1211. Anthrax / Volume 8 - The Threat is Real. 1998. 2.5/5

For all of the success Anthrax had had during the back half of the 1980’s as they rode at the forefront of the thrash metal scene, and then into the beginning of the 1990’s, the troubles away from the stage into the mid to late 1990’s was just as difficult for the band to negotiate as the changes in the music scene itself. They had released the album “Stomp 442” in 1995 on the back of this, but it had been the changes at the top of Elektra Records that created the most problems, with the new head of the company openly telling the band in a meeting that she would never have signed them to the contract they did if she had been in charge at the time. The result of this hostility was that “Stomp 442” received practically zero promotion by the record company, which contributed to it being far less commercially successful that their previous album, and eventually led to the band leaving the label.
Anthrax instead signed with an independent label, and went about writing and recording their new album. As with the previous album, Charlie Benante wrote the majority of the music, and played most of the lead guitar, as well as his main job with the band, playing the drums. Paul Crook, who was the touring guitarist for the band at that time, contributed solos to three songs, while Dimebag Darrell from Pantera again contributed solos to two songs.
As an ‘old school’ metal band, Anthrax was well aware of the changes within the music world. It was a tough gig out there for those bands. Some had altered their sound to mix in with the change of era, others had toughed it out, and many had ceased to exist. For Anthrax, with a new record deal and a shrinking live audience, the challenge was to ensure that their product continued to reflect what their fans wanted, and to keep them excited in their work and to push to regain the lost ground that had occurred with the lack of support of their previous album.

The opening two tracks are the best examples of the then-current day Anthrax tunes. Heavy rolling drums, heavy guitars and John Bush’s hardcore vocals overlaying throughout. “Crush” delivers as a solid opening track, while “Catharsis” is probably the better song, bringing better energy and delivery. In the Bush era of Anthrax, when he is going hard at the vocals the songs are at their peak, and both of these songs have those best moments about them.
“Inside Out” has a mood and tempo typical of the age, heavy guitars and hard hitting drums in a slow mid tempo grind and groove with vocals growling rather than soaring with a Dimebag solo tying it all together. While Scott Ian likes to suggest Anthrax stayed true to type during this album, this song, the first single released from the album, offers something that is not that. The song is a good one, but it most definitely brings the era into the album. I guess I should just say it – it sounds like a Pantera song. I wonder why. “P & V” or “Piss and Vinegar” which is what the title actually is, typifies the Bush era with those same hard guitars but at a better tempo and with Bush rallying the troops in a better vocal style that does the song justice.
It has to be said here that, for me at least, a part of this album feels as though it is a cross between an S.O.D album and an “Attack of the Killer B’s” album. “604” and “Cupajoe” are both short and to the point in a similar frame that Charlie and Scott created for Stormtroopers of Death in the 1980’s and seem to have been revived here for this album. On the other hand, “Toast to the Extras” is an “Attack of the Killer B’s kind of song, because of the song lyrics and the style of music written and played for the song. In fact, when you listen to it, even now, the instant reaction is ‘what the fuck is this?!’ For me, none of these three songs fit the concept of what I think of as an Anthrax album, at least an Anthrax mainstream type album. Those songs had their place in the past, but to me it feels as though they are wildly out of place here.
“Born Again Idiot”, “Killing Box” and “Alpha Male” are all much more like it, energetic in a much more positive fashion, and providing a better selection of riffs and solos as well as Bush’s vocals at their best. Offsetting that though is the song “Harms Way”, which starts off as a borderline country western song on steel guitar, and while the song does ‘harden up’ as it progresses, it still sounds like Nashville based song than New York. On the back of that, “Hog Tied” and “Big Fat” are back to the average song style, somehow trapped from being either classic Anthrax or mildly unnecessary.
“Stealing From a Thief” is the album’s closing song, which contains “Pieces” as a hidden track to actually finish the album. Frankie Bello wrote “Pieces” about his brother who was murdered outside his girlfriend’s house two years prior to this, and which Frankie also sings. It is fine, but is it not out of place here? The acoustic guitar and remorseful reflective tone of the song again seems like it is placed here because it was important to the band that it be acknowledged, but the style is all wrong for the departure to the album.
Earlier I mentioned part of this album being like an offshoot of SOD and Attack. Now is the part where I mention that the style associated with the majority of the rest of the album is very much influenced by the sound that Pantera had brought to the scene during the 1990’s. And we know the band admired what Pantera was doing at the time, and the fact that Dimebag Darrell was involved in pieces of this album, and that both Phil Anselmo and Vinnie Paul were present on the album as well, really brings that home to roost. It is in no way a Pantera album, but the sound and the format of the songs here have a definite trend towards that style. “Stealing From a Thief” absolutely trends this way. So the influence of Pantera appears obvious, but the album also lacks cohesion, it appears that in places there is too much going on, and in others not enough. Some fans complain that it sounds too much like nu-metal, and I can hear and understand those thoughts. I’m more of the opinion that they ride the wave of nu-metal (or at least attempt to) without actually getting their feet wet, but others would disagree.

