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.'". Still pretty good! - Dan Parlin. 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.
Joey Molland makes his home in the Minnetonka area of Minnesota, and performs frequently in the region as "Badfinger". 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.
. In March 2004, long-time bassist (and nephew of drummer Benante) Frank Bello left the band amid much speculation.
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Scott Ian is currently engaged to Meat Loaf's daughter Pearl Aday. More recently, the City of Swansea planned a museum exhibit, commemorating the Welsh members of Badfinger. Several members have launched affiliated side-projects, such as Scott Ian's Stormtroopers of Death. In 1999, a new collection of posthumous Pete Ham recordings revealed his unfulfilled promise as a gifted rock musician. 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. The Cleveland Agora concert of 1974 reveals a band that capably straddled the 1960s melodic Beatles era and the power-pop of the 1970s. 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. Molland now lives in America, where he has been writing a definitive band history.

Despite these hardships and various legal entanglements regarding who had the rights to certain albums, Anthrax managed to soldier on. Since Tom Evans' death, Joey Molland and Mike Gibbins have alternated between recording projects and Badfinger live albums and compilations. 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. For all intents, Badfinger was over. Regrouping the band signed with another label and released a greatest hits album although that label soon went out of business as well. In 1983, Tom Evans hanged himself at his home, in an eerie replay of Pete Ham's 1975 death scene. 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. They briefly operated rival bands, both using the name Badfinger.

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. Ultimately, Tom Evans and Joey Molland split acrimoniously in 1979. During the hiatus long time guitarist Dan Spitz left the band, leaving Anthrax reeling. Tony Kaye later rejoined Yes. Obviously upset at what they felt was an attempt by the label to kill the album, Anthrax attempted to sever ties with Electra. However, the poorly-recorded album fared poorly, and the band was reduced to playing small-time venues in the U.S and Britain. In 1995 the band released Stomp 442 an album which Electra refused to provide real promotion for, and it quickly disappeared without a trace. Airwaves came out in 1978, with Peter Clarke (Stealers Wheel) on drums and Tony Kaye (Yes) on keyboards.

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. However, ego problems and lineup changes stalled the recording in 1977. Bush was a more "serious" sounding vocalist and Sound of White Noise was well received by most of the band's audience. Together with American session musicians, he and Tom Evans revitalized the Badfinger lineup, without Mike Gibbins. The band jumped ship from Island Records to Electra Records and released Sound of White Noise on the label in 1993. However, Joey Molland had emerged as a songwriter during the band's recording career. In 1992 Anthrax parted ways with vocalist Joey Belladonna and replaced him with ex-Armored Saint vocalist John Bush. With Pete Ham's suicide, Badfinger had lost their arguably most talented member.

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. Ham also left behind a widow and a daughter, Petera. Bring The Noise was a hit and the band had a successful joint tour with Public Enemy. For years afterward, lawsuits and bankruptcies haunted Badfinger on both sides of the Atlantic. 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. His suicide letter blamed Stan Polley, "a soulless bastard," for the group's misfortunes, a tragic irony since Ham had been most supportive of Polley's management early on. Because of this Anthrax appealed to a more general audience even if they were never quite as popular as their contemporaries. In March 1975, Pete Ham hanged himself in his garage studio in Surrey.

While the other major thrash bands, Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, were deadly serious, Anthrax wrote songs about comic books and Stephen King novels. Unfortunately, this album would never see light of day. 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. He was replaced by Bob Jackson, who remained as keyboardist when Ham rejoined for the "Head First" sessions. The additions of vocalist Joey Belladonna, and bassist Frank Bello brought a much improved sound to band. Disgusted with Badfinger's infighting over money and songwriting credits, Peter Ham left the band to focus on his songwriting. By 1985 when Anthrax released their first classic album, Spreading the Disease, their lineup had solidified into cohesive unit. Large amounts of money disappeared from their account. Subsequently, the band lost their contract with Warner Brothers, who pulled "Wish You Were Here" from store shelves in early 1975.

It was an inauspicuous debut for a band that would soon rise to the forefront of the thrash metal scene. tour, severe financial problems plagued the group. After signing with Megaforce Records, they released their first full-length album, Fistful of Metal in 1984. After the 1974 U.S. Anthrax was formed by guitarist Scott Ian, drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Dan Lilker and vocalist Neil Turbin in the early '80s. But American and British critics panned these albums as bland and disappointing. 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. These last two Badfinger albums had more in common with another Beatles-inspired rock band that had just emerged, namely Queen.

The "big-four" of thrash metal invariably includes Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. With the band's popularity in America at its peak, they recorded Wish You Were Here in late (1974). 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. Ass was almost immediately followed by the first Warner Brothers release, Badfinger. Anthrax is a New York City-based heavy metal rock group, who released their first full-length album in 1984. Further problems recording Badfinger's fifth album led to Polley negotiating a multi-million dollar deal with Warner Brothers Records. For the British band of the same name see: Anthrax (Anarcho-punk band). Unlike its predecessors, Ass lacked hit singles, and fared poorly in the charts.

This article deals with the American band called Anthrax. Their last Apple album was Ass (1973), with a satirical record cover of a donkey following a carrot on a stick -- a theme more recently purloined by American band Styx. Neil Turbin, lead vocals. Meanwhile, Stan Polley had been withholding income from the band members as they toured and recorded nonstop. Dan Spitz, lead guitar. Straight Up was not marketed effectively. Dan Lilker, bass. Unfortunately, Apple Records' finances were in chaos.