Steerpike
01-19-2007, 08:11 AM
It was close this week, but we got a winner by a hair in the polls.
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504585
Rites of Spring – Before Emo Was Stolen
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=506077
Joy Division - A Tragic Legend
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=509755
Bauhaus - Beginning of a Legacy
We’re shifting gears this time to one of the more under-appreciated of the 80’s thrash explosion. Specifically, Anthrax.
Biography
In the 1980’s, the metal scene was very busy, but also rather unusual. In the mainstream world, hard rock and metal just got more and more polished and pretty. Fueled by the magic of Van Halen’s debut album, party music was the name of the game. Meanwhile, the NWOBHM was taking Europe by storm before breaking into the US late in the decade. All the while, groups like Celtic Frost, Bathory, and Mercyful Fate were plunging the genre deeper into darkness the occult and sewing the seeds of what would soon become black metal, while Helloween and Dio were inspiring the first power metal bands. And even in the late years, death metal was born in Florida, the same state that was home to Disney World ironically enough. But when most people think of 80’s metal, they think of thrash and The Big Four: Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax.
Anthrax is perhaps the most overlooked of these bands. Sure, their influence is obvious, but there are a lot of modern metal fans who aren’t as familiar with them simply because of lack of publicity.
Anthrax originally formed in 1981 in Yonkers, New York, far from the Bay Area in California where the thrash metal explosion largely originated. This location may have been why the group took a different direction than their contemporaries, but I’m getting ahead of myself. The founding members were Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, who picked the name out of a biology textbook, because let’s face facts, words that end in “x” generally sound really cool.
They recorded a slew of demos and went through several line-up changes before releasing their debut album, Fistful of Metal, in 1984. Though catchy as you please and packed with plenty of headbanging riffs and solos, it largely went under the radar. Tensions were already forming between Danny and vocalist Neil Turbin, and Danny soon left to form Nuclear Assault.
Despite the best attempts of the other members to ease the tensions, Neil proved to be a hassle and was fired in July of that year. They finished off the tour with a guest vocalist, and went home to audition a new singer.
They soon found Joey Belladonna as their new frontman, and drummer Charlie Benante got his nephew Frank Bello to join as bassist. Combined with the guitar duo of Scott and lead man Dan Spitz, this became the classic line-up. With Joey’s clean vocals and lightning-fast delivery, the band expanded into more melodic territory than other thrash bands. They started with 1985’s Armed and Dangerous EP followed swiftly by the full-length album, Spreading the Disease. With this album under their belts, Anthrax were able to tour America and Europe.
Among the Living was released early in 1987, and showcased the band at a high. Whereas Slayer and Metallica tried to look as dark and visceral as they could, Anthrax were like the surfers of heavy metal, writing about comic books and movies and exercising a little genre bending. Scott became friends with Chuck D of Public Enemy and persuaded the group to experiment with a rap-metal fusion. The first of these experiments was I’m the Man, an over-the-top goofy song that was included on the I’m the Law single.
1989 saw the release of the State of Euphoria album, and one of the band’s biggest hits, Anti-Social. Originally by the band Trust, Anthrax’s version became one of metal’s most beloved anthems. A contest that same year became the inspiration for the band to guest star on an episode of Married… with Children in which the band came to the family’s house and proceeded to do to it what Motley Crue does to hotels.
1990’s Persistence of Time preceded a European tour with Iron Maiden and a co-headlining for the Clash of the Titans Tour with Slayer and Megadeth. That was followed by a tour with Public Enemy, at which time the two groups collaborated on remixes of the latter’s songs Bring the Noise and Too Much Posse.
It was around this time, though, that a rift began to form between Joey and the rest of the band. He contributed very little the Attack of the Killer B’s EP, and soon after parted ways from the group. Not wanting to let any slack form, the group quickly scooped up John Bush of Armored Saint. John had more of a hard rock/classic metal voice, which was appropriate as this was coming in at a time when the band wanted to move away from their more cartoonish early works.
Sound of White Noise was released in 1993 and garnered largely positive reviews. The single Only was hailed by James Hetfield as, “a perfect song,” generating more hype for the album. Classical composer Angelo Badalamenti was brought in to help write music for the track Black Lodge, further showcasing the band’s penchant for unlikely collaborations.
Despite these positive steps forward, three blows struck the band hard. First, Dan Spitz left after becoming a born-again Christian (noticing a pattern with art and religion?), and no suitable replacement could be found. The group decided to carry on as a quartet for the album Stomp 422, but Elektra Records did almost nothing to promote it and it dropped off fairly quickly. The band was furious and terminated their contract with the label.
They signed to an independent label and collaborated with Dimebag Darrel to produce Volume 8: the Threat is Real, a raw thrash album that showcased the frustration they were dealing with. They were poised to make a comeback when the label abruptly went bankrupt and the album dropped off the map.
