The Road to ANTHRAX's Very Well Deserved Grammy Nomination - Video Available!

ANTHRAX's "Rock N' Roll comeback story of 2011" began in 2009, reaching a pinnacle with last month's surprise Grammy nomination for the track "I'm Alive" in the category of Best Rock/Metal Performance. The surprise was that the acknowledgement came more than a year after the track's September 13, 2011 release on the band's critical smash album, 'Worship Music' (considered the best album of the year by various outlets including this one), which was named one of the best Metal albums of the year by numerous media outlets. 

There were great highs - Joey Belladonna's return, the Big Four concerts, playing Yankee Stadium, the overwhelming acclaim of 'Worship Music', the "bare bones, guerilla" set at last summer's Mayhem festival, the band's "Got The Time" being the first Metal song played on Mars - and there were challenges as well, but, ANTHRAX - Charlie Benante (drums), Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano (guitars), Frank Bello (bass), and Joey Belladonna (vocals) - redefined the joy of rooting for the underdog.



Anthrax fans waited eight long years for 'Worship Music', the band's first studio album since 2003's 'We've Come For You All', that features the return of "classic era" vocalist Belladonna making his first Anthrax album in twenty years. Since its September 13 release and subsequent debut at #12 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart, 'Worship Music' has received glowing praise from numerous critics and music tastemakers, including That Metal Show's Eddie Trunk and Alexander Milas, editor of the UK's Metal Hammer. We named it the #1 Metal Album of the Year.

The return of Belladonna and Anthrax's remarkable renewal began in 2009 in a Cleveland hotel bar. Anthrax's Benante and Ian, and Metallica's Lars Ulrich were in town for the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame when Lars first brought up the idea of The Big Four - Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, the four bands that served as the original architects for the "thrash/speed-metal" scene," yet had never shared the same stage before.  The first of (so far) fourteen Big Four events took place on June 16, 2010, culminating in what was Anthrax's New York homecoming concert - The Big Four at Yankee Stadium on September 14, the day after Worship Music hit stores.  "We came into The Big Four as the underdog," said Benante.  "We were the band that had the most to prove, and we've worked really, really hard to do that." 

As previously announced, in the spring of 2013, the headbangers of North America will welcome the third chapter of the Metal Alliance Tour. The event will be headlined by ANTHRAX who will be performing 'Among The Living' in its entirety. The lineup thus far includes:

- ANTHRAX
- EXODUS
- MUNICIPAL WASTE
- HOLY GRAIL
- HIGH ON FIRE

The dates are as follows (General-admission tickets will go on sale on January 11):

Mar. 23 - House of Blues - Las Vegas, NV
Mar. 24 - Marquee Theatre - Tempe, AZ
Mar. 25 - House of Blues - San Diego, CA
Mar. 27 - House of Blues - West Hollywood, CA
Mar. 28 - Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA
Mar. 29 - The Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR
Mar. 30 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
Mar. 31 - Showbox SoDo - Seattle, WA
Apr. 02 - Summit Music Hall - Denver, CO
Apr. 04 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN
Apr. 05 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL
Apr. 06 - The Fillmore Detroit - Detroit, MI
Apr. 07 - Bogarts - Cincinnati, OH
Apr. 09 - House of Blues - Dallas, TX
Apr. 10 - House of Blues - Houston, TX
Apr. 12 - House of Blues - Lake Buena Vista, FL
Apr. 13 - Tremont Music Hall - Charlotte, NC
Apr. 14 - The Fillmore - Silver Spring, MD
Apr. 16 - House of Blues - Cleveland, OH
Apr. 18 - Theatre of the Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA
Apr. 20 - Irving Plaza - New York, NY

Related links:
ANTHRAX's Official Site

ANTHRAX'S Stunning "Comeback" Continues With Surprise 2012 Grammy Nomination!

The surprise isn't that Anthrax's "I'm Alive" received a Grammy nomination last night for Best Rock/Metal Performance; the surprise is that it comes more than a year after the track's September 13, 2011 release on the band's critical smash, Worship Music, which was named was of the best metal albums of 2011 by numerous media outlets, and provided the band with the rock'n'roll comeback story of the year.  This is the fourth Grammy nomination for Anthrax - Charlie Benante (drums), Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano (guitars), Frank Bello (bass), Joey Belladonna (vocals).

"I was watching The Dave Matthews Band perform when I received a text saying 'Congrats on the Grammy nomination!'," said Benante.  "Huh?  I had lost all hope of ever being nominated for another Grammy, but I guess I was wrong.  We put so much hard work into 'Worship Music,' and I am so honored to be nominated with a group of bands that have also sustained the Test of Time like the legendary Maiden and Megadeth.  Heavy Metal is a Force, it has fans that range from six to 66, and I'm so proud to be a part of this Force...it's in all of us."

