One of the four founding fathers of thrash metal, Anthrax broke through in 1983 and, since then changed three vocalists and several musical directions. At one point, its leader Scott Ian (guitars, songs) even experimented with rap, electronic sound, and Havah Nagilah. Anthrax is known for its ability to write seven and eight-minute songs, loaded with lyrics. The lyrics are mostly anti-society and rather depressing. Another thing, uncharacteristic for thrash metal, is that guitars are not at all dominant. Most of the songs can be described as "wall of words," instead of traditional thrash "wall of sound." Guitar solos are also very laconic. Other members of the band in the 80s included: Charlie Benante (drums, guitars, keys), Joe Beladonna (vocals), Dan Spitz (guitars), and Frank Bello (bass). In 90s Beladonna was replaced by John Bush, Spitz split (on very bad terms), and Bello quit. Anthrax's discography consists of albums "Fistful Of Metal" (1983), "Spreading The Disease" (1986), "Among The Living" (1988), "Persistance Of Time" (1990), "Sound Of White Noise" (1993), "Stomp 442" (1995), "Vol. 8" (1998), and their latest studio work, "We've Come For You All" (2003). In 2005 Anthrax announced they would be reuniting with Beladonna, Spitz, and Bello for the tour, in a blatant attempt to cash in on nostalgia. The band's lineup is currently uncertain.
PERSISTENCE OF TIME (1990)
RATING: ***
BEST SONGS: "Blood," "Keep It In The Family," "Got The Time"
Band's final album with its second frontman, Joey Belladonna. His voice fits the music perfectly. Anthrax doesn't seem to have riffs as such: the instruments are hard to distinguish, and it's more like a "complete" sound. First four songs are 7-8 min long each, and I can't remember a single memorable musical theme. Belladonna's voice is little nasal, making it dull at times, and causing you to start doing something else, while listening to this album, unless, of course, you are reading the lyrics sheet, which will keep you busy for an entire hour: there's a ton of them. They are about all kinds of stuff: social, political, personal, but, all around, not very inspiring or memorable. "Blood" has a catchy chorus for Anthrax, but it would have been very lame for either Metallica or Megadeth. The only shiningly bright spot on the album is the cover of Joe Jackson's (a new wave / pop singer) "Got The Time" ("tick-tick-ticking in my head"), which was easily my favorite senior-year-in-college song. This one has it all: catchiest riffs, kick-ass chorus, individual instrumental skills (especially bass), great speed, good (and very easy to relate to) lyrics. I'd say, it's more punk rock than metal in nature, but the sound is quite metallic. Album finisher, "Discharge" is another fast song, but it's a long fast song and not as catchy. Not bad, but I expected more.
SOUND OF WHITE NOISE (1993)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Room For One More" "Black Lodge," "C11H17N20SNa."
Many people don't like chicken soup; I do. Many people don't like this album; I do. Exit Joey Belladonna, enter John Bush, formerly of Armored Saint. His voice is very similar to Belladonna's: not very expressive or clean, but fitting the music. The music itself is, again, not very inspiring, but a little more catchy: at least now I can tell the songs apart. Songs like "Only," "Room For One More," "Hy Pro Glo," "C11H17N20SNa" (which, in case somebody doesn't know, is a truth serum), and "Burst" all have good riffs and are pretty catchy. Dan Spits's solos are not very lengthy but still are quite good. "Room For One More" is probably the catchiest track. The songs are also shorter than before, and it adds to their benefit. Now the average length is about 5 minutes. Plus, this album has "Black Lodge," which, by itself, is worth its price in the discount or used bin. Video made for this song was one of the best music videos I have seen, and the first time I began to question laMeTV's sanity was when it lost in the Heavy Metal category to Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" on the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards (other nominees were "Liar" by Henry Rollings and "Cryin'" by Aerosmith – "Black Lodge" should have gotten this award by mere virtue of being the ONLY metal act in this company!). The song itself is also quite awesome (although very depressing), and got a kick-ass riff in the middle. It's also a rare case when echoes actually sound good. I claim that "Sound Of White Noise" was the same for Anthrax as the Black album for Metallica -- a transitional release, but many people didn't approve it. Oh well. I still like it.
