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).
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.[14] 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.
Anthrax's second album Spreading the Disease was released in October 1985.[15] 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.[16] 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,[15] 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.
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.[17] The tour included a show near Chernobyl, Ukraine, immediately after the Chernobyl disaster.[18] Later that year, Anthrax toured Europe with Metallica.[15] 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.[17]
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.[15] While the album was not quite as well-received as Among the Living, owing to its "rushed"[21][22] finish, State of Euphoria was certified gold about five months after its release,[2] 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.[17] 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.[18]
Anthrax returned to the studio at the end of 1989 to work on their fifth album, again with Dodson as the producer.[23] 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.[15][23] 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.[23] The most successful single from the album was a cover of Joe Jackson's "Got the Time",[15] which Jackson said he enjoyed. Persistence of Time was certified gold by the RIAA in early 1991,[2] 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.[23]
After Sound of White Noise longtime guitarist Dan Spitz left the band to become a watchmaker, leaving Anthrax a quartet temporarily.[34] In 1995, Anthrax released their seventh studio album Stomp 442, on which Charlie Benante played most of the lead-guitar parts.[15] Benante was assisted by Paul Crook, who later became the band's touring lead guitarist for several years, and Dimebag Darrell of Pantera.[15] Because Elektra did not promote the album it was less commercially successful than its predecessor, and Anthrax severed its ties with the label.
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'."[36] 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.[18]
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.[49] In June 2010 Anthrax, Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer performed on the same bill for the first time ever at seven Sonisphere shows.[50] The Sofia, Bulgaria show was broadcast in cinemas and later released on DVD and Blu-ray.[51] The bands would also play a few shows in the U.S. the following year, including a concert at Yankee Stadium in September 2011.[52]
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 JÃgermeister side stage at the Mayhem Festival of 2012, co-headlined by Slayer and Slipknot,[53] and toured with Testament and Death Angel.[54][55][56] 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.[57]
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