Anthrax is another band that I have supported since my discovery of them in the 1980's, and another of whom I own all of their released albums. This was another of those ‘purchase on love of the past’ albums that I went with in 1998, mostly on the continued belief that they couldn’t put out a poor album, and that I would more than get my money’s worth from it. And it must be said, I was certainly in my phase of European power metal when this was released, mostly in order to avoid the oncoming charge of nu-metal and industrial metal which didn’t sit great with me.
So I bought this album, and I taped it to cassette, and put it in my car to listen to on the way to work and back... and it got the mandatory listens before being swapped out for the next album in line. And it is fair to say that it suffered from what a lot of albums did at the end of the 1990’s, which was me going back to albums a decade earlier and enjoying reminiscing about them rather than giving the new material a fair listen. You can blame “Load and “Reload” for that! They really killed off a lot of new album listening at the end of the 90’s decade!
It wasn’t that I disliked the album that made me stop listening to it at the time, but it was a fact that I would listen to it, and then listen to “Among the Living” or “Persistence of Time” again and roll in the joy and ecstasy of those albums instead. And when it comes to pulling out an Anthrax album from the collection to listen to, there is no doubt that “Volume 8: The Threat is Real” is not high on the list. In fact, as the record company that released this album went bust not long after its release, it was out of print for about 20 years, which at least made this album somewhat valuable before its re-release in the past couple of years.
For the past four weeks I have listened to this album at least once a day, and this is what I have learned from that – most of my initial instincts on the album remain today as they did 25 years ago. There are some good songs on here, but none I would categorise as great. There are some songs on here that just don’t belong in the mix and I think probably harm the flow of the album. And that Pantera influence is undeniable, and the fact that Charlie is now drumming for the ‘band in name only’ as they tour the world probably nails down why this album sounds like it does. Some Anthrax fans like to dislike the Bush era albums because they aren’t the 80’s era albums. There is still enough goodness here for the everyday fan to enjoy. And it still kills “Load” and “Reload”, so it at least has that going for it as well. Final word – good, not great, but not terrible. How’s THAT for sitting on the fence?!

1205. Anthrax / Sound of White Noise. 1993. 5/5

Anyone who had followed Anthrax’s journey through the 1980’s would have known a band that combined the essence of thrash metal with some great lyrical writing drawn from sources such as literature and legend and mythology, along with issues that were close to their hearts, all mix with the fun and vibrancy of a young band making it in the world. By the time the band had reached 1990 and the release of their pivotal masterpiece “Persistence of Time”, they were at the peak of their powers. They had a back catalogue of albums that would have been the envy of most other bands out there, and the success of their single “Bring the Noise” had allowed them to incorporate music that they had all grown up with into their own sound, and draw in more fans as a result. And the fun release “Attack of the Killer B’s” had shown they had not lost their fun side after the more serious aspects from the “Persistence of Time” album. So it should have been all champagne and roses, shouldn’t it?
For fans, or at least myself, the parting of ways with lead singer Joey Belladonna seemed sudden and unfortunate. Later interviews suggested that this parting had been discussed between Scott Ian and Charlie Benante as far back as the writing stages of “Persistence of Time”. ‘Musical differences’ was the excuse bandied about at the time, and there had also been thoughts thrown around that the age difference between the older Joey and the rest of the band meant they didn’t mesh well all the time as a result. Whatever the reasons behind his exit were, losing such as high profile member of your band such as the visible and high pitched singing lead singer is not an easy thing to replace and then successfully sell to your fans.
In his place, the band brought in Armored Saint front man John Bush, having auditioned several people. Again, Bush’s name had been floated as a possible replacement in those first times that talk had begun over maybe getting a replacement, so no doubt they had been in contact prior to this occurring. And thus began the waiting game for the fans, to discover just what Anthrax could produce with their new lead singer whose former band had been a contemporary of Anthrax in the thrash metal scene. Alongside this, just how would Anthrax approach the changing music world around them in their new music, with grunge and alternative taking a hold and influencing just how many styles of music approached the 90’s decade. Many changed their style to adapt, and failed as a result. Would Anthrax hold a steady course or make further changes of their own?

Over the years, many reviewers have made the point that they feel that “Sound of White Noise” is either a darker album that the band had written before, growing in serious matters to be conversed about and with less humour or injected fun within the tracks, or that the album is more grunge and alternative related than any of their albums have been before – or in fact that this album is both and all of those things combined.
I’m not sure I have ever agreed with those sentiments. There have been plenty of serious matters made the subject of Anthrax songs in the past albums - “Madhouse”, “Indians”, “Make Me Laugh” and “Belly of the Beast” are just one example from each of the previous four albums that have a serious side to their lyrics. What was changing was perhaps the stage attire for the band, the colourful outfits with shorts and t-shirts that other bands eschewed for denim and or leather. To me, “Sound of White Noise” is a natural progression from the subject matter and heavier sound that came from “Persistence of Time”. And along with the different style of vocals between Joey and John, the songs had to be written and played differently as well, given a different tone to fall in with the way that John held himself and his singing. And that change is significant in another way as well. The songs here have a more melodic singing style about them, with different techniques in the way the vocals are recorded. As well as this, many Anthrax songs in the past had utilised the chanting and backing vocals of Scott Ian and Frankie Bello as a part of the mantra of the songs – think “Caught in a Mosh” and “I Am the Law” as examples – but here John takes on much of the role and those kind of interludes don’t appear. Certainly live they still do, but here on the album John Bush is the main vocalist throughout.
So my opinion is not that this is influenced by grunge or a desire to move towards alternative metal, it is just the natural progression of the band and its sound along with the input and requirements of the new lead singer of the band.
And what an impact it makes. From the outset, the album is pumping through the speakers. Everything is turned up in intensity and impact, from the opening “This is a journey... into sound...” of “Potter’s Field”, to the majesty of the number one single “Only”, into the hard core “Room for One More” and then the aggression and power of “Packaged Rebellion”, the album’s opening four tracks are the equal of any Anthrax album. Charlie Benante’s drumming is beyond superb, once again putting most of his peers in the genre in his shadow, and I love the symmetry between him and bassist Frankie Bello here as well, they set the bottom section in order and create the basis of each track, allowing Scott Ian and Dan Spitz to perform their guitar riffing over the top in perfect order. Even so, it is John Bush’s vocals that reign supreme here, laying to bed any doubts that he could do the job for the band. “Hy Pro Glo”, the intensity of “Invisible” and “1000 Points of Hate”, to the moodiness of the complete tack change of “Black Lodge”... all of it is immense and tremendous. “Sodium Pentothal” (not how it is spelled but it is always the name I’ve called this track) into “Burst”, and then the over-the-top conclusion of “This is Not an Exit”, makes for an amazing album, a brilliant debut for Bush, and the exact kind of heavy metal we wanted to hear at a time when so many other bands were diverging from their usual template.

