Anthrax is a thrash metal band formed in Queens, New York City, on July 18, 1981, by guitarists Scott Ian and Dan Lilker. It is the New York member of thrash’s Big Four, with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. In 45 years the band has made 12 studio albums, the latest of them Cursum Perficio in September 2026. Start with Among the Living (1987).
The Short Version
- Formed: Queens, New York City, July 18, 1981.
- Current lineup: Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Frank Bello, Joey Belladonna and Jonathan Donais.
- Start with: Among the Living (1987), then Spreading the Disease (1985) and Sound of White Noise (1993).
- Texas: a 1986 run with Helstar, a 1987 live recording in Dallas, Dimebag Darrell on two albums and the Alamodome in 2026.
How Did Anthrax Form, and Where Did the Name Come From?
Scott Ian and Dan Lilker started the band in Queens in the summer of 1981, with Dave Weiss on drums. Ian took the name from a biology textbook. He chose the disease, Wikipedia records, because it sounded “sufficiently evil.”
Singer Neil Turbin joined in late August 1982, and drummer Charlie Benante arrived in September 1983. Jon Zazula’s Megaforce Records signed the band. Fistful of Metal came out on January 6, 1984, produced by Carl Canedy, drummer of The Rods.
That debut is the only Anthrax album with Turbin singing. Lilker left in 1984 and went on to Nuclear Assault, which our Nuclear Assault history covers.
Anthrax Band Members, Then and Now
The current Anthrax lineup is Scott Ian on rhythm guitar, Charlie Benante on drums, Frank Bello on bass, Joey Belladonna on vocals and Jonathan Donais on lead guitar. Ian is the only founder left. Benante has been there since 1983, and Bello since 1984, apart from a break from 2004 to 2005.
The singer’s chair has changed the most. Turbin sang on the debut, Matt Fallon passed through briefly, and Belladonna took over in 1984. John Bush of Armored Saint held the job from 1992 to 2005. The classic lineup, with Belladonna and Dan Spitz, then reunited from 2005 to 2007. Dan Nelson was announced in December 2007 and left in 2009, Bush came back briefly, and Belladonna returned in 2010 for his third stint.
Dan Spitz played lead guitar from Fistful of Metal through Sound of White Noise, then left to become a watchmaker. Rob Caggiano joined in 2001, and Spitz came back for the 2005 to 2007 reunion. Caggiano left in January 2013 to join Volbeat. Donais, who first came in as a touring player, became an official member that August.
Three of them had a famous side project. In 1985 Ian, Benante and Lilker joined singer Billy Milano as S.O.D., whose Speak English or Die our crossover thrash history covers. Anthrax had studio time left over after Spreading the Disease, and the four used it to make that album.
S.O.D. (Stormtroopers of Death)
New York, 1985: Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Dan Lilker and Billy Milano. Start with Speak English or Die (Megaforce, 1985).
The Belladonna Years: Spreading the Disease to Bring the Noise
Belladonna’s first recording with the band was the Armed and Dangerous EP. Spreading the Disease followed on October 28, 1985, cut at Pyramid Sound in Ithaca, New York, with Canedy and the band producing. It reached No. 113 on the Billboard 200. In Kerrang!, Howard Johnson recommended it as the best example of thrash metal.
Among the Living (March 1987) was the gold-selling breakthrough, and our Among the Living feature goes through it track by track.
State of Euphoria (September 1988) went gold about five months after release. Persistence of Time (August 1990) earned the band its first Grammy nomination, for Best Metal Performance. Attack of the Killer B’s (1991) earned a second.
In 1991 Anthrax cut “Bring the Noise” with Public Enemy. It was a hit, and it led to a joint tour with the rap group.
The John Bush Era and Sound of White Noise
Belladonna left in 1992 and John Bush took over. Bush had sung for Armored Saint since 1982. Unsure of that band’s future, he took the job, and Armored Saint split up soon after.
Armored Saint
Los Angeles, formed 1982, with John Bush singing before and after his Anthrax years. Start with March of the Saint (Chrysalis, 1984).
Sound of White Noise came out on Elektra on May 25, 1993, produced by Dave Jerden and the band in Hollywood. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200, the highest chart position of Anthrax’s career. Rolling Stone’s Tom Sinclair called it “a powerful comeback from a group that never went away.”
“Only” was the single that carried it. Grunge was at its height, and most first-wave thrash bands were losing ground, as our piece on how thrash survived the 1990s explains. Anthrax went the other way, and kept making records with Bush.
Stomp 442 came out on Elektra on October 24, 1995. It was the first Anthrax album without Spitz. Charlie Benante played most of the lead guitar himself, with Paul Crook, not yet a credited member, on four songs. The biggest Texas name in the Anthrax catalogue is on it too. Dimebag Darrell of Pantera played guitar on “King Size” and “Riding Shotgun.”
Dimebag came back for Volume 8: The Threat Is Real (1998), with solos on “Inside Out” and “Born Again Idiot.” We’ve Come for You All (Sanctuary, 2003) was Bush’s last studio album of new songs with the band. For Pantera’s own records, start with our Cowboys From Hell feature.
