Neil Turbin (born December 24, 1963) is an American singer known for being the first full-time vocalist for

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band Anthrax. He is the current lead vocalist and songwriter of heavy metal band DeathRidersMetal Storm
Metalstorm.ee. Retrieved on August 30, 2011. and a member of hard rock band Bleed the Hunger.

Career

Anthrax

When Turbin was first contacted by Anthrax he was already in a band called AMRA, but left after a few months, which prompted him to answer Anthrax's advertisement. He attended the same high school as

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 ...

and

Danny 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 ...

, Bayside High School in New York City, and was in a class with Ian in his freshman year. Turbin earned the position as the first official band vocalist in August 1982. His first performance with Anthrax was at Great Gildersleeves on September 12, 1982. He performed and recorded with the band on the original demo recordings and their first studio album, ''

Fistful of Metal ''Fistful of Metal'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in January 1984 by Megaforce Records (US only) and Music for Nations internationally. The album includes a cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen". Thi ...

''. Turbin wrote the lyrics to all songs on that album (with exception of the cover of

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

's "I'm Eighteen"). He also has writing credits on five of the seven songs on the band's '' Armed and Dangerous'' EP, as well as two songs on ''

Spreading the Disease ''Spreading the Disease'' is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Anthrax, released on October 30, 1985 by Megaforce Records and Island Records. It was the band's first album to feature vocalist Joey Belladonna and bassist ...

'', both of which were recorded by third Anthrax vocalist

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 no ...

, who replaced second Anthrax vocalist

Matt Fallon Matt Fallon (born Matthew Frankel; September 30, 1965, Brooklyn, New York) is a heavy metal singer best known for his work with Skid Row and Anthrax. Early life Fallon moved to central New Jersey at the age of eight with his parents and young ...

. Turbin's exit from Anthrax came two weeks after the band's first North American tour, "Anthrax US Attack Tour 1984", ending with a show at

Roseland Ballroom The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theater district, on West 52nd Street in Manhattan. The venue, according to its website, accommodat ...

on August 3. In 2009, the video game ''

Brütal Legend ''Brütal Legend'' is an action-adventure video game with real-time strategy game elements created by Double Fine and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America, ...

'' was released, featuring the Anthrax song "Metal Thrashing Mad" on its soundtrack, with Turbin's vocals. Many of the songs Turbin wrote and recorded with the band have been re-recorded with different vocalists and appear on multiple albums and DVDs, including the double-platinum certified '' The Big Four: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria''. In 2021, Turbin along with other former members and music elite participated in "Anthrax 40th Anniversary Celebrations", which aired on Anthrax's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel on May 3, 2021.

DeathRiders

DeathRiders is named after one of Turbin's songs and was formed in 2001 to support his debut solo album, ''Threatcon Delta''. Deathriders toured Monterrey Metalfest, Mexico in 2005; Sweden Rock in 2006; Tokyo, Japan, and the US in 2008; Rocktower 2009 Germany; Nightmare on St. Pauli Festival Germany 2009; Headbangers Open Air Germany 2009; and Expo Rock Tijuana 2010. They performed eight shows at the world-famous

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boule ...

in Hollywood in 2010. DeathRiders' Stay Screamin 2011 European Tour took them to Metal Bash 2011 in Germany; Highway To Dokk'em Open Air Festival 2011; and other venues throughout Tilburg, Netherlands, Vienna, Austria and Berlin, Germany. DeathRiders were featured alongside

Michael Angelo Batio Michael Angelo Batio (), also known as Michael Angelo, Mike Batio or MAB, is an American heavy metal guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. He was the lead guitarist for the Los Angeles-based glam metal band Nitro in the late 1980s an ...

Faster Pussycat Faster Pussycat is an American hard rock/glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985 by vocalist Taime Downe, guitarists Brent Muscat and Greg Steele and bassist Kelly Nickels. The group has since gone through numerous lineup changes lea ...

, and Phil Lewis of L.A. Guns at Rainbow Bar & Grill's 41st anniversary outdoor party on April 21, 2013. They also performed at NAMM Metal Jam at

in West Hollywood, California on January 23, 2013, which featured many well-known metal artists including current and past members of

Queensrÿche Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup ...

, Dio's Disciples, Racer X and

Michael Schenker Group The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) are a guitar-oriented hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. In 1986, Schenker and vocalist Robin McAuley formed the McAuley Sche ...

. In 2014, the band toured Europe Headbangers Open Air Brande-Hoernerkirchen, Germany, and the Headbangers Open Air 2014 warm-up show at Lauschbar in Itzehoe, Germany. DeathRiders' Fistful of Metal Alive 2014 European tour included numerous dates in Netherlands including in

Dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos were the first electrical generators capable of delivering power for industry, and the foundati ...