It is pretty difficult to put into words just how much I adored this album when it was released. This came out around three months after I was married, and was followed a week later by Helloween’s “Chameleon” album, an episode of this podcast that follows this episode very quickly. So I listened to both of these albums together for some time. Now, without giving away the plot line for the Helloween album... I listened to this a hell of a lot more and for a hell of a lot longer. And we were living in a two room flat, struggling with very little income in our small business, so buying anything extravagant like a couple of albums at the time was not easy to do. But I still recall with fondness sitting in the sun-drenched combined lounge/dining/kitchen of the front half of that flat, looking out at the view and listening to this album at as high a volume as I dared in an effort to not have all of our neighbours call the cops at the same time. And it was just brilliant. It was a mood changer, an album that still to this day is able to take my crankiest, angriest moods and suck that all out of me, and replace it with a feeling of contentment. Because there is plenty of anger here within the confines of the album, and having this amazingly heavy album create its transition is still something to behold.
The album lasted for ever on my playing list. I’ve had it on for over a month again now in preparation for this podcast, and it’ll stay on my playlist for a while again yet. Simply because it is an amazing album. The lyrics of “Packaged Rebellion” became a kinda motto for my life - ‘I don’t wanna know how you’re so driven, I don’t wanna know your influence, I don’t need to prove myself, I just need to be myself, it doesn’t show how I’m trying to be, it just shows who I am’. At 23 years of age when this album was released, it became my mantra. And – just as importantly, this was an album of that era by a band that I loved that didn’t change, in fact almost became heavier here than they had been, whereas other bands that I loved from the 1980’s were in a mid-life crisis and suffering because of it.
I still love this album unconditionally. It is an absolute balltearer. It was, somewhat sadly, probably the last great Anthrax album. From this point on they all have their great songs and great moments, but not with the same overall and undying purpose and intent. 30 years on, and this still has it all – the heavy riffs, the headbanging drums and rhythms, the great singalong lyrics, and from all reports the song that James Hetfield called ‘a perfect song’. High praise indeed.

1112. Anthrax / State of Euphoria. 1988. 4/5

Anthrax’s path over the previous five years had been one where they were on the rise, from the raw opening of their debut album, to the more refined passage of their next two albums. The hiring of Joey Belladonna as lead vocalist after the first album had proved a success, and the piecing together of the quartet of Charlie Benante on drums, Scott Ian and Dan Spitz on guitars and Frank Bello on bass had put together two outstanding thrash metal albums. They had also blown up stages across the US and Europe, supporting some of the biggest bands and losing nothing in comparison.
What sort of changes do you make to a winning formula, especially when you have reached this crux in your career. The band was trending upwards, but what elements do you use going forward? The band had already dabbled in a crossover with the shared love they had with rap and hip hop from their New York roots, producing the single “I’m the Man” which had been well received, and playing the song in concerts with Joey filling in on drums while Charlie, Frank and Scott bounced around the stage singing. Charlie and Scott had also released the Stormtroopers of Death side project album “Speak English or Die” a couple of years earlier with former bandmate Dan Lilker, which was one of the original crossover thrash albums. Both of these releases were aside from the normal Anthrax releases, but it felt as though there were those elements that wanted to filter into the Anthrax core sound as well.
Once the album was completed, and in interviews on the subject since, both Charlie and Scott have spoken about the fact that they feel that the album was ‘unfinished’, that perhaps it was rushed, and not enough time was taken to iron out the kinks and to make it the best album they could. Retrospect is often a powerful tool that has no use in the real world. What you hear on this album is what the band was feeling at the time, and it remains as one of the jewels of the Anthrax catalogue. In many ways it is surprising to Anthrax fans that there are negative things spoken about “State of Euphoria” at all. Why then would the composers of the album feel this way over a release that contains a few of their most memorable performances?

There are few better album opening tracks on an album than “Be All, End All” a song which is a sign of their growing maturity as a band. The opening and closing of the song with the cello is inspirational, and the building throughout is magnificent. Joey’s anthemic delivery of the lyrics is perfect, the emotion and feeling of each line felt by the listener as they were meant to be as a result. Just a terrific song, one that has lasted the test of time. The cover of Trust’s fantastic “Antisocial” is brilliant roof raiser, and still as powerful today as it was when they first played it. It stands out here on this album because it is a different timing and different melody, that it isn’t quite as frantic as the songs around it are, which comes from it being a cover version. And “Finale” is a great closing track, bringing all of the power and aggression that has come before it and compacts into those final few minutes such that the album is completed in style.
The band continues to make statements about events that are occurring around them, and also write songs that come from books and movies that inspire them. “Make Me Laugh” is the band’s put down of televangelism that was prominent at the time, and was the subject of many songs by several bands around this period. “Misery Loves Company” continues Scott Ian’s in particular love affair with Stephen King, with the song based on the novel “Misery”. And “Now It’s Dark” comes from the film ‘Blue Velvet’, based around the character of Frank Booth played so maniacally well by Dennis Hopper.
Despite this, there is something about the songs on State of Euphoria that doesn't always feel as though they gel together, and it is this reason that I think it is a little maligned by the band in comparison to other albums. Why is this the case? Personally, I think the band got a little bit ‘funky’ with their sound on this album. What you end up getting here is an album that is somewhere between their original thrash metal sound, the hip-hop hard-core sound that came with their single “I'm the Man”, and the more mature metal sound that came with the following album. While the thrash elements are still here for all to hear, the subtle change in song structure and the similarity in which some songs follow the same pattern does feel as though it comes back to haunt this album to a degree.
Listening to the album with a critical ear, there is a case to be made that many of the songs are too similar in structure and sound. That may tend to over-simplify the argument, but it is what comes across to me. There is a case to be made that the songs on “State of Euphoria” just roll into one another and share too much time together. I can sing the choruses of a number of the songs over other songs on the album, and it all fits in to place too neatly. Is this a reason why some people find it difficult to get into the album? Perhaps.
But even those songs that could be accused of being similar still have great powerful chanting lines in the best traditions of Anthrax, lines like “Now it’s dark but I can see, don’t you fuckin’ look at me!” (“Now It’s Dark”), and “You know me, and I can be, a very, very vicious critic” (“Misery Loves Company”), and “Invisible could be my name, your excuses are so lame” (“Who Cares Wins”) just to name a few. And this is the main crux of any argument – for me, I love these songs and this album through weight of having grown up with it and listening to it a thousand times or more. And even for me, I sometimes find myself wandering while listening to the album and come back trying to decipher which song I’m listening to.

