NEW YORK, NY – Multi-GRAMMY-nominated thrash/metal band ANTHRAX has joined up with Record Store Day to release a limited-edition, custom Anthrax mini-turntable, and a four, three-inch vinyl disc bundle (sold separately). For the vinyl discs, the band reached way back into its rich catalogue for four favorites: “Madhouse,” “I Am The Law,” “Got The Time,” and “Discharge.” Taking inspiration from the 3″ turntable creation in Japan, the band’s Charlie Benante, who oversees all of Anthrax”s artwork, orchestrated creating the minis’ cover art in the style of the 7″ record covers he collected from Iron Maiden and KISS. One-thousand of the turntables and 1000 of the vinyl bundles will be exclusively available via RSD.
But wait, there’s more: one of the 1000 mini-turntables will include a Golden Ticket, the winner to be the recipient of a personal ZOOM call from Anthrax’s Joey Belladonna and Frank Bello. “I’m really happy about being part of this,” said Belladonna. “I love being able to reach out and connect with our fans, so being a ‘first prize’ in this contest and having the opportunity to have a real conversation with one of our fans is really terrific.” Added Bello, “I love the idea of the golden ticket, it’s a cool ‘Willy Wonka’ moment, and it’ll be fun to just shoot the sh*t with one of our fans.”
Record Store Day, a global celebration of the culture of the record store, will be broken up into two “Drops” this year, similar to the way it was done in 2020. The two “Drop” dates will be June 12, and the second July 17; the Anthrax custom turntables 17 and vinyl bundles will be available in conjunction with the second RDS “Drop,” on July 17 and July 9 respectively.
ABOUT ANTHRAX: Twenty-twenty-one marks Anthrax’s 40th anniversary, four decades during which time the band has released 11 studio albums, been awarded multiple Gold and Platinum certifications, six Grammy nominations, and a host of other accolades from the media, the music industry and fans. In 1991, the band helped break down race and genre barriers when they collaborated with Public Enemy on the track “Bring The Noise,” and was the first metal band to have its music heard on Mars when NASA played “Got The Time” to wake up the Mars Rover in 2012. Along with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth, Anthrax is a card-carrying member of The Big Four, the four bands that defined the speed/thrash/metal genre. Anthrax has also introduced a series now sold-out signature whiskeys and bourbons, and partnered with the Stockholm-based NEZUMI Studios for a high-end, limited-edition Baleine dive watch. Twenty-twenty-one will see the release of Z2 Comics’ “Among the Living” graphic novel with a track-by-track storyline inspired by Anthrax’s iconic 1987 album, Among The Living. The book pulls together a “who’s who” of names from the worlds of comics and music who created “bubble dialogue” and original artwork to express what the songs meant to them. Taking advantage of COVID-19’s prohibition of concert touring, the band has been hard at work writing the next Anthrax album.