Belladonna Returns, and the Big Four Share a Stage
With Belladonna back in 2010, the Big Four finally met. That June, Anthrax, Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer played seven Sonisphere shows in Europe together, the first time all four shared a bill. They played Yankee Stadium in September 2011. Our Big Four guide tells that story.
Worship Music came out on September 12, 2011, and debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200. For All Kings followed on February 26, 2016, and debuted at No. 9. Three more Grammy nominations followed, at the 2013, 2014 and 2015 ceremonies.
Anthrax in Texas
Houston’s Helstar wrote the first date into its own biography: in March 1986, “the band tours with Anthrax throughout Texas.” Our Helstar history picks it up from there.
Helstar
Houston, and Anthrax’s partner on that 1986 Texas run. Start with Nosferatu (Metal Blade, 1989), then Remnants of War (1986).
Corpus Christi’s Devastation may have started on an Anthrax bill that same year. Last.fm and No Life ‘til Metal say its first show was opening for Anthrax in Texas in 1986, but accounts differ, as our Devastation profile notes. The earliest date in the Devastation show archive at Metallipromo is August 29, 1986, at the Stardust in Corpus Christi, with Angkor Wat and, from Dallas, Rotting Corpse.
The two bands stayed close. Devastation is part of Rotting Corpse’s own history, and its singer Rodney Dunsmore planned a vinyl pressing of the band’s 1990 Neck Breaking Fury demo.
Devastation
Corpus Christi, 1986 to 1991, reunited 2008. Start with Idolatry (Combat, 1991); Violent Demonstration (2023) collects the early demos.
The Arcadia, 1987
On July 11, 1987, Anthrax played the Arcadia Theatre at 2005 Greenville Avenue in Dallas. MusicBrainz credits the live tracks on the I’m the Man EP, including “I Am the Law,” to that night. The Arcadia opened as a movie palace on November 4, 1927, and later ran as a nightclub, Cinema Treasures records. Fire destroyed it in June 2006.
Arcadia Theatre Closed 2006
The 1927 movie palace survived a 1940 fire, was rebuilt in 1941 and later became a nightclub. After the June 2006 fire it was demolished, so nothing is left to visit.
We found no openly licensed photo of the Arcadia, so a flyer from the Texas thrash circuit stands in: Rotting Corpse’s Halloween “Night of Terror” at the Royal Palace Ballroom with Death Tripper and C.B.S. Flyer: Rotting Corpse archive
Clash of the Titans, 1991
On May 16, 1991, the North American leg of the Clash of the Titans tour opened at the Starplex Amphitheatre in Dallas. Anthrax shared that bill with Megadeth, Slayer and Alice in Chains. Scott Ian later said the band “didn’t start making any money until 1991” on that tour. Our Clash of the Titans history covers it.
Dos Equis Pavilion (former Starplex Amphitheatre) Open
The Fair Park amphitheater opened in 1988 as the Coca-Cola Starplex and has been Dos Equis Pavilion since April 2018.
Photo: Mark N. via Google
Dallas in 2013, San Antonio in 2026
On March 9, 2013, Anthrax played House of Blues Dallas on the Metal Alliance Tour with Exodus and Municipal Waste. On September 29, 2026, the band opened at the Alamodome in San Antonio for Iron Maiden and Megadeth. It was one of four Iron Maiden dates Anthrax joined in September 2026 (Montréal, Harrison, Los Angeles and San Antonio), and Blabbermouth reported a fifth in Mexico City on October 2.
Charlie Benante didn’t play in San Antonio, for reasons that weren’t disclosed. Mike Heller, the Raven drummer who lives in the city, got the call at 2 p.m. and played at 6:30, Blabbermouth reported. Benante has a Texas tie of his own these days, as the drummer in the reformed Pantera.
Alamodome Open
San Antonio’s domed stadium hosted the Texas date of Iron Maiden’s 2026 run, with Megadeth and Anthrax on the bill. The San Antonio Current reported a near-capacity crowd, with Anthrax opening on a five-song set.
Photo: Jeremy Grandits via Google
Cursum Perficio: The 2026 Album
Cursum Perficio came out on September 18, 2026. It is Anthrax’s 12th studio album, released by Megaforce in North America and Nuclear Blast in Europe. The ten years since For All Kings are the longest gap between albums in the band’s career.
Jay Ruston produced it with the band, as he did Worship Music and For All Kings. The album was mixed and partly recorded at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 in Northridge, California. It reached No. 27 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the UK Rock and Metal chart.
The Latin title translates roughly as “my journey has come to an end.” Benante has said, “We don’t really have to say that this is the end.” Ian has said, “I don’t know if we’ll make another album.”
Blabbermouth’s Dom Lawson gave it 8 out of 10 and called “The Edge of Perfection” “arguably the finest song the band have written since Belladonna’s return.”