It’s hard to believe as I think back now that I missed Anthrax during my high school years. There were the couple of music videos that floated around – the one for “Madhouse” from “Spreading the Disease” being the most memorable one – but as for actually coming around and getting into the band, well that just didn’t happen until later on. Indeed, it wasn’t until I walked into Kiama Sight & Sound one day and saw this shiny album cover staring at me from the “A” rack that I finally purchased an Anthrax album, and I haven’t looked back since.
For me, of those first four albums of Joey Belladonna’s first stint in the band, this is the one that I still have confusion over how much I enjoy it. The debut was rough and mottled with its own charms but certainly not of legendary performance. Each of the other three albums to me are perfectly formed, filled to the brim with strong tracks and songs that are still just as brilliant today as they were when those albums were released. And I do love this album. But it is the one I have reservations about that love.
There are the occasional times when this album comes up in discussion, and I really have to consider how I feel about it. I did this recently with two long term friends, both of whom ranked this as the highest echelon of Anthrax’s discography. I was slightly incredulous. To me there are obvious stand outs in Anthrax’s great legacy, and I love this album, but not to the extent that I felt it was perhaps their best. But then I go home, I pull out my CD copy of the album, put it on the stereo, turn it up, and let it crush. And that it when you get this album at its best. Not in the car, not at work, not out and about on your portable music listening device. On the stereo, at home, and let the album do the work it has been designed to do. If I was to sit down and rank their albums, this wouldn’t be in the top four, but the variables are such a fine thing in this instance that ranking doesn’t really mean anything.
Having said all of that, I still love this album and I love the songs on it. That comes partly from having had this album for so many years and from having listened to it so much in those late teenage years when everything becomes a part of your psyche forever.
The hard bottom line for me is that “State of Euphoria” doesn’t quite stack up against those other three giants that the band was able to produce during this first stage of their career, and that’s okay because those are three pretty brilliant albums. But this isn’t that far behind, and anytime I put it on I am still enamoured by its overloaded ferocity and tongue firmly in cheek dark tones. I don’t know how I would react to this album if I was coming into it now, 35 years after it was released. No doubt a lot differently than I did when I did first get the album. Whereas Anthrax has other albums that are immediately lovable and relatable, I think ”State of Euphoria” probably needs a little bit more time to move beyond what could be seen as the similarity of the basic rhythm of songs like “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”, “Make Me Laugh”, “Who Cares Wins” and “Schism” in particular, to find the love that the album deserves.

1039. Anthrax / Kings Among Scotland [Live]. 2018. 4/5

For a band that has been around for four decades, it is unusual that Anthrax has never really had a definitive live album. Iron Maiden, Slayer, Ozzy Osbourne… they all have live albums that are legendary and are caught as moments in time of the era they were recorded. Anthrax has the afterthought of their Island Records contract when it released Live: The Island Years, and then the John Bush-headed recording of Music of Mass Destruction, before the reunion with Joey Belladonna release of Alive 2 (2005). All three are good solid live albums, and Music of Mass Destructionespecially at least stands as a monument to the Bush-era songs, but for a quintessential live recording of the band there has been somewhat of a gap.

Does that make this release the live album we have been waiting for from this band? Well, to be fair to the band that moment when they could have released a live album that would stand the test of time has probably passed. Music of Mass Destruction is probably the closest they will come. And the songs have had to be naturally altered with some tuning and a slower pace in order to accommodate the changes in the techniques of the individuals in the band. Yes, tuning down in order to allow Joey to come close to singing some of the older songs that they have in this set list. For me a live recording on the Persistence of Time tour would have been the ultimate goal, but seeing as this was when I first saw them perhaps I am blinded by that.
So does this have a chance to be that definitive live album? It does have a chance, for two reasons. Disc One is a mix of the old and the new. Amongst songs taken from the album on which the band is touring, For All Kings we have a mix of classic Anthrax tunes. The new songs all sound good in this live environment, and given they had been toured for a while before this gig was recorded it shows. “Evil Twin”, “Blood Eagle Wings” and “Breathing Lightning” showcase the best of the latest studio album, and new crowd favourite “Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t” from the Worship Music album still comes across well. Liberally splashing with the crowd pleasers such as “A.I.R.”, “Madhouse”, “Medusa” and “Be All End All”, there is something for everyone.
What will elevate this live album into a more accessible category is the second disc, which was the second act of the evening during the tour. It involves the playing live of the entire Among the Living album which is revered and generally accepted as Anthrax’s finest moment. It is not played here in correct running order, but that doesn’t matter in the slightest. Each of these nine amazing songs are played in full and with reverence. The crowd know all the words, and especially in the backing vocals of Scott Ian and Frankie Bello you can hear the crowd at full volume joining in. The album and gig then ends with a rousing rendition of “Antisocial”.
The band are older, and perhaps wiser. Joey Belladonna may not be quite the vocalist he was, but no one is at his age. He still does a great job throughout, and even where he has to make changes to accommodate it comes across well enough to keep the doubters at bay. Jon Donais on lead guitar does a sterling job, while Ian and Bello are as enthusiastic as always. Charlie Benante still amazes on the drums, and again while it may not be his heyday his drum sound is still one of the best in the business.

I’ll admit that after the first two or three times I listened to this I was wondering if this was just another album I would buy and within a couple of weeks would return to the collection to be hidden forever. That may still happen, given I am less likely to drag out a live album to listen to that a studio album. But I have softened my hard resolve against the tiny things I held against this release, and now I can happily continue to listen to it despite the fact I wish it had been released in 1988 and not 2018.

Rating:  “Evil witch casts her spell”.  4/5.

