Anthrax

Released: February 26, 2016

Songwriter: Scott Ian Frank Bello Charlie Benante Joey Belladonna

Producer: Jay Ruston

[Verse 1]
You give them hell
Straight to the chin
If you can’t win
Their hearts and minds
On the first try
Up and say aye!
Aye!
They’ll listen

[Bridge]
Fires are raging and the sirens scream
And your pathetic life has run out of road
If you were offered eternity
Would it slip through your fingers to wicked to hold?

[Pre-Chorus]
Rebel
Backslider
Reach higher
You give them hell
You give them

[Chorus]
Hell this ain’t no warning
You give ’em hell because you must
It’s a long hard road we’re walking
Because this battle chose us
This battle chose us, this battle chose us

[Verse 2]
A gang of blood
And by killing so distilling
A simple plan
Never settle our true mettle
Yeah!

[Bridge]
They’ll listen
Fires are raging and the sirens scream
And your pathetic life has run out of road
If you were offered eternity
Would it slip through your fingers to wicked to hold?

[Pre-Chorus]
Rebel
Backslider
Reach higher
You give them hell
You give them

[Chorus]
Hell this ain’t no warning
You give ’em hell because you must
It’s a long hard road we’re walking
Because this battle chose us
This battle chose us, this battle chose us

[Post-Chorus]
Hell, you give them hell
You can’t choose your battles, you can’t choose your battles, this battle chose us
You give ’em hell
This battle chose us, you can’t choose your battles
Battle!

Known as one of the Big Four of thrash metal, along with Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica, Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City “who would quite literally build a genre from the ground up”. Their name was chosen after searching a biology textbook for a ‘cool sounding disease’ that sounded “sufficiently evil”.

Anthrax started out in 1981 with guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker. After adding vocalist Neil Turbin, guitarist Dan Spitz and drummer Charlie Benante, Megaforce Records (Metallica, Mercyful Fate, Manowar) released the band’s debut single “Soldiers Of Metal” in late 1983. Its success led to the release of the group’s first album Fistful of Metal. What set Anthrax apart from many thrash metal bands of their time was their occasionally sardonic and ludicrous lyrics, a trend that would continue for the rest of the eighties.

After a number of lineup changes, the band finally found a stable group; Ian, Benante, Spitz, Frank Bello on bass, and Joey Belladonna on vocals. This lineup then released Spreading the Disease, the first of the “classic Anthrax albums” and their first to chart in the US. Anthrax toured with Metallica on their Damage Inc Tour in late 1986. At this time, Ian and Benante also formed the side project Stormtroopers of Death, which was controversial because of its deliberately racist and misogynist joke lyrics.

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