“It’s for the Kids” was the first single, in May. The album runs 11 songs and 53 minutes, opening with “Persistence of Memory” and closing with “My Victory.”
Anthrax Band Albums: Which One to Start With
- Among the Living (Megaforce/Island, 1987): the peak, and the best Anthrax album to start with.
- Spreading the Disease (Island, 1985): Belladonna’s first full album, which AllMusic’s Steve Huey rated a big step up from the debut.
- Sound of White Noise (Elektra, 1993): the John Bush record, and the band’s highest chart placing.
- Persistence of Time (Megaforce/Island, 1990): the first Grammy nomination.
- Worship Music (2011): Belladonna’s comeback, and the best way into the modern band before Cursum Perficio.
Anthrax
Queens, New York City, 1981. Start with Among the Living (1987), then Spreading the Disease (1985) and Sound of White Noise (1993).
Where to Hear It Live
As of October 2026, Anthrax has no announced North American dates after the fall Iron Maiden run. Scott Ian told Rolling Stone Brasil that “the real tour will start in January,” Consequence reported, so 2027 is when to look. Follow the band on Bandsintown for announcements.
In the meantime, Texas thrash is playing live this fall. These Rotting Corpse dates are on our shows page:
- November 14, 2026: Haltom Theater, 5601 E Belknap St, Haltom City, with Iron Jaw. Venue site
- December 5, 2026: Spam’s Bar and Lounge, 2321 Sherwood Way, San Angelo. Venue site
Start with “Evolvement” (1987)
It’s the one science-fiction song in the catalogue, a perfected master race that learns what it’s really made of, cut at Pantego Sound the same year Anthrax was singing about Judge Dredd (lyrics).
Sources
- Wikipedia: Anthrax (American band)
- Wikipedia: Fistful of Metal
- Wikipedia: Spreading the Disease
- Wikipedia: Sound of White Noise
- Wikipedia: John Bush (singer)
- Wikipedia: Cursum Perficio
- Wikipedia: Clash of the Titans (tour)
- Blabbermouth: Dom Lawson, review of Cursum Perficio
- Blabbermouth: New Anthrax album pushed back to September 2026 (March 2026)
- Blabbermouth: Anthrax video footage of Dallas performance (April 2013)
- Anthrax official site: Anthrax with Iron Maiden in 2026
- Helstar official site: Biography
- No Life ‘til Metal: Devastation
- Last.fm: Devastation biography
- Metallipromo: Devastation lineups, releases and show archive
- Wikipedia: Stomp 442
- Wikipedia: Volume 8: The Threat Is Real
- MusicBrainz: I Am the Law (live, July 11, 1987, Arcadia Theatre, Dallas)
- Cinema Treasures: Arcadia Theater, Dallas
- Wikipedia: Dos Equis Pavilion
- Blabbermouth: Anthrax recruits Mike Heller as last-minute fill-in in San Antonio (September 2026)
- Blabbermouth: Anthrax recruits Derek Roddy for Mexico City concert (October 2026)
- San Antonio Current: Stephanie Koithan, Iron Maiden, Megadeth and Anthrax at the Alamodome (September 2026)
- Consequence: Scott Ian on the final album and touring (September 2026)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the members of Anthrax?
The current lineup is Scott Ian (guitar, a founder in 1981), Charlie Benante (drums, since 1983), Frank Bello (bass, since 1984), Joey Belladonna (vocals, 1984 to 1992, 2005 to 2007, and again since 2010) and Jonathan Donais (lead guitar, an official member since August 2013). Key former members include co-founder Dan Lilker, singers Neil Turbin, John Bush and Dan Nelson, and guitarists Dan Spitz and Rob Caggiano.
What is the best Anthrax album to start with?
Among the Living (1987), the gold-selling record that made the band. Spreading the Disease (1985) comes next for the earlier, rawer Belladonna sound, and Sound of White Noise (1993) shows the John Bush era at its peak, No. 7 on the Billboard 200.
When did Cursum Perficio come out?
September 18, 2026, on Megaforce in North America and Nuclear Blast in Europe. It is Anthrax’s 12th studio album and its first since For All Kings in 2016, the longest gap of its career. It reached No. 27 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the UK Rock and Metal chart.
Where did the name Anthrax come from?
Scott Ian saw the disease in a biology textbook and picked it because it sounded “sufficiently evil.” The band formed in Queens, New York City, on July 18, 1981.
Has Anthrax played in Texas?
Many times. Anthrax toured Texas with Houston’s Helstar in March 1986, recorded live tracks for the I’m the Man EP at Dallas’s Arcadia Theatre on July 11, 1987, per MusicBrainz, played the first night of the 1991 Clash of the Titans US tour in Dallas, and played the Alamodome in San Antonio with Iron Maiden and Megadeth on September 29, 2026.
Is Anthrax touring in 2027?
As of October 27, 2026, no Anthrax dates after that day were posted on the band’s site. Scott Ian told Rolling Stone Brasil, Consequence reported, that the real tour for Cursum Perficio would start in January. Watch the band’s Bandsintown page for dates.