1029. Anthrax / Spreading the Disease. 1985. 5/5

Sometimes it is hard to believe that this album was “only” released in 1985, because it feels like it has been around for a lot longer than that. After the initial recording and release of their debut album Fistful of Metal, some tweaking to the band members brought in Joey Belladonna and Frankie Bello to replace Neil Turbin and Danny Lilker respectively. Both of these changes acted to smooth out the rough edges of the thrash metal roots of the band and brought a whole dimension both musically and vocally to the group without reneging on any of the aggression and power of the music. The result of this was brought forth on Spreading the Disease, an album that began the steady climb of Anthrax as metal powerhouse.

For many fans this is still an obscure album, one that they know but without certainty. They know the tunes but not necessarily the song titles. It has its share of songs that have become classic Anthrax tracks through the years, but mostly contains songs that have not been played live since the heady days of the 1980’s and are known best by those that had the album on its release.
There are two songs on the album that were written by the original song writing team of the first album, that being Turbin, Lilker and Scott Ian. They are “Armed and Dangerous” and “Gung-Ho”, which closes out the album. Both are of the same intensity of the songs on Fistful of Metal, with the furiousness of the guitars and drums extending through any time pattern that may be being kept. The difference in the quality of the songs probably comes down to better production, the instrumentation being more studied and the vocals of Joey, whose operatic-like range gives them a completely different sound to what they would have had with Turbin on vocals. “Armed and dangerous” has the slower clear guitar beginning that works its way up in tempo and heavy feel, and while the instrumentation speeds up Joey’s vocals soar along to carry the song perfectly. In “Gung-Ho” we have a song that is not denying its roots, starting off on fire with guitar and drums, and simply not slowing down for anyone. In some ways it’s amazing that Joey can even keep up, because the pace that is set by Charlie, Frankie, Scott and Dan is exhilarating. It is a perfect counterpoint to the material of the previous album. This song has all of the same aspects, but is matured, better defined and supported by a great voice.
The base of the album is still rooted in the thrash metal elements that the band grew up with. From the start in “A.I.R.” the hard hitting drums drive the song along with Joey’s soaring vocals proving the defining improvement of the band from debut album to sophomore release. “Lone Justice” continues on the same path, clicking along at a faster pace that continues to set the tone. “S.S.C. / Stand or Fall” starts off with a very Megadeth-ish guitar riff before bursting into a similarly speed metal pace with sing-along chorus set in place. “The Enemy” is at a more sedate pace for the most part of the song, before the finale comes signalled by Joey’s scream. As a more traditional heavy metal song it still works a treat. The second side of the album bursts to life with the track “Aftershock” that pummels away with the chanting back-ups and fierce guitar riffing throughout.
The two best known songs of the album are the single “Madhouse” and the classic “Medusa”. “Madhouse” had a video filmed for the song but was largely ignored by most music video programs at the time, but it remains one of the nest known of Anthrax’s early catalogue. “Medusa” settles into the perfect rhythm from the start, and is brought to life by Joey’s amazing vocals throughout. Funnily enough, the highest note of the song, the word “Medusa!” in the chorus is taken on by Frankie Bello on backing vocals. “Medusa” too remains as one of Anthrax’s best songs, producing the heavy emotional response that their best songs do.
The most noticeable difference between this album and the following albums is that from this point there was a lot of forceful backing vocal chanting coming from Scott Ian and Frank Bello in future albums that isn’t prevalent here at all. This is an album with songs that hold a typical pattern vocal wise. That was to change after this album, and it is still noticeable today that difference in the song patterns.

This is still an oft-forgotten gem amongst the Anthrax artillery. While the style of music that Anthrax produced continued to evolve over the coming albums, this is the one that perhaps best epitomises their thrash and speed metal roots while showcasing the great talent of all of the band members. Perhaps it isn’t considered in the same light as albums such as Among the Living, State of Euphoria and Persistence of Time but for me it is still a terrific album.

Rating:  “Evil witch cast her spell, seducing you, she’ll take you to the very depths of hell”.  5/5

923. Anthrax / For All Kings. 2016. 4/5

There was a growing sense of excitement when Anthrax finally announced they were releasing a new album. It had been four years since the release of their return opus with Joey Belladonna on vocals (five years by the time it was released), and while that album had been well liked, there was always the feeling that it was just the start of the reboot, and that better was to come once they had toured this album for awhile, and then sat down to write new material. There was unfinished business, and this new album was going to set it all right, and be the kickstart that has been missing since the bust up with John Bush well over a decade ago. It all felt good in the lead up. This was the time.

The first thing that came across to me on the first listens I had of the new album was that there seemed to be a lot that sounded like it should have been on the last album. "You Gotta Believe" has a very similar sound musically to that of "Fight 'Em Till You Can't" from Worship Music. "Monster in the End" holds the same kind of melody through the chorus that is prevalent on "In the End" from the previous album. On "All of Them Thieves", Joey's melody lines are the same sort that he used on the last album. "Suzerain" again vocally sounds like material from the previous album. If it was just one song, or pieces here and there, then I could've let it go and moved past it. But these flashes kept coming at me as I moved through the album, and didn't fade over time. In fact, perhaps the only song that hits me slightly differently is "Breathing Lightning", but it reminds me so much of a Stryper song its not funny. In fact, I can't get past the similarity between it and "Makes Me Wanna Sing" off Soldiers Under Command. Not lyrically of course, but musically the similarities are quite stunning.
Overall this shouldn't be a problem, but really, there is a five year break between releases. I'm not suggesting that it has to be a completely new sound for every album, and that vocally everything must sound completely different from the previous release. But the similarities are to me too startling to ignore. No one wants Worship Music PART 2. We want For All Kings. The drum rolls all seem to synch up between the material. The riffs just feel as though they have been continued from the previous song. Joey's vocals are in a similar tone most of the way through the album. Perhaps they need to be now to operate, and if that's the case then fine. But there is no change in desire or emotion or drive. The parameters are set and that's what they sit between.
This is not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination. There are things about it though that hold me back from loving it. The tempo throughout doesn't seem to change much. It isn't outright thrash and speed like the old days, and it isn't that mid-tempo range that many bands of this generation began to fall back into - it is somewhere between those two, which isn't bad except that it tends to sit there for the entire album. More than anything else, I just waited for the songs to grow on me, for them to become... better. In the whole time I've had the album, that hasn't happened. I LIKE the songs, but I just can't seem to love them, to get to the stage where I am singing along with them.

