Anthrax

Anthrax is an American metal band from New York City, formed in 1981 by lead guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker. Today, their members includes Scott Ian, (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Charlie Benante, (drums, percussion, occasional lead guitar), Frank Bello, (bass guitar, backing vocals), Joey Belladonna, (lead vocals), and Johnathan Donais, (lead guitar). Back in the day, they were considered the BIG FOUR among thrash metal bands, along with Slayer, Metallica, and Megadeath; they were also the only of the four to hail from the East Coast. Since their inception in 1981, they've released a total of 11 studio albums, which included Fistful of Metal, (1984), Spreading the Disease, (1985), Among the Living, (1987), State of Euphoria, (1988), Persistence of Time, (1990), Sound of White Noise, (1993), Stomp 442, (1995), Volume 8: The Threat is Real, (1998), We've Come for You All, (2003), Worship Music, (2011), and For All Kings, (2016).
==History==
===Formation===
Anthrax formed in 1981 at Queens, New York by guitarists Scott Ian and Dan Lilker. The band was named after the disease of the same name which Ian saw in a biology textbook. The band's initial line-up was completed by singer John Connelly, drummer Dave Weiss, and bassist Paul Kahn. Kahn was briefly replaced by bassist Kenny Kushner before Lilker took over on bass and Greg Walls joined as lead guitarist. Weiss was then replaced early on by Greg D'Angelo, who was recommended to the band by Greg Walls. Ian's younger brother Jason Rosenfeld was a temporary vocalist until Ian's former schoolmate Neil Turbin joined the band in late August 1982.
===Fistful of Metal===
Anthrax performed regularly at clubs in New Jersey and New York during their early years in order to build up revenue. Around the time, Greg Walls left during the summer of 1982 and was replaced by Bob Berry. Berry was later in turn soon replaced by Dan Spitz. In September 1983, Charlie Benante replaced D'Angelo at the drums. With enough revenue generated, Anthrax signed with Megaforce Records and released their first studio album titled Fistful of Metal in January 1984. Shortly after the release of the album, Lilker was fired. Frank Bello took over for the bass position shortly thereafter. Anthrax went on tour to promote their latest release, although Bello was not fully experienced with the band's tracks at the time. By August 1984, Turbin parted ways with Anthrax due to long standing personal issues. Matt Fallon took over as the next vocalist, but was short lived, and was fired due to a lack of confidence in the studio.
===Spreading the Disease===
In early 1985, Anthrax settled in on Joey Belladonna to become the band's next vocalist. Anthrax released their second studio album titled Spreading the Disease on October 30, 1985. Around the same time, Belladonna was not fully familiar with the thrash metal genre, but quickly developed as the tracks for the album were recorded. Anthrax went on tour to promote the album, especially in portions of Europe. One show occurred in Ukraine, coming only days after the Chernobyl disaster.
===Among the Living===
Anthrax released their third studio album titled Among the Living on March 22, 1987. It had an experimental side and began a lyrical trend focusing on movies, comic books, and Stephen King novels. Once again, Anthrax toured in Europe and the United States to promote their latest release.
Category:Music YouTubers
Category:American YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2006