Happy Birthday today (Oct. 18) to Dan Lilker. The former Anthrax bassist and founding member, current bassist for Nuclear Assault is 53.

Bassist Dan Lilker was born in Bayside, NY and is the bassist for thrash metal band Nuclear Assault and was a founding member of Anthrax with Scott Ian. He played bass and co-wrote Anthrax’ first album Fistful of Metal.

Nuclear Assault formed out of New York City after Dan Lilker left Anthrax in 1984. The band released several albums over the years and split up in 1995 and reunited on a couple of occasions, and they remain active today. Lilker announced plans to retire from full-time recording and touring in 2014. The band’s last release was the EP Pounder in 2015. Nuclear Assault’s current lineup features John Connelly on guitar and lead vocals, Dan Lilker on bass, Eric Burke on guitar, and Glenn Evans on drums. For more on Nuclear Assault, check out the band’s official Facebook page here.

More From Q 105.7