Mayhem
Mayhem’s singer Dead committed suicide in 1991. His untimely death left more than just a messy apartment, it hastened Necrobutcher’s [bass] departure from the fold and allowed for Varg Vikernes’ admission into the band. Varg would go on to murder founding guitarist Euronymous in 1993 and totally derail the release of the band’s debut full length album. Mayhem went on hiatus for a few years after all these shenanigans but resurfaced in 1995 with their previous singer Maniac, replacing Dead’s replacement, Attila Csihar, new guitarist Blasphemer and Necrobutcher resuming bass duties once more. Throughout all the chaos, with Maniac and Attila swapping places again in 2004, the band’s drummer Hellhammer has remained one of the few sources of consistency in the Mayhem camp. Murder and suicide stuff aside, there’s been a lot of dudes wreaking havoc in Mayhem over the years. Case in point, new guitarists Teloch and Ghul joined the band in the early 2010’s.
Anthrax
Anthrax are blessed with both a distinctive sound all their own, and Scott Ian’s totally awesome facial hair. Some might argue that Ian’s beard, aka the 6th member of the band, is one of the most consistent elements of Anthrax’s long career. I mean, who doesn’t love participating in the Joey Belladonna vs John Bush message board scuffles? Who else loved Neil Turbin’s shrieks on Fistful of Metal? Holy shit Danny Liker! Remember when Frank Bello quit the band in the 2004? How would Worship Music have turned out with Dan Nelson singing? Dan Spitz, Paul Crook, Rob Caggiaro and now Jonathan Donais on lead guitar. Damn, this Anthrax game is fun! Scott’s beard still rules though.
