Formation (1981–1982) 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 lineup was completed by singer
John Connelly, and bassist Paul Kahn. Kahn was briefly replaced by bassist Kenny Kushner before Lilker took over on bass. Future
Hittman singer Dirk Kennedy replaced Connelly for a few months 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.
Neil Turbin era and debut album (1982–1984) ,
Dan Spitz,
Neil Turbin,
Scott Ian and
Dan Lilker. This lineup recorded the band's first album
Fistful of Metal. The band's first performance with Neil Turbin was at Great Gildersleeves, a New York club, in September 1982. This lineup played regularly in the New York–New Jersey area over the next several months. Anthrax was also on the same bill as then-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. Tensions were building between Lilker and Turbin for various reasons, eventually leading to Turbin firing Lilker without informing the rest of the band. 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. 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.
Joey Belladonna era (1984–1992) In 1984,
Joey Belladonna was chosen as the new vocalist. The
Armed and Dangerous EP marked Belladonna's recording debut with Anthrax. 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, The tour included a show near Chernobyl, Ukraine, immediately after the
Chernobyl disaster. Later that year, Anthrax toured Europe with Metallica. 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. finish,
State of Euphoria was certified gold about five months after its release, 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. 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's first album with Bush and for Elektra,
Sound of White Noise, was released in 1993. 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, 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. 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. During a meeting with the band, Rhone told Anthrax that she wouldn't have signed their record deal. In late 1997, Anthrax signed with Ignition Records, an
independent label distributed by
Tommy Boy Records. 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. 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''. The band then spent the summer of 2003 on tour with
Motörhead. 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.
Reunions with Belladonna and Bush (2005–2010) 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." 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. 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. 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. 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.
Worship Music and For All Kings (2010–2018) 2013 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
released on DVD and Blu-ray. The bands would also play a few shows in the U.S. the following year, including a concert at
Yankee Stadium in September 2011. 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 No. 12 on the
Billboard 200, their highest chart position since
Sound of White Noise in 1993. 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. 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. Since Belladonna's return to Anthrax, the band has been nominated for three Grammys, in 2012, 2013, and 2014. 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. 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". In a March 2017 interview, drummer
Charlie Benante revealed that there were a few unreleased tracks from the
For All Kings sessions that could serve as a genesis for the next Anthrax album, stating, "I think there are two or three that we could dust off and use as a starting point." The band's recording of "
Antisocial" was prominently featured in the 2017 movie
It but was not included on its official soundtrack release.
Tours, live albums and Cursum Perficio (2018–present) When asked in May 2018 if Anthrax had begun working on their twelfth studio 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. The band released the live album and DVD
Kings Among Scotland in April 2018 which was recorded during their Glasgow, Scotland show on the
For All Kings tour. 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. 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 toured 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, 2022. Anthrax continued performing live within the next few years, including co-headlining a European tour with
Kreator in November and December 2024, with Testament as the opening act. Original Anthrax bassist
Dan Lilker performed with the band for the first time in 40 years during their spring 2024 tour of South America and at a few festival shows in the U.S., filling in for Bello, who was unable to perform due to "personal reasons". Along with
Metallica, Slayer,
Pantera,
Alice in Chains and
Mastodon, the band served as one of the opening acts of
Black Sabbath's
one-off reunion show at
Villa Park on July 5, 2025. This gig marked the first time in nearly fifteen years, since the "
Big Four" concert series, that Anthrax had shared the stage together with both Metallica and Slayer. After years of false starts and stops, Anthrax entered the studio in the spring of 2023 to begin recording their twelfth studio album. Frontman
Joey Belladonna began recording his vocals on November 5, 2023, and production of the album continued within another two years. Although Bello had stated the album would be in the fall of 2025, it was left unfinished by the middle of the year, with drummer
Charlie Benante revealing that the band had thrown "out a bunch of old tunes and made some new ones that destroy the older ones", and Belladonna claiming he had "maybe two or three more" songs left to record. Bello confirmed in July 2025 that the album was in the mixing stages, and Benante announced the same month that a new Anthrax song would be released before the end of the year. Bello announced in February 2026 that the new album would be released in May of that year, though Benante later clarified that it will be released in September while the first single will be released in May. In a March 2026 interview with
Bravewords.com, Ian and Benante revealed
Cursum Perficio as the title of the album. and they will also support Iron Maiden on select dates to the North American leg of their
Run for Your Lives World Tour that fall. ==Ex-members incidents==