Eindhoven, with an all-Dutch touring lineup. DeathridersGermany09

In 2015, the band performed at NAMM Metal Jam and Neil and Michael's Metal Jam, with Michael Angelo Batio joining the band on guitar at The Slidebar in Fullerton, California. DeathRiders featuring Neil Turbin - Vocals, Jonas Hornqvist - Guitar, Richard Svard - Bass, Matt Thompson (King Diamond) - Drums, Andy La Rocque (King Diamond) - Producer released Never Surrender video and single on June 21, 2021 on BandCamp and DeathRidersChannel official Youtube as well as Rayzor Distro.

Bleed the Hunger

Bleed the Hunger was formed by Turbin and DeathRiders recording guitarist Jonas Hornqvist in January 2015.

Neil Turbin East Los

''Neil Turbin East Los'' formed in 2019 toured in Tijuana, Mexico, played Metal Never Dies Fest 2019 with Toxik and Whiplash, LiveNation Mosh for Slayer Bricks Rock Bar, N.A.M.M. Metal Jam 2020, Turbin's solo thrash band lineup includes: Neil Turbin - Vocals Frank Gastellum - Guitar Dino Gonzalez - Drums Kevin Mayorga - Bass Hugo Garcia - Guitar

Screamin Soul Demon

''Screamin Soul Demon'' Neils Rock N Soul band performed live on mainstream radio stations with Screamin Soul Demon in 2020 on Real Talk With GLove - Florida Man Radio Orlando FM 105.5 / 660 AM and The Answer San Diego FM 96.1 / AM 107.1 Neil Turbin - Vocals, Guitar Erik Stone - Bass Patrick Johansson - Drums Geff Becerill - Keyboards Nate Montalvo - Guitar

Sticky Wicked

Sticky Wicked is a side project band that includes Turbin,

Rowan Robertson Rowan Wingate Robertson (born 22 November 1971) is an English rock guitarist who currently performs in the Las Vegas production show ''Raiding the Rock Vault'' and plays for Bang Tango. He also plays for DC4. Robertson also played guitar for A ...

, Jay Singh and Clackers Kay. The band actively toured in California in 2015.

Sharyot

Sharyot originally from Brazil, now in Los Angeles is a heavy metal band and they contacted Turbin after he co-wrote and sang backing vocals on two songs on ''Quiet Riot: Hollywood Cowboys''. Turbin was a special guest vocalist featured on the single and video for Stained Heart, produced by Neil Citron.

The Metal Voice

Co-host and music journalist since 2015, Turbin has been on 80+ episodes and interviewed icons of rock, metal and film for ''The Metal Voice'', with Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon based in Montreal Canada.

2019 Metal Hall of Fame Inductee

Turbin was inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame on the red carpet officially by Pat Gesualdo, President of Metal Hall of Fame at Bowl For Ronnie Ronnie James Dio charity event on November 7, 2019 held at Pinz Bowling Center in

Studio City, California Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 192 ...

Sing with Vocal Firepower

In 2020, Turbin introduced one on one master vocal lessons, ''Vocal Firepower'', online and in person through vocalfirepower.com One of Neil's early students was Rick Rangel singer, guitarist of Fueled By Fire on Metal Blade Records and other known singers in heavy metal, soul and pop genres.

Ultimate Jam Night at Lucky Strike Live

Turbin was included in a regular lineup rotation at Ultimate Jam Night (now called Soundcheck Live) at Lucky Strike Live Hollywood in February, March, April and May 2015. He performed onstage on a regular weekly basis with

Billy Sheehan William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing ...

Monte Pittman Monte Lee Pittman (born November 19, 1975) is an American musician and studio musician based in Los Angeles, known largely as Madonna's long-time guitarist and for playing for heavy metal band Prong. He has also worked as a solo artist. Caree ...

, Chuck Wright,

Jason Sutter Jason Sutter is an American musician and drummer based in Los Angeles, California. He is currently the drummer for Cher. A well versed drummer, having studied and performed extensively across multiple genres, Sutter is most widely recognized wit ...

, Jonathan "Sugarfoot" Moffett, Mitch Perry,

Ira Black Ira Barrie Black (March 18, 1941 – January 10, 2006) was an American physician and neuroscientist who was an advocate of stem cell research and was the first director of the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey at Robert Wood Johnson Medical ...

, Debby Holiday, Reinhold Schwarzwald, Howie Simon, Mayuko Okai, Tzusumi Okai,

, Francesco DiCosmo, Anthony "Tiny" Biuso, Louis Metoyer, Sam Bam Koltun,

Sean McNabb Sean McNabb (born September 24, 1965) is an American actor and bassist. While still on tour with rock bands, he is also acting and writing, composing, and singing music for TV and film. In 2015, he released his first solo music as a lead singer, ...

, Jeff Duncan, Shawn Duncan,

Matt Duncan Matt Duncan (born 29 August 1959) is a former Scotland international rugby union player. Rugby Union career Amateur career At club level, he played on the wing for West of Scotland. Provincial career He played for Glasgow District. He w ...

, Joe Lester, and The Atomic Punks.

