Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene and is notable for being the first to combine heavy metal with rap music. When thrash metal began to gain a major following in the mid-late 1980s, Anthrax were dubbed one of the "big four" of thrash metal alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer.