anthrax
The 12 Worst Heavy Metal Albums of All Time
What makes a truly awful metal album? It’s not just a lack of riffs, awful production, or quarter-assed vocal takes. Most of these records suffer from overdosing on compromise, whether it’s hopelessly chasing a trendy sound or a failure to age gracefully; others have visions more realized yet too noxious to raise the horns with any pride. It shouldn’t shock you that most of these albums were released in the late 90s to the early 2000s – metal’s crisis years when older bands couldn’t make sense (or were outright hostile towards) nu-metal and what was left of alternative rock, and before the MTV2 Headbangers Ball revival both spread metalcore around the world and reignited a lot of older thrashers’ careers. Those really were the Dark Ages. Metal should make you want to sin for the greater go...
98 Musicians Predict the 2022 NFL Season
Now that Labor Day is in the rearview mirror, it means that football season is finally here. For the fourth season running, we asked a group of musicians to give their insight on how this season will shake out. No one predicted last year’s Super Bowl matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals, though a few accurately forecasted that the Rams would take home the Lombardi Trophy. As usual, some fans-turned-musicians are overly optimistic about their team’s chances, while others brace for another season at the bottom of the standings. Will this year be different? We’ll know in February. For now, here’s our collection of predictions. Nathan Followill, Kings Of LeonTennessee Titans (Credit: Taylor Hill/Getty Images) What’s your prognosis for the season?We way outperfor...
5 Albums I Can’t Live Without: Scott Ian of Anthrax/Motor Sister
Name Scott Ian Best known for Anthrax Current city New York Really want to be in Right where I want to be. Excited about Motor Sister’s new album Get Off (May 6). My current music collection has a lot of Everything. And a little bit of Everything. Preferred format Everything. [embedded content][embedded content] 5 Albums I Can’t Live Without: 1Let There Be Rock, AC/DC I learned how to really play guitar by listening to this album over and over and over and over. And I also learned that head-banging was involuntary. It never gets old. 2Alive, Kiss The first record I bought for myself (in lieu of a birthday present for my dad). Comics, horror and rock covered in blood, fire and makeup. It was a shot straight to my cerebral cortex. It never...
30 Artists Reflect on Metallica’s Black Album Turning 30
These days, Metallica’s self-titled fifth LP (aka the Black Album) is hailed as a bona fide classic. Quite admirable, considering how upon its 1991 release date, diehard fans spread buyer’s remorse faster than COVID. In this writer’s tenure as a surly clerk for a mall-based record-store chain, he remembers the true believers complaining about everything from the shortened song lengths to James Hetfield’s lyrics to uber-producer Bob Rock’s framing of their heavy metal hellions. Back then, insufferable customers got their cash refunds while others continued to bitch like mad with the subtext that “maybe it would grow on me.” Now 30 years and approximately 35 million sales later, the Black Album is downright canonical. Sure, the Bay Area thrash-metal mavericks were indeed architects (alongsid...
30 Artists Reflect on Metallica’s Black Album Turning 30
These days, Metallica’s self-titled fifth LP (aka the Black Album) is hailed as a bona fide classic. Quite admirable, considering how upon its 1991 release date, diehard fans spread buyer’s remorse faster than COVID. In this writer’s tenure as a surly clerk for a mall-based record-store chain, he remembers the true believers complaining about everything from the shortened song lengths to James Hetfield’s lyrics to uber-producer Bob Rock’s framing of their heavy metal hellions. Back then, insufferable customers got their cash refunds while others continued to bitch like mad with the subtext that “maybe it would grow on me.” Now 30 years and approximately 35 million sales later, the Black Album is downright canonical. Sure, the Bay Area thrash-metal mavericks were indeed architects (alongsid...
30 Artists Reflect on Metallica’s Black Album Turning 30
These days, Metallica’s self-titled fifth LP (aka the Black Album) is hailed as a bona fide classic. Quite admirable, considering how upon its 1991 release date, diehard fans spread buyer’s remorse faster than COVID. In this writer’s tenure as a surly clerk for a mall-based record-store chain, he remembers the true believers complaining about everything from the shortened song lengths to James Hetfield’s lyrics to uber-producer Bob Rock’s framing of their heavy metal hellions. Back then, insufferable customers got their cash refunds while others continued to bitch like mad with the subtext that “maybe it would grow on me.” Now 30 years and approximately 35 million sales later, the Black Album is downright canonical. Sure, the Bay Area thrash-metal mavericks were indeed architects (alongsid...
Anthrax, Mastodon, Korn Members, DMC Cover Faith No More’s ‘We Care A Lot’
Making music on Zoom — on the surface — seems weird (that whole connectivity thing). But, yet again, a group of musicians joining forces to show strength in numbers managed to work. Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher, Korn’s Ray Luzier, Anthrax’s Frank Bello, DMC, Filter’s Richard Patrick and more collaborated for a cover of Faith No More’s “We Care A Lot” in support of the Roadie Relief effort, which aims to help out of work crew members who have been impacted by the pandemic. The collaboration was organized by Slaves on Dope members Jason Rockman and Kevin Jardine. Also featuring on the song were Walter Schreifels of Quicksand, Dennis Lyxzén of Refused and more. Check it out below. [embedded content] You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates O...
Neil Peart Tribute Show to Feature Taylor Hawkins, Chad Smith
Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers highlight an all-star group of drummers who will pay tribute to the late, great Neil Peart of Rush. The event, which takes place this Saturday night (Sept. 12) will serve as a benefit for brain tumor research at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. A ticket to stream the event will cost $12.99 and will be aired on Fite.TV. The tribute is part of the 2020 Modern Drummer Festival. Other drummers performing include Rick Allen of Def Leppard, Charlie Benante of Anthrax, Ray Luzier of Korn and many, many more. The late Rush drummer died from a brain tumor in January of this year after an undisclosed battle with the illness. See the full list of performers below. Rick Allen (Def Leppard)Kenny Ar...
Anthrax’s Charlie Benante and DMC Team Up on New Charity Collab
Over the past few months, artists have been getting creative with bringing live performances to their fans. Anthrax’s Charlie Benante has been doing just that and has recently collaborated with DMC of Run DMC, Suicidal Tendencies bassist Ra Diaz and former Anthrax / current Volbeat guitarist Rob Caggiano on a new track. Benante revealed that he’s always wanted to play a Run-DMC medley. So he arranged it back in March, and “CB’S RUNDMC JAM” was born. Charlie explains more about how this music came together on the song’s Bandcamp page, which can read below. “I always wanted to do a medley of RUN DMC songs, so back in March I decided to put an arrangement together and asked these amazing people to be a part of it. How can you do a RUN DMC medley without the KING of ROCK- Darryl McDaniels DMC....
Anthrax’s Charlie Benante’s ‘My Quarantine List With a Little Help From My Friends’
With everyone sequestered and self-quarantining due to the coronavirus, we’ve asked our favorite artists to come up with playlists that keep you entertained. Here is Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante: I was one of those people who became consumed with the news, the 24-hour cycle of the depressing and frightening onslaught of not only COVID-19, but all the other BS that’s been happening in our country and our world today. And I realized it was having a very negative effect on my psyche, and that I needed to stop and find a creative outlet to channel my feelings in a positive and proactive way. Having been self-isolating at home with my girlfriend and daughter, I found I had all kinds of time to rediscover a lot of great music I hadn’t heard in a long time, in many cases, going back to t...
