History of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal: Anthrax

Nearly as much as Metallica or Megadeth, Anthrax was responsible for the emergence of speed and thrash metal. Combining the speed and fury of hardcore punk with the prominent guitars and vocals of heavy metal, they helped create a new subgenre of heavy metal on their early albums.

After their first album, Fistful of Metal, singer Joey Belladonna and bassist Frank Bello joined a lineup featuring guitarists Scott Ian and Dan Spitz, along with drummer Charlie Benante.

Anthrax arguably became the leaders of speed metal. As the '80s became the '90s, they also began to increase their experiments with hip-hop, culminating in a tour with Public Enemy in 1991 and a joint re-recording of PE's classic "Bring the Noise."

After their peak period of the late '80s, Anthrax kicked Belladonna out of the band in 1992 and replaced him with ex-Armored Saint vocalist John Bush — a singer that was gruffer and deeper, fitting most metal conventions perfectly. Subsequently, their sound became less unique and their audience shrank slightly as a consequence.

After frequent lineup changes and lukewarm album releases, the original lineup reunited in 2005 for a tour and the CD/DVD retrospective Anthrology: No Hit Wonders [1985-1991]. Anthrax also issued Alive 2, recorded during their summer 2005 reunion tour.