Anthrax released Spreading the Disease on October 30, 1985, with two new members helping reshape the band. Their second studio album introduced vocalist Joey Belladonna and bassist Frank Bello alongside guitarists Scott Ian and Dan Spitz and drummer Charlie Benante. Songs including “Madhouse” gave Belladonna’s high, melodic delivery room to cut through the riffs, establishing a combination that became central to Anthrax’s identity.
Getting the right singer into those sessions had taken work. As Ian recalled to Loudwire, Anthrax had recorded much of the instrumental material at Pyramid Sound Studios in Ithaca, New York, before parting with prospective vocalist Matt Fallon. Producer Carl Canedy then helped connect them with Belladonna.
Belladonna arrived from a different musical background. In a 2005 interview with RockEyez, he described his previous band Bible Black as drawing on older Black Sabbath and Ronnie James Dio material, with covers also part of his experience. Anthrax were unfamiliar to him when the opportunity arose. He remembered hearing their debut and material for Spreading the Disease, then beginning to sing with a band he had only just met. The speed of that introduction stayed with him: he called the album “definitely dear to my heart” when asked about his favorite Anthrax recordings.
The adjustment involved more than learning lyrics. According to Ian’s account, Anthrax took Belladonna out for a short run of shows so he could experience the music and audience before completing the album. Ian then worked through vocal melodies with him, helping him fit phrases around the fast arrangements while leaving room for his own interpretation.
That approach preserved what made Belladonna different. “Madhouse” and “Armed and Dangerous” allowed his melodic range to become part of the songs’ character. The record’s connection to traditional heavy metal remained audible even as the playing pushed further into thrash. Belladonna’s arrival gave the band another way to make a passage memorable, with the voice carrying a melody over the attack of the instruments.
Bello was also developing within the sessions. In Universal Music Enterprises’ 2015 retrospective announcement, he identified Steve Harris, Geddy Lee and Geezer Butler among the influences audible in his playing. Recording a full album gave him space to work toward his own style. Produced by Anthrax with Canedy, the record captured both newcomers becoming part of the group’s musical decisions.
Some of that development survived on tape. Benante kept basic tracks, alternate takes and mixes from the recording process. Material released in the 2015 expanded edition included Belladonna’s 1984 “Medusa” demo and rhythm recordings without finished vocals or overdubs, preserving earlier stages of songs listeners knew from the album.
The final song recorded pointed forward. Ian told Loudwire that Benante developed the guitar riffs for “A.I.R.” as Belladonna was finishing his vocals. It became the album opener and, in Ian’s recollection, suggested the direction Anthrax would pursue on Among the Living. A record that had required finding and integrating a new singer ended with the band writing toward its next album.
