Joey Belladonna is known for his role fronting New York Thrashers ANTHRAX, between 1985 to 1992 recording ten albums, which sold over eight million copies worldwide. Following his high profile split from ANTHRAX, vocalist Joey Belladonna teamed up with ex-GILLAN, McCOY and MAMMOTH bassist John McCoy having initially been sounded out by guitarist Al Romano to team up. Michael Sciotto left New York based Melodic Rockers FROM THE FIRE to round out the line-up pieced together in July 1992. The band looked strong on paper, but split after a handful of recording sessions, Romano going onward to team up with the ailing ex-BADLANDS and BLACK SABBATH vocalist RAY GILLEN in SUN RED SUN. His place was taken by former TRASH BROADWAY man Joe Stump.

Belladonna then re-forged the band with ex-AXIOM and HIPPIE JET guitarist Darin Scott, bassist Joe Andrews and drummer Scott Schroeter. This line-up would record the eponymous 1995 debut album for the Belgian Mausoleum label. With steady rumours that Belladonna had ditched the trademark Thrash of ANTHRAX (he often cited JOURNEY as a great love) critics and fans were taken aback to discover the album was an uncompromisingly brutal piece of work. North American dates supporting MOTÖRHEAD ensued to promote the record.

Belladonna built up a fresh band unit, involving French guitarist Peter Scheithauer, of STREAM and KILLING MACHINE repute, bassist Fleisch and the W.A.S.P. credited Stet Howland on drums. Bad luck befell the band in the midst of recording a second album, 'Spells Of Fear', when the Mausoleum label collapsed. Ultimately BELLADONNA would fold. Scott teamed up with BULLETBOYS drummer Robby Karras in an act titled PAIN INC. Scheithauer and Howland duly teamed up with W.A.S.P. bassist Mike Duda on the 2000 KILLING MACHINE album.

Some of the results of the ill-fated second round of recordings undertaken by BELLADONNA were released independently by the USG label in Europe and the Derock imprint in the USA during January 1999. Subsequent to this, the band was credited as comprising guitarist Darin Scott, bassist Joe Andrews and drummer Scott Schroeter. John McCoy is listed as playing bass on 'Two Face' and 'Injun'.

Stump founded JOE STUMP'S REIGN OF TERROR. Sciotto journeyed through stints with ACE FREHLEY and VICK LECAR. Scott would re-emerge with SPIDER BABYS, a band comprising of vocalist Gerry Schad, bassist Jeff Beebe and FOUR LARGE MEN drummer Mike Merrifield. In late 2002 plans for a third BELLADONNA studio album '03', the singer working with FUTURE DRIVEN's Matt Zuber, would be revealed. In October 2003 it was revealed that ex-BELLADONNA six-stringer Peter Scheithauer had joined PUSHED, the Californian Metal band assembled by ex-SLAYER, EVIL DEAD and TESTAMENT drummer Jon Dette. The following year, after Dette's departure from HAVOCHATE, the two united once more, forming up a new band unit in league with vocalist Dave Pullaro and the former SYSTEMATIC and MY RUIN credited bassist Johnny Chow.

BELLADONNA would support W.A.S.P. on dates in August 2004 before Canadian headline shows in September. That same month it was announced that Belladonna was to form up part of ex-RATT singer STEPHEN PEARCY's much vaunted 'Bastards of Metal' tour as announcement revealed plans to include a roster of Pearcy, Belladonna, KEEL and IRONHORSE frontman Ron Keel, the BULLETBOYS Marq Torien and Jason McMaster of DANGEROUS TOYS and WATCHTOWER. Also on the billing would be be DROP and STS. Later that year, Belladonna issued the retrospective 'Artifacts 1' collection, comprising unreleased material dating to 1993. These songs found the singer fronting a band unit of guitarist Paul Crook, bass player Paul Mocci and drummer Jeff Tortora.

Following much rumour, Belladonna joined the 'Classic' pre-1987 line-up of ANTHRAX for European festivals and the US 'Ozzfest' events. It would be learned in early 2005 that former BELLADONNA guitarist Peter Scheithauer had convened a brand new band unit entitled ENEMY OF GOD with two bona fide Thrash veterans. This alliance found the bassist partnered with Jon Dette on drums, MEGADETH and F5 bassist Dave Ellefson and Todd Barnes of 13-A on vocals. By April, with Dette being replaced by Scheithauer's erstwhile BELLADONNA colleague Stet Howland, this project had morphed into TEMPLE OF BRUTALITY.

Joey Belladonna opted out of the ANTHRAX reunion in January 2007 and immediately set up solo shows.