Anthrax have re-entered the King-verse. Continuing the mutual admiration between the foundational thrashers and horror great Stephen King, the band’s iconic “Madhouse” single just popped as an in-plot torture device in the author’s recent You Like It Darker short stories collection.
Guitarist Scott Ian revealed the connection over social media today (July 1st), noting that the Spread the Disease banger was incorporated into “a rather brutal tale” called Finn, which is the fifth of a dozen short works found within You Like It Darker. The story was technically released in 2022 as an ebook exclusive through Scribd, but received a wider release in physical form this past May through parent publisher Scribner.
Without spoiling too much, Finn concerns a down-on-his-luck character of the same name kidnapped by unknown assailants, who trap him in a cell, and start ripping “Madhouse” out of the speakers as a form of torture — though honestly, we can think of worse songs to be faced with.
It reads: He almost fell off his cot. He covered his ears. After two minutes that seemed much longer the music stopped.
Naturally, Ian — a major horror fan who has drawn upon Stephen King works while writing lyrics for Anthrax — was hella stoked. “I love that somewhere in some very small corner I am a part of the King-Verse,” he wrote on Instagram.
Over the years, Anthrax has referenced King stories including The Stand (“Among the Living”), Apt Pupil (“A Skeleton in the Closet” ), Misery (“Misery Loves Company”), and the author’s epic Dark Tower series (“Lone Justice” and “Breathing Lightning”). In turn, the author had previously referenced the band in The Dark Tower‘s third book, The Waste Lands.
Anthrax’s “Antisocial” also scored a crucial rock fight scene between the Losers Club and a gang of bullies in 2017’s IT adaptation, though in a missed opportunity, one of the bullies was wearing a Metallica “Metal Up Your Ass” shirt rather than a Not Man-emblazoned tee.
