspect of the album, deeming the lyrics "complete gibberish" and Rubin's production "a synthesized rock-like product that emits no heat." Other critics, however, praised the supergroup's style reminiscent of 1970s rock and compared it to Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, saying they added much-needed sound and style to contemporary mainstream rock.


title: Audioslave

text: Audioslave made their live debut on November 25, 2002, performing a brief concert on the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway in New York City for the "Late Show with David Letterman". This was the first time any band had appeared on Letterman's marquee. That year's KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas was their first official paying concert, in which the band played on the first night, December 7, after giving a secret club show the night before. Toward the end of the band's six-song set, Cornell told the audience, "These guys saved my life this year", and the show ended with his bandmates hugging him. Afterwards, asked to expand on his comments, he would say only that he had dragged the trio "through a trail of shit" in the past months.


title: Audioslave

text: During this time, there was a rumor that Cornell had checked himself into drug rehabilitation. He later confirmed it in an interview with "Metal Hammer" that was conducted from a clinic payphone. In a San Diego CityBEAT article, Cornell explained that he went through "a horrible personal crisis" during the making of the first record, staying in rehab for two months and separating from his wife. He credited Morello, Commerford and Wilk with helping him rebound from the difficult period. He dismissed the rumors about being in rehab for OxyContin or heroin, but when asked, offered only, "Various things. I'm not picky. Mainly for drinking."


title: Audioslave

text: "Like a Stone", the second single from "Audioslave," was released in early 2003. It was the highest-charting single from the album, peaking at number one on "Billboard"s Mainstream Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. It was certified gold by the RIAA, making it Audioslave's most successful single. The music video for "Like a Stone" was written and directed by Meiert Avis. It was shot in the Los Angeles house where Jimi Hendrix wrote "Purple Haze". The video uses negative space to invoke the memory of musicians past. The music video for the third single, "Show Me How to Live", was banned from MTV, reportedly because it shows the band in a high-speed car chase running police cars and motorcycles off the road. The band's first DVD, "Audioslave", was released on July 29, 2003.


title: Audioslave

text: The band toured extensively worldwide in 2003, gaining positive reviews for their live performances, including at the revived Lollapalooza. Their performance on the Lollapalooza tour was so well received by readers of "Metal Edge" that they won the magazine's 2003 Readers' Choice Award for "Favorite Lollapalooza Band" by a landslide.


title: Audioslave

text: In 2004, Audioslave was among the nominees for the 46th Grammy Awards: "Like a Stone" was nominated for "Best Hard Rock Performance" and "Audioslave" for "Best Rock Album". They spent the rest of 2004 on break from touring and working on the second album. This gave Morello time to concentrate on his solo project, The Nightwatchman, and also to take an active part in political activities. Cornell had time to focus on his personal life; after his divorce from his first wife was finalized, he married Vicky Karayiannis, a Paris-based publicist he met during Audioslave's first European tour.


title: Audioslave

text: Work on a new album had started in 2003 during the Lollapalooza tour, and continued at the end of the year when band members entered the studio. Aside from writing new material, the band also had some leftover songs from the "Audioslave" sessions; according to Morello, they had "almost another album's worth of stuff [already done]." "Be Yourself", the first single from the still-untitled album, was panned by some critics, who felt it was "limp, and the lyrics are bland and directionless." Nevertheless, it reached number one on the Mainstream and Modern Rock charts.


title: Audioslave

text: In April 2005, the band launched a club tour, which lasted until late May. Although on previous tours Audioslave occasionally played cover songs, they deliberately avoided playing their former bands' songs to avoid using those songs as a "crutch" to "help sell and break Audioslave" as their aim was to establish the band as an "independent entity". After achieving that goal, they thought it was "time to own those histories," and began performing a selection of the two bands' most popular songs (such as "Black Hole Sun" and "Bulls on Parade") on the tour.


title: Audioslave

text: The second single, "Your Time Has Come" was released through a unique promotion, lasting one week, which involved radio listeners around the world. Radio stations were asked to post a link on their websites to a special timed-out download of the song. Once one million people clicked on the link, the song was unlocked and became downloadable by all one million.


title: Audioslave

text: On May 6, 2005, Audioslave played a free show in Havana, Cuba, in front of an estimated 50,000 people at the La Tribuna Antiimperialista José Martí (José Martí Anti-Imperialist Stand) venue, which was purpose-built in 2000 for mass protests against the U.S. government. Audioslave became the first American rock group to perform an open-air concert in the socialist republic of Cuba. The band traveled to Havana—bringing along their camera crew—on May 4 to spend two days visiting historic sites and interacting with Cuban musicians and youngsters. Morello and the rest of the band insisted that the trip was not to make a political statement, but to take part in a musical cultural exchange. Cornell commented: "Hopefully, this concert will help to open the musical borders between our two countries." The trip was organized with the joint authorization of the United States Department of the Treasury and the Instituto Cubano de la Musica (Cuban Institute of Music), as travel by U.S. citizens to Cuba is restricted, but the authorization arrived so late that the band had to cancel and postpone several confirmed dates of their U.S. tour. The 26-song-set concert—which included several Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine songs—was the longest the band had ever played.


title: Audioslave

text: "Out of Exile" was released internationally on May 23, 2005, then a day later in the U.S. It debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart, the only Audioslave album to reach this position. The following week, however, it dropped to number three, with a 62-percent sales decrease—consequently reaching platinum. Cornell admitted to writing some of his most personal songs on the album, influenced by the positive changes in his life since 2002. He described the album as more varied than the debut and relying less on heavy guitar riffs.


title: Audioslave

text: The album was received more favorably than Audioslave's debut; critics noted Cornell's stronger vocals, likely the result of quitting smoking and drinking, and pointed out that "Out of Exile" is "the sound of a band coming into its own." AllMusic, which gave "Audioslave" a lukewarm review, praised the album as "lean, hard, strong, and memorable." The lyrics, however, were still a common complaint. MusicOMH.com wrote that Cornell's lyrics "continue to border on the ridiculous"; the album's softer, slower approach was frequently criticized as well.


title: Audioslave

text: Following the album's release, the band embarked on a European tour, performed at the Live 8 benefit concert in Berlin on July 2, 2005, and played their first North American headlining arena tour from late September to November 2005. The music video for "Doesn't Remind Me", the third single from "Out of Exile," was posted online in September 2005. Audioslave's second DVD, "Live in Cuba", featuring the concert in Havana, was released on October 11, 2005. It was certified platinum in less than two months.


title: Audioslave

text: In December 2005, Audioslave received its third Grammy nomination at the 48th Grammy Awards in the Best Hard Rock Performance category for "Doesn't Remind Me". Audioslave began recording their next album; Cornell had already expressed his desire to make "an album every year or year-and-a-half" even before "Out of Exile" was released. In early July 2005, after the conclusion of the European tour, the band returned to the studio to write new songs; Morello said their aim was to "blur the lines between rehearsing, recording and touring." The actual recording began in January 2006, with plans to release the album, "Revelations", in June.<ref name="MTV News - Audioslave Turn To Rage/Soundgarden Producer For Third LP"></ref> This time, the band chose "Out of Exile"'s mixer, Brendan O'Brien, as producer.


title: Audioslave

text: Audioslave had 20 songs written and recorded, 16 of those in only three weeks. The album's release date, however, was postponed to early September, and the band cancelled their previously announced European tour, to have a new album to support, when they embarked on touring. The first single off the album, "Original Fire", was made available online on Audioslave's official website for free streaming in early July.


title: Audioslave

text: News about Cornell's departure emerged in July 2006, when insiders stated that after the third album was released, he would depart the band and restart his solo career. Cornell immediately denied the rumors, stating "We hear rumors that Audioslave is breaking up all the time. ... I always just ignore [them]." In the same interview, he also discussed his intentions to record a new solo album, the second in seven years, before the end of August.


title: Audioslave

text: A special marketing campaign preceded the new album's release in August, when the art concept was featured on Google Earth as a fictional utopian island, Audioslave Nation, created in the South Pacific. Several songs from the upcoming album appeared on movie and video game soundtracks; "Wide Awake" and "Shape of Things to Come" were featured in "Miami Vice", while "Revelations" was on the soundtrack of "Madden NFL 07". "Revelations" was released on September 5, 2006. The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 and sold 142,000 copies during its first week of release. It became the band's least commercially successful album; dropping even faster than "Out of Exile", its sales were down 65 percent the following week, achieving gold certification a month later. The album showed funk, soul and R&B influences that were non-existent for the band before; Morello referred to the new sound as "Led Zeppelin meets Earth, Wind & Fire". Additionally, several songs took a more overtly political stance than previous Audioslave releases.