Solo work

In 2003, Turbin released his first solo album, ''

Threatcon Delta ''Threatcon Delta'' is the debut studio album by United States, American Heavy metal music, heavy metal vocalist Neil Turbin. The album was released in 2003 on Metal Mayhem Records, and contains twelve original tracks and two remakes. 25 different ...

'', on American record label "Metal Mayhem Music". The album contains 14 songs, including a cover of a Jimi Hendrix song and an AC/DC cover. Prominent guest musicians on the album include

Claude Schnell Claude Schnell (born May 17, 1955) is an American keyboardist who has been a member of the bands Magic, Rough Cutt, Dio, and Last in Line. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in France, when he was six years old his family mo ...

Jeff Scott Soto Jeff Scott Soto (born November 4, 1965) is an American rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for being the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and (briefly) the lead vocalist for Journey in 2006–2007. Soto also ...

, Vernon Anderson, and

Paul Shortino Paul Shortino (born May 14, 1953) is an American rock singer and musician who has sung for Rough Cutt/The Cutt, Quiet Riot, Bad Boyz, and Shortino. He briefly recorded with J.K. Northrup as the duo, Shortino/Northrup. He has also recorded as a ...

Vocal style and range

Turbin is known for his high-pitched screams in his natural voice up to C6. He is the only early '' Big 4'' vocalist to sing in this range, as demonstrated on the songs "Death from Above", "Deathrider", and "Metal Thrashing Mad" on ''

''.

Influences

Turbin cites heavy metal and

NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term ...

vocalists from bands such as Judas Priest, Deep Purple,

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

, AC/DC,

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

, Accept, Riot and Saxon as influences of his vocal style, although he was also heavily influenced by the New York

punk scene The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedom ...

of the 1970s–1980s including bands such as Generation X, Ramones, Niki Buzz, The Bullets, Vendetta, Mayday, Steve Johnstad,

Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

Wayne County & the Electric Chairs Wayne County & the Electric Chairs were part of the first wave of punk bands from the 1970s. The band was headed by Georgia-born singer Jayne County and became known for their campy, foul-mouthed ballads, glam punk inspired songs and image which ...

, Neon Leon, Walter Lure & The Heartbreakers,

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

The Sex Pistols ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

and MC5. Turbin spent time at the infamous punk club

CBGB's CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

and worked at other important punk scene venues Ritz when it first opened and also

Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decembe ...

, from 1979 to 1980. He has stated that he favors writing with a neo-classical,

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

, and soulful hard rock influence.

Discography

DeathRiders

* ''The Metal Beast'' (2018) – recorded at Blue Pacific Studios in Los Angeles, California and Sonic Train Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden, by Andy La Rocque of

King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto ...

. Neil Turbin and additional mixing by Jared Kvitka and additional engineering by Androo O'Hearn of Shaolin Death Squad.

Neil Turbin

* ''

'' (2003)

Anthrax

*" Soldiers of Metal" (single) (1984) *''

'' (1984) *'' Armed and Dangerous'' ( EP) (1985) – songwriting credits only *''

'' (1985) – songwriting credits only

Compilations

*''12 Commandments in Metal'' (1985) – " Soldiers of Metal" (Anthrax) ( Roadrunner Records, Netherlands) *''Fistful of Anthrax'' (1987) – all tracks except "Raise Hell" and "Panic" (Anthrax) (

Megaforce Records Megaforce Records is an American independent record label founded in 1982 by Jon Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula to release the first works of Metallica, and devoted primarily to hard rock and heavy metal. It has offices in New York City (whe ...

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...

, Japan) *''Precious Metal'' – "

I'm Eighteen "I'm Eighteen" is a song by rock band Alice Cooper, first released as a single in November 1970 backed with "Is It My Body". It was the band's first top-forty success—peaking at number 21—and convinced Warner Bros. that Alice Cooper had the ...

" (Anthrax) (Stylus Music)

Video games

*''

'' (2009) (

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...

) – "Metal Thrashing Mad" (Anthrax)

Guest appearances

* Kuni – ''

Masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masq ...

'' (1986) *''Robby Lochner'' (1997) – "Still Burning" and "Inside Information" *''DC to Daylight'' (1997) – "Still Burning" and "Inside Information" *''A Tribute to Limp Bizkit'' (2002) – "

Faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people ofte ...

" *

Jack Frost Jack Frost is a personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, winter, and freezing cold. He is a variant of Old Man Winter who is held responsible for frosty weather, nipping the fingers and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, ...

– ''Out in the Cold'' (2005) – "Crucifixation" *''Race Track Rock'' (antiMUSIC records compilation) (2007) – "Piece of Me" *Quiet Riot – ''Hollywood Cowboys'' (2019) – "Change or Die", "Insanity" – Frontiers Records *THOR – ''We Fight Forever'' (2021) – "We Fight Forever" – Cleopatra Records

References

External links

Neil Turbin's official website

DeathRiders' official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turbin, Neil 1963 births Living people American heavy metal singers Anthrax (American band) members