98 Degrees

All four albums released by the group went platinum. Amid what could have become a PR nightmare for the band, they issued a press release (http://www.anthrax.com/html/ANTHRAX_PressRelease.htm) on October 10, 2001 that jokingly mentioned that they were going to change the name of the band to "something more friendly, like 'Basket Full of Puppies.'". After the first album, 98 Degrees left Motown for its parent company, Universal Records. During the terrorist-related anthrax outbreak in the United States in 2001, the band altered their Website to provide information about the disease because many people had come there simply by entering anthrax.com in their Web browsers. After building popularity with their appearance in the movie Mulan, singing "True to Your Heart", a duet with labelmate Stevie Wonder, their success broke out in late 1998 with their album 98° and Rising, which included the hit single "I Do (Cherish You)". The band has yet to release an official statement about Bello's departure and have recruited Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Fates Warning) as a touring bassist. The group originally singed to the Motown label in the mid-1990s. In March 2004, long-time bassist (and nephew of drummer Benante) Frank Bello left the band amid much speculation.

It consists of four vocalists: brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, as well as Justin Jeffre and Jeff Timmons. Scott Ian is currently engaged to Meat Loaf's daughter Pearl Aday. 98 Degrees are an American boy band formed in Los Angeles, but whose members are originally from Ohio. Several members have launched affiliated side-projects, such as Scott Ian's Stormtroopers of Death. In early 2004 the band returned to the studio to record Greater of Two Evils, a rerecording of the band's early work with the current lineup. In 2002 new guitarist Rob Caggiano joined the band and the following year the band released We've Come For You All, an album hailed by the metal press as a long awaited return to form.

Despite these hardships and various legal entanglements regarding who had the rights to certain albums, Anthrax managed to soldier on. During this time period a two vocalist tour featuring both Joey Belladonna and John Bush was proposed and set to go, until Belladonna decided to pull out at the last minute. Regrouping the band signed with another label and released a greatest hits album although that label soon went out of business as well. Unfortunately, almost immediately after Volume 8's release, the independant label they were signed to went bankrupt and disappeared, making the album extremely difficult to find.

Anthrax signed with a small independant label, and in 1998 managed to release Vol.-8 The Threat Is Real, a punishing album which had the potential to return Anthrax to the top of the metal heap. During the hiatus long time guitarist Dan Spitz left the band, leaving Anthrax reeling. Obviously upset at what they felt was an attempt by the label to kill the album, Anthrax attempted to sever ties with Electra. In 1995 the band released Stomp 442 an album which Electra refused to provide real promotion for, and it quickly disappeared without a trace.

Unfortunately the musical landscape of the early '90s was changing drastically; Alternative Rock was the rage, and metal was no longer being pushed by the music industry. Bush was a more "serious" sounding vocalist and Sound of White Noise was well received by most of the band's audience. The band jumped ship from Island Records to Electra Records and released Sound of White Noise on the label in 1993. In 1992 Anthrax parted ways with vocalist Joey Belladonna and replaced him with ex-Armored Saint vocalist John Bush.

Within a few years bands such as Rage Against The Machine, Korn, Limp Bizkit and a host of others had picked up the Rap/Rock or Rap/Metal mantle and gone on to various degrees of success. Bring The Noise was a hit and the band had a successful joint tour with Public Enemy. Anthrax was always a band prone to experimentation, and in 1991 they collaborated with pioneering rap artists Public Enemy on a joint version of PE's Bring The Noise. While Run-DMC had worked with Aerosmith back in 1986, Bring The Noise is widely regarded as the very first Rap Rock hybrid as this was the first time a Rock band had fully incorporated Rap into a song. Because of this Anthrax appealed to a more general audience even if they were never quite as popular as their contemporaries.

While the other major thrash bands, Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, were deadly serious, Anthrax wrote songs about comic books and Stephen King novels. Almost immediately Anthrax morphed from a stereo-typical Judas Priest knock-off to the thrash metal style that would garner them so much fame. Mixing equal doses of punk and speed metal along with a generous dose of humor quickly shot them to the fore front of the burgeoning thrash movement. The additions of vocalist Joey Belladonna, and bassist Frank Bello brought a much improved sound to band. By 1985 when Anthrax released their first classic album, Spreading the Disease, their lineup had solidified into cohesive unit.

It was an inauspicuous debut for a band that would soon rise to the forefront of the thrash metal scene. After signing with Megaforce Records, they released their first full-length album, Fistful of Metal in 1984. Anthrax was formed by guitarist Scott Ian, drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Dan Lilker and vocalist Neil Turbin in the early '80s. They have made several appearances on television shows such as Married with Children and NewsRadio and have appeared in movies such as Run Ronnie Ron (performing as the fictional band Titannica) and Calendar Girls.

The "big-four" of thrash metal invariably includes Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. Anthrax was one of the most popular bands from the thrash metal scene in the '80s, and possibly the biggest band to come out of the East Coast thrash scene. Anthrax is a New York City-based heavy metal rock group, who released their first full-length album in 1984. For the British band of the same name see: Anthrax (Anarcho-punk band).

This article deals with the American band called Anthrax. Neil Turbin, lead vocals. Dan Spitz, lead guitar. Dan Lilker, bass.