FISTFUL OF METAL

Fistful of Metal is the debut studio album by American thrash metal band Anthrax, released on January 6, 1984 by Megaforce Records in the US and Music for Nations internationally.

It includes a cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen" which is the only Anthrax recording not to feature guitarist Scott Ian, as he refused to play the song in protest to the management decision to have the song on the album.

This is the band's only album to feature frontman Neil Turbin and bassist Dan Lilker, who were replaced by Joey Belladonna and Frank Bello respectively. Schoolmates Danny Lilker and Scott Ian formed Anthrax in 1981 in New York City.

They both played guitar, but eventually Lilker switched to bass after they could not find a suitable bassist. After some lineup rotations, Anthrax settled on lead guitarist Dan Spitz, vocalist Neil Turbin and drummer Charlie Benante by 1983. However, shortly after the release of Fistful of Metal, Lilker was fired by Turbin because the former was "too tall".

The band, at Ian and Benante's insistence, hired Charlie's nephew, Frank Bello, as Lilker's replacement. Turbin had contributed song ideas, lyrics, titles and arrangements to the majority of songs on the album, as well as three songs from the second album Spreading the Disease, but Ian and Benante, who played guitar in addition to drums, felt they needed tighter control on the songwriting. Due to a songwriting partnership between Ian and Benante, with Ian writing the lyrics and Benante the music, Turbin was expelled from the band. Music journalist Eddie Trunk stated: "Early on, I told Jon Zazula that what I didn't like about Anthrax was singer Neil Turbin's vocals."

He admits in his writing to pressuring Zazula and Anthrax into firing Turbin from the band. The band did not rehire Lilker when given the opportunity, but Lilker did rehearse with his new band at the time Nuclear Assault within a month of his release from the band at the same leased rehearsal room as Anthrax in Yonkers, New York.

Side one

1. "Deathrider"  3:10

2. "Metal Thrashing Mad"  2:39

3. "I'm Eighteen" 4:02

4. "Panic" Turbin, Ian, Lilker 3:58

5. "Subjugator"  4:38

Side two

6. "Soldiers of Metal" 2:55

7. "Death from Above" 5:00

8. "Anthrax" 3:24

9. "Across the River" 1:26

10."HowlingFuries"3:55