I know I probably need to hear this album more than I have to be able to get my radar set properly on it, but the problem with that is that it just isn't generating that kind of interest in me. It isn't demanding repeat playings. I come to the end of the album, and more or less look for the next album to put on, rather than thinking "damn, this new album is so awesome I think I'll listen to it all over again!" And it is that reaction that drives me to write the review I'm writing for it, because if an album is giving off those vibes at this early stage of its purchase, then it probably doesn't bode well for it in the long run. I may well end up feeling differently about For All Kings in the long run, but for now, it doesn't have the hooks required to raise it into the ranks of the indispensable.

Rating:   "Young blood of the old blood, for all kings are through"  3/5

897. Anthrax / Persistence of Time. 1990. 5/5

The progression of Anthrax through their first four albums was on a similar path that their contemporaries all travelled along. The opening album of pure thrash metal, with vocals that serviced what the band had written but from what more was needed. The second album that was tighter musically and vocally more proficient. The third album that funnelled all of that into producing an album that was at the top of their form, one that still holds true years later. Anthrax had done this as well, with that progression from the “Fistful of Metal” album, and then the change of vocalist that went on to produce “Spreading the Disease” and the legendary “Among the Living”, that still holds true against two other third albums in the discography of highly regarded thrash metal artists, “Reign in Blood” and “Master of Puppets”. In 1988 Anthrax then released their fourth album, “State of Euphoria”, an album that still enthralled the fans and sold as well as the band’s previous two albums, but critically was reviewed with less enthusiasm. Part of the criticism the band received for this album was that it was felt that the band was becoming too ‘cartoonish’, a reference to the stage wear the band wore during gigs, and that many of their songs were written around novels and comic books. Some of that seems misplaced, as the band had tackled some serious issues in a couple of songs from that album.
Heading into their follow up album, there was a lot going on around the band that perhaps led to a slight change in their lyrical and musical direction. The band returned to the studio in late 1989, surrounded in the turmoil of several on going issues. The first was that guitarist Scott Ian was in the process having divorced his first wife during this process, something that is rarely pleasant and now doubt affected his mental state and mood during the writing and recording of the album. Then in late January 1990 a fire in the complex where their studio was situated meant that they lost their rehearsal room along with up to $100,000 worth of equipment, not something that could be replaced quickly or easily. On top of this, it was later revealed that the band had begun having talks of working with a new lead singer, something that their current lead singer Joey Belladonna was kept in the dark about. There was quite an age difference between Belladonna and the rest of the band, and the differences in their pastimes and listening material were said to be a part of why this discussion took place. All of this swirled around the band as they spent more than three months composing and recording what would be their fifth studio album, one that did indeed have a change of tone about it. But would these changes, the maturing of the band’s songwriting to have a bigger focus on the world around them, not only appease their critics but their fan base as a whole?

