Anthrax is an American thrash 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 to emerge from the East Coast. The band's current lineup consists of Scott Ian, drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Frank Bello, vocalist Joey Belladonna and lead guitarist Jonathan Donais. Anthrax's lineup has changed numerous times over their career, leaving Ian as the only constant member of the band. Ian and Benante are the only two members to appear on all of Anthrax's albums, while Bello has been a member of Anthrax since 1984, replacing Lilker.
Thrash metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo. The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead guitar work. The lyrical subject matter often includes criticism of The Establishment, opposition to armed conflicts, and at times shares a disdain for the Christian religion with that of black metal. The language is typically direct and denunciatory, an approach borrowed from Punk.
Fistful of Metal is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in January 1984 by Megaforce Records and Music for Nations internationally. The album includes a cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen". This is the band's only album to feature original frontman Neil Turbin and original bassist Dan Lilker, who were replaced by Matt Fallon and Frank Bello, respectively. Former original guitarist Greg Walls claims that Anthrax "ripped him off" as he claims he wrote the material on the album.
Spreading the Disease is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in October 1985 by Megaforce Records and Island Records. It was the band's first album to feature vocalist Joey Belladonna and bassist Frank Bello. A special two-disc edition of the album was released in 2015, celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Stormtroopers of Death was an American crossover thrash band formed in New York City in 1985. They are credited as being amongst the first groups to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal into a style often referred to as crossover thrash. The band is also known for reuniting Anthrax members, guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante, with their former bassist Dan Lilker. Their instrumental song "March of the S.O.D." from their 1985 debut album, Speak English or Die, was the Headbangers Ball intro anthem for many years. Another song from the same album, "Chromatic Death", was also used during the show as a segue between ads and videos.
Speak English or Die is the debut album by the American crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death, released in August 1985.
Brutal Truth was an American grindcore band from New York City, formed by ex-Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, and Stormtroopers of Death bass guitarist Dan Lilker in 1990. The group disbanded in 1999, but reformed in 2006 and continued to release music until 2014.
Nuclear Assault was an American thrash metal band formed in New York City in 1984. Part of the mid-to-late 1980s thrash metal movement, they were one of the main bands of the genre to emerge from the East Coast along with Overkill, Whiplash, Toxik, Carnivore, and Anthrax, the last of which was co-founded by Nuclear Assault bassist Dan Lilker, who left Anthrax shortly after the release of their first album. Nuclear Assault released five full-length albums and toured relentlessly throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, and broke up in 1995. The band reunited briefly in 1997, 2002, 2005 and 2015 before breaking up for the fourth time in 2022.
Shane Thomas Embury is a British musician, who is widely known as bassist and primary songwriter of the grindcore and death metal band Napalm Death since 1987—the longest-serving member of the band.
Venomous Concept is an American hardcore punk band formed by Kevin Sharp of Brutal Truth and Shane Embury of Napalm Death in 2004. Sharp and Embury were joined by Danny Herrera and Buzz Osborne, who was later replaced by Danny Lilker. They have released three albums: Retroactive Abortion (2004), Poisoned Apple (2008), and Kick Me Silly VCIII (2016). They have also released two split albums: one with Japanese grindcore band 324 (2006), and the other with Australian extreme metal band Blood Duster (2008). The band's name is a play on Poison Idea, in the style of name-mangling Japanese hardcore acts.
Charles Lee Benante is an American musician, best known as the drummer for thrash metal band Anthrax and crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death. Known as one of the pioneers of double bass drumming and credited for popularizing the blast beat technique, he is Anthrax's main composer and has released eleven studio albums with the band. Benante joined the reunited Pantera in 2022, replacing original drummer Vinnie Paul, who died in 2018.
Nicholas Howard Barker is an English extreme metal drummer best known for his work in Cradle of Filth from 1993 to 1999, Dimmu Borgir from 1999 to 2004, Brujeria from 2003 to 2005 and from 2016 to 2022, and Shining from 2022 to 2023. Currently he is the drummer for Borstal, Liquid Graveyard, Twilight of the Gods, and United Forces.
Lock Up is an English grindcore supergroup.
Need to Control is the second studio album by American grindcore band Brutal Truth, released on October 25, 1994 through Earache.
Zero Tolerance is an extreme music magazine, launched in September 2004 by Lisa Macey and Leon Macey and published by Obdurate Ltd. in the United Kingdom. Published bi-monthly, it can be found on newsstands in the UK, Europe and North America - and is available on newsstands in Australia and specialist retailers in New Zealand and Taiwan. The magazine features a covermount CD. The magazine's tagline is "Extreme Views on Extreme Music by Extreme People".
John Connelly is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of New York City thrash metal band Nuclear Assault.
Exit-13 was an American grindcore band from Millersville, Pennsylvania. The band were formed in 1989 by Relapse Records founder and co-owner Bill Yurkiewicz (vocals), guitarist Steve O'Donnell and bassist Joel DiPietro. Their early recordings, including the Disembowelling Party, The Unrequited Love of Chicken Soup and Eat More Crust demos, their debut full-length Green Is Good (1990) and the EPs The Unrequited Love of Chicken Soup (1990) and Spare the Wrench, Surrender the Earth (1991) featured a line-up of Yurkiewicz, O'Donnell and DiPietro, with drum duties being shared between Bill Schaeffer and Pat McCahan.
Evolution Through Revolution is the fifth studio album by grindcore band Brutal Truth. This was the band's first album since 1997, recorded after an eight-year hiatus. Evolution Through Revolution was released on April 14, 2009. It sold around 1000 copies in its first week, and debuted at No. 65 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart.
End Time is the sixth and final studio album by grindcore band Brutal Truth. It was released on September 27, 2011, by Relapse Records on CD, LP, and as a deluxe CD box set, which includes "six bonus tracks, a 20-page booklet, six custom art flats, a marijuana-scented disc card, and more".