The band refused to give up and signed to another label to release a greatest hits album in 2000, Return of the Killer A’s. Sadly, that label also went bankrupt soon after. The group attempted a tour with both John and Joey appearing on stage together, but Joey backed out at the last minute. They also attempted a tour with Megadeth and Motley Crue until the latter decided to kick Anthrax off the bill half-way through the tour so that they could expand their own set (no extra time was allocated to Megadeth according to this reporter’s research). It was a very rough period for Anthrax and things looked very uncertain.
In late 2001, the terrorist panic and anthrax hysteria provided the group a chance to turn what could have been a real PR fisting into a good press. Tens of thousands people punching anthrax.com into their browsers found themselves at the band’s web page. Scott posted up information on the disease from actual medical websites and journals so that it wasn’t a total waste of the unsuspecting websurfers’ time. He also joked that in response to all the panic, the band would change their name to the much friendlier Basket of Puppies.
At their first gig following all these incidents in November of 2001, they walked on stage in boiler suits with words painted on them and stood in single file to create the sentence, “WE’RE NOT CHANGING OUR NAME.”
The next year, Rob Caggiano joined as the new lead guitarist and the group released the album We’ve Come for You All, which fans of the band greeted with enthusiasm as a wonderful return to form and the beginning of a comeback.
In 2004, they released two DVDs, a live album, and compilation of older songs re-recorded with the new line-up. Around the same time, Frank left to join Helmet, and Joey Vera of Armored Saint and Fates Warning was called in to fill the bassist role.
Two more DVDs were released in 2005 along with a live album featuring the classic line-up after their reunion was announced in April. Though Frank has stated he’s permanently rejoined the band, Dan and Joey are still uncertain. Now new material has been recorded, even though the reunion still stands. John is back with Armored Saint for the time, and Rob is on hiatus. Fans remain divided on the issue, and wait patiently for more news.
Anthrax rightfully deserve their place among the Big Four of thrash simply because they managed to transcend the genre beyond its stereotypes and joined the echelons of innovative groups such as Faith No More who bent genres to their will to create unorthodox but refreshing new fusions. Today, Anthrax have so absorbed some of the trappings of hip-hop and alternative that they actually consider themselves groove metal rather than thrash. And while some argue that Phil Anselmo coined the term, many would also insist that it was Anthrax who pioneered the style.
http://www.anthrax.com/
Official web page
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504585
Rites of Spring – Before Emo Was Stolen
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=506077
Joy Division - A Tragic Legend
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=509755
Bauhaus - Beginning of a Legacy
We’re shifting gears this time to one of the more under-appreciated of the 80’s thrash explosion. Specifically, Anthrax.
Biography
In the 1980’s, the metal scene was very busy, but also rather unusual. In the mainstream world, hard rock and metal just got more and more polished and pretty. Fueled by the magic of Van Halen’s debut album, party music was the name of the game. Meanwhile, the NWOBHM was taking Europe by storm before breaking into the US late in the decade. All the while, groups like Celtic Frost, Bathory, and Mercyful Fate were plunging the genre deeper into darkness the occult and sewing the seeds of what would soon become black metal, while Helloween and Dio were inspiring the first power metal bands. And even in the late years, death metal was born in Florida, the same state that was home to Disney World ironically enough. But when most people think of 80’s metal, they think of thrash and The Big Four: Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax.
Anthrax is perhaps the most overlooked of these bands. Sure, their influence is obvious, but there are a lot of modern metal fans who aren’t as familiar with them simply because of lack of publicity.
Anthrax originally formed in 1981 in Yonkers, New York, far from the Bay Area in California where the thrash metal explosion largely originated. This location may have been why the group took a different direction than their contemporaries, but I’m getting ahead of myself. The founding members were Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, who picked the name out of a biology textbook, because let’s face facts, words that end in “x” generally sound really cool.
They recorded a slew of demos and went through several line-up changes before releasing their debut album, Fistful of Metal, in 1984. Though catchy as you please and packed with plenty of headbanging riffs and solos, it largely went under the radar. Tensions were already forming between Danny and vocalist Neil Turbin, and Danny soon left to form Nuclear Assault.
Despite the best attempts of the other members to ease the tensions, Neil proved to be a hassle and was fired in July of that year. They finished off the tour with a guest vocalist, and went home to audition a new singer.
They soon found Joey Belladonna as their new frontman, and drummer Charlie Benante got his nephew Frank Bello to join as bassist. Combined with the guitar duo of Scott and lead man Dan Spitz, this became the classic line-up. With Joey’s clean vocals and lightning-fast delivery, the band expanded into more melodic territory than other thrash bands. They started with 1985’s Armed and Dangerous EP followed swiftly by the full-length album, Spreading the Disease. With this album under their belts, Anthrax were able to tour America and Europe.