The increasing ticking of a clock to start to "Time", followed by the frantic guitars and timing-perfect drums is the perfect start to the album, combining all of the best parts of Anthrax's music. Charlie Benante’s drumming on this song from the outset is outstanding, that metronomic-like double kick is amazing alongside everything he is doing on his snare and toms up top. Joey Belladonna’s vocals are precision perfect with the exact right amount of phrasing and emotional kick as the lyrics dictate it is required. Frank Bello on bass combines timing perfect with Charlie throughout, leaving Scott Ian and Dan Spitz to rail over the top. The lyrics speak of life and death, and how time may be an enemy if you let it. There are so many superb lines in this song, but just a piece here is: “Life and death as words they don't mean shit, It's what you do with them and how you live with it, Raging like a bull inside a cage, Just give me a stage where this bull can rage”. This is a truly wonderful start to the album, one of their very best. The opening track segues straight into the follow up in “Blood”, another with Charlie’s opening drumbeat followed by the guitar riff. “Blood” has some great time changes throughout as Charlie mixes things up to mess with the tempo throughout. Lyrically it explores various stories within its different meanings, which may have been a result of the difficulties the band faced during the writing process. While it seems to concentrate mainly on wars, fighting each others brothers, there are lines that speak deeper of Scott’s mood at the time, such as “Misery can be so attractive, when making yourself happy is the only alternative, At the expense of someone else's life, Do it for yourself, damn it, do what's right”. “Keep It in the Family” speaks volumes about racism and prejudice that is handed down from parents to kids, with the kids only learning from what is behind their door and not from where ‘the real world is outside your door’. There’s no holding back in the lyrics here, some that are still far too close to home even 35 years later, such as: “Retribution, no solution, constitution, Discrimination through the nation
Raining hatred”. Sound familiar? It’s another great song on the album, where the topics have become darker and more socially aware. They mix slower heavier riffs with the faster and louder aspects. There is no doubt that this is not an out-and-out thrash album, something that some people are unable to get past. But it is damn heavy and still thought-provoking lyrically, and the maturity both lyrically and musically is a huge step up from their last album.
"In My World" returns the album to the upbeat tempo musically at which it performs its best, rollicking along once again and being driven by Charlie's rolling drumbeat and the flailing of the guitars, while Joey wails over top in fine form. Lyrically, 35 years ago, I would never have thought that I would be so in tune with what parts of this song are saying. It’s a different world, and I am generations older than i was when this was released. “But when you have lines that suggest “I just want my life to do whatever I like
Yeah, it's a selfish need to have no responsibility, So I'll say what I'm gonna say cos I'm going to Hell anyway, I'd rather be alone in my world”. Not in the way that the lyrics and song suggest, but my need to be out in the world has diminished over time, and these lyrics do strike a chord with me. Musically it is fabulously mature thrash metal, the changing tempo engineered by the rhythm section here is terrific, and lyrically it is extremely easy to sing along to with gusto. Another great track. On the back of this, "Gridlock" is the most thrash-like song on the first half of the album, even if it could be described, as I did with the previous track, as a 'mature' form of thrash. Joey stars again on this song, preaching from the stage on the judgements that others will place on you, those who are more interested in gossiping behind your back and tearing you down without confronting you directly. And it is so accurate, especially in workplaces, something I have found in the past, and this song is a perfect example of that kind of behaviour. The band leaves nothing in the tank when it comes to sprouting their vitriol over such practices, along with great riffing and soloing from Dan and Scott. This is a superb way of closing out the first side of the album, and you almost feel a state of exhaustion come over you as a result. It has been draining physically and emotionally from the outset.
The opening to side two of the album is perhaps the best example of the strides Anthrax had made in its writing and performing to this stage of their career. It opens with a snatch of conversation from the classic Twilight Zone episode from Series 3 called “Deaths-Head Revisited”, where the protagonist former commandant of a Dachau concentration camp in Nazi Germany, on visiting the camp 17 years later, insists “we did as we were told”, to which his ghostly companion Alfred Becker, whom he tortured while at the camp replies "They just heard you offer the apology for all the monsters of our times” and followed by an echo of laughter as the instrumental “Intro to Reality” begins. This is a wonderfully written and performed piece, three minutes of awesome riffing and melodic guitar with the bass and drums holding the song together underneath. It builds beautifully in a crescendo before crashing into the killer riff that then kicks in to Joey's spitting vocals that set the scene brilliantly, the segue straight into the beginning of “Belly of the Beast”, which then tells the story portrayed in “Deaths-Head Revisited” from the point of view of Alfred Becker, with Belladonna immediately sneering “You walk this earth without a heart, you tear the innocent souls apart, you shovel your conscience into the grave”. Lyrically this song is a wonderfully composed tome based on that Twilight Zone episode, conveying the horror of the time and of what is described in the episode both in the past and the then present. It is perfectly sung by Belladonna, spitting and incredulous in the same instant. It is the basis of what this album was all about, combining the instances of time throughout, and still delivering a message. It is probably still the highlight of the album for me.
This is followed by the sensational cover of Joe Jackson's "Got the Time", which not only ties in nicely with the album title but rifles along at that thrash speed everyone can enjoy. This is a ripping song, pulled off perfectly by the entire band. Frankie Bello’s bassline is the star attraction here, being front and centre throughout the song, and it sounds like the band is having a lot of fun playing it.
The remainder of the album continues on the angry side of angry. "H8 Red" is another song that seems to be an example of how Scott Ian was facing his difficulties at the time. Lyrically it isn’t set upon that, it incorporates the usual mix of topics that Anthrax throw at you during this album, but there seem to be some pointedly noticeable lyrics that can easily be interpreted as having come from a realistic argument. Beyond that, it is another great song. I love the way the vocals and backing come together on this song and the drums and guitar riffs flood together in a perfect tidal wave of aggression. More of the same follows with "One Man Stands" and "Discharge". All three final songs use 'hate' and 'lie' as a major theme in the lyrics, and the anger inherent in the music and lyrics continues the theme of the album.

19-freaking-90. That is a very long time ago. I was 20 years old, going on 21, with a job that did little else but earn me money to do what I wanted to do, a close group of friends and no romantic attachments. Seems like the perfect life, doesn’t it? And for much of it, it pretty much was.
The memories of this album are still enormous. Anthrax had never toured Australia before, and they began their “Persistence of Time” tour in New Zealand and Australia. This album was only released 9 days before the concert where I saw them. They had played New Zealand and flown into Sydney, where they had an instore appearance at Utopia Records, where they would sign stuff if you’d made a purchase that day. I bought the CD and the vinyl, and then got both signed by the whole band, as well as getting a drumstick signed by Charlie (I had just taken up the drums about a year earlier). I still have the signed CD and drumstick. The vinyl was unfortunately lost in the flood of 2001, a sad day for music in the Peters household. Five days later we saw Anthrax live for the first time. I had had five days to try and suck this album into my conscious, and I did a pretty good job of it overall. It probably wasn’t the perfect way to see the band. I would love to have had more time to really know the album, like I do now. But it didn’t detract from the magnificence of that night.
The album got stuck in my rotation. It along with three other albums that were released around this time became the ones that were replayed over and over on a constant loop. And this lost nothing compared to those others either. This was not a new Anthrax, but it felt like it was a more focused Anthrax. Every song here is pivotal to the rest of the album. The topics covered are hard core, stretching from war to race to anxiety to anger and back again. The music is just brilliantly heavy and dark, magnified by the topics covered and creating a wonderful whole picture throughout.
All combatants are at the top of their game here. Joey Belladonna's vocals are just perfect, especially in songs such as "Time" and "Belly of the Beast" where a bit of attitude is necessary. Frankie Bello's bass work is terrific again, especially in the bass players' handbook song of "Got the Time". Dan Spitz and Scott Ian's duel guitar riffing is tight and complete, revelling in the speed and heavy chunk that proliferates this album, while Charlie Benante's drumming is as superb as always, the masterful timing and precision of his playing is a joy to behold, and it is pretty much the star turn on this album.
I have had this album out and on again for almost two weeks now. I could easily have it out for another month or so. I just don’t ever get tired of this album. Everything about it is quite superb. If I haven’t listened to this 20 times from start to finish in that time period then I am a bad judge. I’ve been air drumming and singing along loudly for that whole time. Is it their best album? It’s close. Is it my favourite Anthrax album? If you made me choose, then yes it probably is.
1990 was a pretty big year in music. Megadeth had found their masterpiece, Judas Priest had rediscovered their killer instinct, Slayer had maintained their rage while still finding a broader fan base. There's no doubt that in this metal landscape, “Persistence of Time” more than held its own, and kept Anthrax on the top shelf of metal bands heading into the new decade. 35 years later and it still sounds pretty bloody awesome.

