Stealing Like A Thief, Anthrax Style

Stealing is bad, just ask Scott Ian. The Anthrax guitarist wants music pirates to be in jail or lose their internet connection forever.

The problem with stealing is nobody is immune. We all steal something at certain points in our lives. What makes us decent people is the way we deal with it. For Scott Ian, he went crying to his buddy Howard Stern to get him off the hook. Back in 1997, a drunken Scott Ian went down to the Yankees training camp in Tampa, Florida, broke in and ran around the bases. He tried to steal the on deck circle but cops were waiting and arrested him.

Instead of manning up, Ian went on the Howard Stern Show and joked around a bit. When Steinbrenner called in, Scott apologized and begged not to have charges pressed against him. It must be nice being famous and able to get away with that kind of thieving behavior without any consequences.

But at least Scott Ian somewhat answered for that. What about the theft he committed in which he hasn't yet addressed? Following a mid-90's tour with Pantera, Anthrax recorded Stomp 442. The new groovier guitar sound was very reminiscent of a certain Pantera guitar player. Ian used a Randall guitar on the album and made it sound like Dimebag's. It is true that Dimebag Darrell Abbott performed on some of the Stomp 442 tracks, but I am talking about Ian's sound from the songs Dimebag wasn't on.

Pantera was the hottest band out there in the early 90's and the first metal band to release a #1 verified album. You'd expect a lot of Pantera ripoff's to come up through the ranks, but during that time, the once innovative thrash band became a Pantera knockoff. Check out Anthrax's 'This Is Not An Exit.' It sounds very close to Pantera's 'A New Level.' Not convinced, Check out the ironically titled "Stealing From A Thief" off Vol. 8. I wonder if Ian pays Dimebag royalties for this track?

Remember in 2002 when Anthrax came up with the idea to film a documentary of the band reforming after many years with a new lineup? I think they were going to name it "Some Kind Of ..." wait, that was Metallica. Scott Ian took the idea from Metallica and planned on documenting the band's activities up until the albums release with a newly rehired singer Joey Belladonna.

Scott Ian's record label, Megaforce agrees with him though on the theft issue. They have been busy sending out DMCA notices to block sites from posting links to the album online. You can check out all the sites that offer the album for free here. Of course we don't condone music piracy so please don't steal this album.

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Tags:  Anthrax, Pantera, Scott Ian, theft 

Jason Fisher    November 09, 2011