Among the Living was released early in 1987, and showcased the band at a high. Whereas Slayer and Metallica tried to look as dark and visceral as they could, Anthrax were like the surfers of heavy metal, writing about comic books and movies and exercising a little genre bending. Scott became friends with Chuck D of Public Enemy and persuaded the group to experiment with a rap-metal fusion. The first of these experiments was I’m the Man, an over-the-top goofy song that was included on the I’m the Law single.
1989 saw the release of the State of Euphoria album, and one of the band’s biggest hits, Anti-Social. Originally by the band Trust, Anthrax’s version became one of metal’s most beloved anthems. A contest that same year became the inspiration for the band to guest star on an episode of Married… with Children in which the band came to the family’s house and proceeded to do to it what Motley Crue does to hotels.
1990’s Persistence of Time preceded a European tour with Iron Maiden and a co-headlining for the Clash of the Titans Tour with Slayer and Megadeth. That was followed by a tour with Public Enemy, at which time the two groups collaborated on remixes of the latter’s songs Bring the Noise and Too Much Posse.
It was around this time, though, that a rift began to form between Joey and the rest of the band. He contributed very little the Attack of the Killer B’s EP, and soon after parted ways from the group. Not wanting to let any slack form, the group quickly scooped up John Bush of Armored Saint. John had more of a hard rock/classic metal voice, which was appropriate as this was coming in at a time when the band wanted to move away from their more cartoonish early works.
Sound of White Noise was released in 1993 and garnered largely positive reviews. The single Only was hailed by James Hetfield as, “a perfect song,” generating more hype for the album. Classical composer Angelo Badalamenti was brought in to help write music for the track Black Lodge, further showcasing the band’s penchant for unlikely collaborations.
Despite these positive steps forward, three blows struck the band hard. First, Dan Spitz left after becoming a born-again Christian (noticing a pattern with art and religion?), and no suitable replacement could be found. The group decided to carry on as a quartet for the album Stomp 422, but Elektra Records did almost nothing to promote it and it dropped off fairly quickly. The band was furious and terminated their contract with the label.
They signed to an independent label and collaborated with Dimebag Darrel to produce Volume 8: the Threat is Real, a raw thrash album that showcased the frustration they were dealing with. They were poised to make a comeback when the label abruptly went bankrupt and the album dropped off the map.
The band refused to give up and signed to another label to release a greatest hits album in 2000, Return of the Killer A’s. Sadly, that label also went bankrupt soon after. The group attempted a tour with both John and Joey appearing on stage together, but Joey backed out at the last minute. They also attempted a tour with Megadeth and Motley Crue until the latter decided to kick Anthrax off the bill half-way through the tour so that they could expand their own set (no extra time was allocated to Megadeth according to this reporter’s research). It was a very rough period for Anthrax and things looked very uncertain.
In late 2001, the terrorist panic and anthrax hysteria provided the group a chance to turn what could have been a real PR fisting into a good press. Tens of thousands people punching anthrax.com into their browsers found themselves at the band’s web page. Scott posted up information on the disease from actual medical websites and journals so that it wasn’t a total waste of the unsuspecting websurfers’ time. He also joked that in response to all the panic, the band would change their name to the much friendlier Basket of Puppies.
At their first gig following all these incidents in November of 2001, they walked on stage in boiler suits with words painted on them and stood in single file to create the sentence, “WE’RE NOT CHANGING OUR NAME.”
The next year, Rob Caggiano joined as the new lead guitarist and the group released the album We’ve Come for You All, which fans of the band greeted with enthusiasm as a wonderful return to form and the beginning of a comeback.
In 2004, they released two DVDs, a live album, and compilation of older songs re-recorded with the new line-up. Around the same time, Frank left to join Helmet, and Joey Vera of Armored Saint and Fates Warning was called in to fill the bassist role.
Two more DVDs were released in 2005 along with a live album featuring the classic line-up after their reunion was announced in April. Though Frank has stated he’s permanently rejoined the band, Dan and Joey are still uncertain. Now new material has been recorded, even though the reunion still stands. John is back with Armored Saint for the time, and Rob is on hiatus. Fans remain divided on the issue, and wait patiently for more news.
Anthrax rightfully deserve their place among the Big Four of thrash simply because they managed to transcend the genre beyond its stereotypes and joined the echelons of innovative groups such as Faith No More who bent genres to their will to create unorthodox but refreshing new fusions. Today, Anthrax have so absorbed some of the trappings of hip-hop and alternative that they actually consider themselves groove metal rather than thrash. And while some argue that Phil Anselmo coined the term, many would also insist that it was Anthrax who pioneered the style.
http://www.anthrax.com/
Official web page