Stephen King Name Dropped an Anthrax Classic from 1985 in a New Collection of Stories
Literary horror mastermind Stephen King is no stranger to rock and roll. Not only is he a big fan, but his works have inspired a myriad of metal tunes. Bands like Testament, Blind Guardian, and even Metallica have credited the New Englander with writing the killer prose that lit their imaginations. Yet one band tapped King’s work more than most — Anthrax.
From “Among the Living”, to “Lone Justice”, to “Skeletons in the Closet”, Scott Ian and the guys wore their love of King’s work on their sleeves. So you can imagine Ian’s excitement when “Madhouse” from their 1985 album Spreading the Disease was not only name dropped in a recent story of King’s, but it was expressly used as a plot device.
Ian shared a screenshot of the exact mention on his Instagram page, saying the revelation practically caused his head to explode during his flight back home from Europe.
“Stephen King name checks us again in his new collection of stories You Like It Darker!!! I was reading on the flight home from Europe yesterday. In the fifth story in the book, a rather brutal tale called ‘Finn’, Steve uses our song ‘Madhouse’ as a torture device. Perfect! I apologize if the sound of my head exploding when I saw Anthrax mentioned woke anyone up on the plane.
“If you haven’t read You Like It Darker I recommend you do. It’s a vicious summer read!”
Apparently this isn’t the first time Anthrax has been name dropped in King’s works. During a podcast back in 2021, Ian recounted how the author had a character in one of the Dark Tower books think about the thrash metal band.
Still, imagine having something you worked on referenced by not only someone you look up to, but one of the best in their craft. Stephen King’s works are legendary (well, most of them), so that’s gotta feel nice.
