New York, NY · thrash metal

Anthrax

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Big Four thrash with NYC attitude — 'Caught in a Mosh' remains an instruction, and four decades in they still play like the scrappiest kids in the class.

Anthrax formed in New York City in 1981, founded by guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker, and became one of the defining American thrash metal bands, grouped with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth as the genre's Big Four. Scott Ian has been present throughout the band's history.

Original singer Neil Turbin fronted the band on its 1984 debut, Fistful of Metal, before Joey Belladonna took over later that year. Belladonna sang on the band's best-known run, including Among the Living and Persistence of Time, before John Bush of Armored Saint replaced him in 1992 and fronted the group through much of the 1990s.

Signed to Elektra Records for a reported ten million dollars, Anthrax released Sound of White Noise in 1993 with Bush singing. It reached number seven on the Billboard 200, the band's highest chart placing, and produced the radio hit "Only".

Their sound combines fast riffing with a punk-derived bounce and a streak of humour largely absent from their peers. They were also early to bridge metal and hip-hop, recording a version of Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise" with the group in 1991.

After a period of lineup turnover through the 2000s, Belladonna rejoined for a third time in 2010, and the band's 2011 album Worship Music, their first with him in twenty-one years, reached number twelve on the Billboard 200. Their most recent album, For All Kings, followed in 2016.

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thrash metal