Anthrax fans waited eight long years for 'Worship Music', the band's first studio album since 2003's 'We've Come For You All', that features the return of "classic era" vocalist Belladonna making his first Anthrax album in twenty years. Since its September 13 release and subsequent debut at #12 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart, 'Worship Music' has received glowing praise from numerous critics and music tastemakers, including That Metal Show's Eddie Trunk and Alexander Milas, editor of the UK's Metal Hammer. We named it the #1 Metal Album of the Year.

The return of Belladonna and Anthrax's remarkable renewal began in 2009 in a Cleveland hotel bar. Anthrax's Benante and Ian, and Metallica's Lars Ulrich were in town for the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame when Lars first brought up the idea of The Big Four - Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, the four bands that served as the original architects for the "thrash/speed-metal" scene," yet had never shared the same stage before.  The first of (so far) fourteen Big Four events took place on June 16, 2010, culminating in what was Anthrax's New York homecoming concert - The Big Four at Yankee Stadium on September 14, the day after Worship Music hit stores.  "We came into The Big Four as the underdog," said Benante.  "We were the band that had the most to prove, and we've worked really, really hard to do that." 

Anthrax continues touring in support of Worship Music having just completed a European tour with Motorhead, and will be announcing North American plans for 2013 shortly.

Related links:
ANTHRAX's Official Site

Open Letter From ANTHRAX To Their Devoted Fans As 'Worship Music' Surpasses The 100,000 Album Sales Mark!

To our Fans and everyone who has supported ANTHRAX and 'Worship Music':

It was a little more than a year ago - September 13, 2011 - that 'Worship Music' was released, and all of us in ANTHRAX can't believe how much has happened since then.

Our friends in the press gave the album great reviews, and so many writers singled it out as one of the best Metal albums of the year. Our label just told us that 'Worship Music' has just passed the 100,000 mark on albums sold. Since 'Worship Music's' release, we've played 107 concerts all over the world - in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia, South America, and the U.K. - we've gone home to New York to not only play Yankee Stadium as one of The Big Four, but had September 14 named "Anthrax Day" in The Bronx, where Charlie, Frankie and Rob grew up.

We've been so lucky as a band, and we know we're able to do what we do because of you, our fans and all of our supporters in the press, at radio and retail, online, on the road, everywhere.  We've had one of the best years of our career, and we share it all with you.  So thank you for making the Anthrax's "year of Worship Music" the best!  More to come!

- Frank, Scott, Charlie, Rob and Joey

ANTHRAX North American Tour with TESTAMENT and DEATH ANGEL (Remaining tour dates):

- 9/24: Saskatoon, SK @ Odeon Event Center
- 9/25: Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
- 9/27: Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theater
- 9/28: Detroit, MI @ Harpo's
- 9/29: Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
- 9/30: Quebec City, QC @ Capitole du Quebec
- 10/2: Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
- 10/3: Portland, ME @ State Theater
- 10/4: Hartford, CT @ The Webster
- 10/5: Montclair, NJ @ Wellmont Theatre
- 10/6: Atlantic City, NJ @ House Of Blues

Related links:
ANTHRAX's Official Site

Twenty Albums That Made 2011 Heavy, Exciting & Dangerous!

One of the most arduous tasks that we have to put up with year after year, is selecting our "best of" lists. When the calendar hits the month of December, we usually have a good idea of which albums should be on our "best of" lists. However, instead of applying the typical method that most outlets out there use, which is usually based on their first impressions. We went back and listened to over 50 albums that were released in 2011, and reanalyzed our tentative list very carefully. This took a lot of our time, but we wanted to compile what we believe are twenty albums that made 2011 heavy, exciting, and very dangerous. Here you go!

20) Lies Beneath - "Death Of The American Dream"

19) Chimaira - "The Age Of Hell"

18) Kittie - "I've Failed You"

17) Charred Walls Of The Damned - "Cold Winds On Timeless Days"

16) Generation Kill - "Red, White and Blood

15) Unearth - "Darkness In The Light"

14) Ikillya - "Recon"

13) No Remission - "Through Blackened Skies"

12) The Black Dahilia Murder - "Ritual"

11) DevilDriver - "Beast"

10) Revocation - "Chaos Of Forms"

9) Jasta - "Jasta"

8) Crowbar - "Sever The Wicked Hand"

7) A Pale Horse Named Death - "And Hell Will Follow With Me"

6) Cavalera Conspiracy - "Blunt Force Trauma"

5) Arch Enemy - "Khaos Legions"

4) Vildhjarta - "masstaden"

3) Amon Amarth - "Surtur Rising"

2) Machine Head - "Unto The Locust"

1) Anthrax - "Worship Music"