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Anthrax are one of the Big 4 of thrash and the only representatives of the East Coast in that prestigious grouping. Thrash was dominating the Bay Area on the West Coast, but Anthrax were putting together a different flavor of the genre, especially with singer Joey Belladonna in tow. The band broke down genre barriers collaborating with Public Enemy on “Bring Tha Noize” and have been featured in an ongoing ‘Places of Invention‘ series put together by the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History.

The video profile (seen above) has been added to the interactive map of ‘Places of Invention.’ Members of Anthrax discuss growing up in New York in the 1970s, describing the differences between what the city was like then versus what it has become today. Archive footage is shown, opening with the band in a memorabilia shop complete with a KISS pinball machine.

The focus stays on the longest standing members, founder Scott Ian, Charlie Benante and Frank Bello with additional commentary from Belladonna. They talk about their early influences being Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Motorhead when the band formed in 1981. Later, Benante and Ian explain the cross-section between the thrash act and hip-hop legends Public Enemy.

Ian details where the popular spots were for hip-hop and rap in New York and how much he loved it, despite his contemporaries hating it. Benante tells how Ian wore a Public Enemy shirt onstage on the Among the Living tour, which led to Chuck D. name-dropping Anthrax on the next Public Enemy record. They discussed a collaboration and when the thrash outfit presented the music, Chuck D. agreed and the result was “Bring Tha Noize.”

Still going strong after 35 years, Anthrax will be releasing their 11th studio album, For All Kings, on Feb. 26 through Megaforce in North America and Nuclear Blast internationally.