WE'VE COME FOR YOU ALL (2003)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Refuse To Be Denied," "Nobody Knows Anything," "Strap It On"
Anthrax always required a very special mood for me to be in to enjoy them, due to their hardcore influences, and I rarely experience this type of a mindset. I have heard a lot of great things about this latest offering from the veterans, but the two songs that I downloaded as a taste, "Taking The Music Back" and "Think About An End," have both left me indifferent. But when I saw it used, I grabbed it anyway, figuring "whatta hell." And I was pleasantly surprised. The album's best material is all found in the middle, tracks 4 through 9. "What Doesn't Die" and "Superhero" in the beginning and the said "Taking..." and "Think..." in the end just don't click with me (or "bore me," whichever you prefer). But the anthemic "Refuse To Be Denied" (think "Hy Pro Glo"), rolling "Safe Home" with its melodic chorus (think "Only" with a great solo in the mid-section), a rocking trio of "Any Place But Here," "Nobody Knows Anything" (gosh, is this statement ever true!), and "Strap It On," capped with a blasting "Black Dahlia," are all as good of modern metal as you gonna get. "Strap It On" seems to be a clear tribute to Judas Priest: the main riff and the outro melody are taken directly from "Love Bites." The band has apparently settled in their mid-tempo niche, going to upper-mid-tempo or lower-mid-tempo, but never really flooring the pedal. Late 80s/90s Anthrax always sounded rather unique to my ears, in both the sound and the songwriting, not to mention John Bush's voice, most fit for screaming out slogans at various political rallies, but on this album they simply dominate their own universe. Once we're on the subject of performing: Charlie Benante's drumming stands head and shoulders above the run-of-the-mill double bass kickers of NWOEPM. He even experiments with blast beats on "Black Dahlia," although his shining moment is "Nobody Knows Anything": his drumming is downright insane here. Production by Scrap 60 group fits the Anthrax's music like a glove: this is exactly what they should be sounding like. I must also mention the wonderfully creative booklet. As usual, Anthrax does not allow its lead guitarist to lead, but an occasional solo or two from Rob Caggiano ("Safe Home" is my favorite) are good to hear. A fine work, it's only missing one clear-cut hit (think "Got The Time" or "Black Lodge") to be truly marvelous.
GREATER OF TWO EVILS (2004)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: “Deathride,” “Metal Thrashing Mad,” “Panic”
Old Anthrax songs, picked by fans and re-recorded with John Bush’s vocals. I like it quite a bit. First of all, Bush is miles above Belladonna. Second, I have only heard a couple of 80s Anthrax tracks, so much of the material here is new to me, and I like it. Anthrax never was and most likely never will be my favorite band due to the hardcore elements, but when they decide to rock, they rock like few others can. Two landmark tracks from their debut, Fistful Of Metal, “Deathride” and “Metal Thrashing Mad,” are simply outstanding: perfect speed / thrash. “Caught In The Mosh” is a classic, made even better by Bush. Both “Among The Living” and “Keep It In The Family” have nice buildups, but ends going nowhere, as that one catchy riff or a vocal hook never appears. On the other hand, “A. I. R.,” “N. F. L.,” “Be All End All,” and a speedster “Panic” are very catchy indeed. Rob Caggiano is another new contributor, and his occasional solos are quite cool. The veterans, Ian, Benante, and Bello, do what they’ve been doing for years, although I semi-expected Benante to shine more, in the wake of WCFYA, although he does treat us to some blastbeats in “N. F. L.” A worthy purchase, if you want to have some sort of “greatest hits, the early years” but don’t care for Turbin or Belladonna. The only thing missing is a remake of a remake of “Got The Time” with Bush. That’d be cool. Another cool thing would be if Bush actually weren't fired from Anthrax soon after in favor of the memory lane trip.
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