''Attack of the Killer B's'' is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

s and rarities by the thrash metal band

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

and the band's last audio album released before vocalist John Bush replaced longtime Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna in 1992. The album was released in June 1991 by Megaforce Worldwide/ Island Entertainment. The "B's" in the album's title refers to b-sides previously unreleased and compiled for a single release. In 1992 the album was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in the category

Best Metal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...

Album information

Though a collection of "B-sides", the album featured one of their biggest singles; a collaboration/cover of

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

's " Bring the Noise". ''Attack of the Killer B's'' was certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. The two live tracks, "Keep It in the Family" and "Belly of the Beast", were recorded during the 1990–91 ''

Persistence of Time ''Persistence of Time'' is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Anthrax. It was released on August 21, 1990 through Megaforce Worldwide/Island Records and was nominated in 1991 for a Grammy Award in the Best Metal Performance ...

'' tour. Also included is an updated version of their 1987 single, "I'm the Man", and three songs previously released only in Europe and Japan on the 1989 EP, ''

Penikufesin ''Penikufesin'' is the third Extended play, EP by the American thrash metal band Anthrax (American band), Anthrax. Culled from the ''State of Euphoria'' sessions, it was released in August 1989 on Megaforce Records/Island Records. Background The ...

'' ("Nise Fukin EP"), recorded during the ''

State of Euphoria ''State of Euphoria'' is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band Anthrax. It was released on September 19, 1988, through Megaforce/ Island Records. Album information ''State of Euphoria'' was produced by Anthrax and Mark Dods ...

'' sessions. Two versions of the album were released: the uncensored version contained full expletives and the song "Startin' Up a Posse", and the censored version which excluded the aforementioned track, and in place of the explicit words, a buzzing noise (like bees) is heard. The track "Startin' Up a Posse" is a tongue in cheek attack on the

Parents Music Resource Center The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) was an American committee formed in 1985 with the stated goal of increasing parental control over the access of children to music deemed to have violent, drug-related or sexual themes via labeling albums ...

. The sample at the end of the track was taken from the final scene of the

Marilyn Chambers Marilyn Ann Taylor (née Briggs; April 22, 1952 – April 12, 2009), known professionally as Marilyn Chambers, was an American pornographic actress, exotic dancer, model, actress, singer and vice-presidential candidate. She was known fo ...

movie "Insatiable". The compilation also includes covers of songs by Discharge,

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

Trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another * Trust (bus ...

, and the

surf rock Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a Music genre, genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is in ...

staple "

Pipeline Pipeline may refer to: Electronics, computers and computing * Pipeline (computing), a chain of data-processing stages or a CPU optimization found on ** Instruction pipelining, a technique for implementing instruction-level parallelism within a s ...

", recorded by

The Chantays The Chantays, sometimes credited as Chantay's, is an American surf music band from Orange County, California, United States, known for the hit instrumental "Pipeline" (1963). Their music combines electronic keyboards and surf guitar, creating a u ...

. The song "N.F.B. (Dallabnikufesin)" was intended to illustrate the band's disdain for

power ballads A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. Cur ...

, which were very fashionable in the commercial metal scene at the time, and parodies 80s

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam r ...

power ballads. The band also covers two songs ("Milk (Ode to Billy)" and "Chromatic Death") originally recorded by

Stormtroopers of Death Stormtroopers of Death (abbreviated to S.O.D.) was an American crossover thrash band formed in New York City in 1985. They are credited as being among the first bands to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal into a style sometimes referred to as ...

, a mid-80s side project by Anthrax members

Scott Ian Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax. Ian is the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroo ...

Charlie Benante Charles Lee Benante (born November 27, 1962) is an American musician best known as the drummer for thrash metal band Anthrax, and crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death. Alongside rhythm guitarist and band leader Scott Ian, Benante has co ...

, and then-bassist

Dan Lilker Daniel A. Lilker (born October 18, 1964) is an American semi-retired musician best known as a bass player, but also guitarist, pianist, drummer and vocalist. He was the bassist for the thrash metal band Nuclear Assault and was a founding member ...

. The "Billy" referenced in the title is S.O.D. vocalist

Billy Milano Billy Milano is an American heavy metal and hardcore punk musician. He is the singer and occasionally guitarist and bassist of crossover thrash band M.O.D., and was the singer of its predecessor, Stormtroopers of Death. Prior to these bands, M ...

. "Bring the Noise" is a collaboration with rap group Public Enemy, making this song one of the first

rap metal Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables. History Origins and early ...

collaborations (albeit some years after the

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

Run DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

1986 collaboration on "

Walk This Way "Walk This Way" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the album '' Toys in the Attic'' (1975). It peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboa ...

"), although

Joey Belladonna Joey Belladonna (born Joseph Bellardini; October 13, 1960) is an American singer, best known as the vocalist for thrash metal band Anthrax. He is also the vocalist and drummer of the cover band Chief Big Way. Belladonna has six Grammy Award nom ...

and

Dan Spitz Daniel Alan Spitz (born January 28, 1963) is an American musician best known for his work as the lead guitarist of the thrash metal band Anthrax from 1983 to 1995 and from 2005 to 2008. Spitz also founded the Christian music group Red Lamb, w ...

had collaborated with Untouchable Force Organization on a song called "Lethal" in 1987 that was released as a single. "Bring the Noise" has been a live staple since Anthrax first played it on the Headbangers Ball Tour with

Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weik ...

and

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

in 1989, and it later appeared in the videogames ''

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2'' is a skateboarding video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the second installment in the '' Tony Hawk's'' series of sports games and was released for the PlayStation in 2000, with subs ...

'' and ''

WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw ''WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw'' (subtitled ''Exciting Pro Wrestling 6'' in Japan) is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for the PlayStation 2 on November 2, 2004 in North America. It is the sixth installment ...

''.

Track listing

Personnel

;Anthrax *

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

, backing vocals *

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, backing vocals, lead vocals (third and fourth verses) on "Bring the Noise", "Protest and Survive", "Startin' Up a Posse", and "I'm the Man '91" *

Frank Bello Frank Bello (born July 9, 1965) is an American musician who plays bass for the thrash metal band Anthrax. Early life Bello is the nephew of Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante. He had a younger brother Anthony, who was murdered in the Bronx, New Yo ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, lead vocals on "I'm the Man '91", sampling and

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These mus ...

on "Bring the Noise" and "I'm the Man '91", 12-string acoustic guitar on "N.F.B. (Dallabnikufesin)" ;Additional musicians *

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...

- lead vocals (first two verses) on "Bring the Noise" *

Flavor Flav William Jonathan Drayton Jr. (born March 16, 1959), known by his stage name Flavor Flav (), is an American rapper and hype man. Known for his yells of "''Yeah, boyeeeeee!''" when performing, he rose to prominence as a founding member of the rap ...

- backing vocals on "Bring the Noise" *

Mark Dodson Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...

- backing vocals on "Startin' Up a Posse" * Ed "Parasite" Trunk - backing vocals on "Parasite"

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Albums produced by Mark Dodson B-side compilation albums Anthrax (American band) compilation albums 1991 compilation albums Island Records compilation albums