648. Anthrax / Anthems [EP]. 2013. 2.5/5

Anthrax have not been into the high output of albums in recent years, having only released two studio albums in the fifteen years since 1998's Volume 8: The Threat is Real. That's tough for the fans, who not only want to see their favourite bands live, but want to hear new songs from them as well. We've had live albums and compilation albums from the band, but little new stuff.
Following on from 2011's Worship Music we now have another EP, this one full of cover songs that the band has put together, no doubt as a further effort to appease fans such as myself who are actually looking for new material, and allow them to keep touring which, let's face it, will make them more money in this day and age than trying to sell albums.

The song list was chosen by the members of the band, and consists of band's whose base era was the 1970's, and though not metal bands by any stretch of the imagination, their hard rock roots no doubt influenced more bands than just Anthrax as the decade crossed over into the 1980's. From a listening and reviewing point of view, it is a difficult thing to hold on to, when you don't have any great love of the bands or songs covered on the album. I can appreciate that bands like Rush, Boston, Cheap Trick and Journey have a large fan base, and that their work is see and heard as an influence upon others, but really, I just don't really like them. What i can appreciate here is the effort by the band to cover these songs properly and with the attention to detail required to pay homage to the original songs and artists. They sound great, whether you enjoy the songs or not.
For me, the two stand outs are AC/DC's "T.N.T." which sounds great, and a brilliant version of Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak". If Thin Lizzy really wanted a replacement for Phil Lynott's vocals, then Joey Belladonna's audition on this song is top class.
Filling out the remainder of the disc is "Crawl" from the aforementioned Worship Music as well as a remix of the same song.

As with all cover albums, this one will retain the interest of the listener for a number of spins in the CD player, until they realise that they should either just go back to the originals by the real bands, or that throwing on Among the Living again would give a better indication of the real love of Anthrax.

519. Anthrax / I'm The Man [EP]. 1987. 4/5

Here’s another album that certain friends of mine got tremendously excited with when we first came across it not too long after its release. I never really understood why they got so worked up over it, because although the title track – a humorous heavy metal rap performed by the band – is funny enough, its novelty value wears off fairly quickly.

Anyway, here we have three versions of “I’m The Man” – a censored version, and uncensored version, and a live very uncensored version. Believe me, after you listen to this three or four times over, you are quite happy not to have to hear it again for awhile…
The bonus material here is the clincher though. A great cover of Black Sabbath’s “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”, and live version’s of “Caught in a Mosh” and “I Am The Law” are superb, and well worth the price of the EP alone.

Rating: A little overkill on the single, but otherwise great. 4/5.

451. Anthrax / The Greater of Two Evils. 2004. 5/5

Another unique and excellent way of releasing what is basically a greatest hits package.
Coming off the back of the excellent We’ve Come For You All the boys decided to update some older material. Taking the best of the stuff that the band had recorded with previous singers Neil Turbin and Joey Belladonna, they re-recorded them with their current line-up, including John Bush on vocals. Not only did they re-record them, they changed most of them just a little – a bit heavier, or a bit slower, or a bit faster – to complete the transformation.

In most cases, they work. The update of “Deathrider” and “Panic” are especially great - a thousand times better than the original versions, and John Bush smokes on the vocals. It really is a wonder that Anthrax haven’t ever re-recorded the entire Fistful of Metal album at some stage, giving it the polish and heaviness that it truly deserves. But that’s another review, and one I’ve already done.
The rest of the album, I guess, fans will either love or hate. I think it has its place.
There are some of the songs that are pure Belladonna (“I Am The Law”, “Be All, End All”), and even though the versions done here are great, you can’t help but know that it sounded better with Joey on the microphone.
Other versions are so good (“Gung Ho”, “Lone Justice”, “Madhouse”), you can just see JB as the original vocalist of the song. Of course the songs have been tooled around a bit to suit John’s vocal chords, but there’s nothing wrong with that. The most important part is that they still sound great.

As a variation on the same tired ‘greatest hits’ package, this is another pearler. As they were all pretty much played in  a 'live' setting in the studio, with the band thrashing out and Bush coming in later to clean up, you can hear the fun the band was having in recording them. It gives the fan an incentive to actually buy the album rather than say “I already have all these songs”. Which is what I did, and I still love it.

Rating: A great concept with wonderful execution. 4.5/5

384. Anthrax / Fistful of Metal. 1983. 3.5/5.

The band Anthrax was formed in New York in 1981 by guitarists Scott Ian and Dan Lilker, and Dave Weiss on drums. The band was named after the disease of the same name which Scott saw in a biology textbook and chosen because it sounded "sufficiently evil". The band went through a number of line up changes through its initial period. Names such as Scott Setari, John Connelly, Paul Kahn, Kenny Kushner, Dirk Kennedy, Greg D'Angelo and Jason Rosenfeld are all early members of the band as it set itself up and tried to find its place in the metal world. Eventually, with Danny Lilker moving from lead guitar to bass guitar through a lack of viable options, the band brought in Greg Walls to play lead guitar, who was then instrumental in convincing Ian's former schoolmate Neil Turbin to join as lead singer in late August 1982. Apparently Turbin later said Walls was "the best guitarist Anthrax ever had". The band with this lineup recorded its first demo tape during this time. This lineup played regularly in the New York–New Jersey area over the next several months. Anthrax was also on the same bill as the up-and-coming Metallica for several shows in the spring of 1983.
But the band line up changes were far from complete. Guitarist Walls left Anthrax that summer because of friction with Scott Ian, and drummer Greg D'Angelo left a month later. Turbin said he was seriously considering leaving because of the loss of Walls and D'Angelo, but he stuck it out for another year. After another flurry of in-and-out replacements, Dan Spitz was brought in as lead guitarist, and drummer Charlie Benante replaced D'Angelo in September 1983 after a several-month courtship by Ian. Thus was completed the line up that would go forth and record the band’s first album.
By this time, Ian and Lilker had befriended New Jersey record store owner Jon Zazula, to whom they had given their demo tapes to critique. Zazula's new record label Megaforce Records had recently released Metallica's debut album “Kill 'Em All” to great success. In late 1983, Zazula agreed to sign Anthrax and the band recorded the "Soldiers of Metal" single, which was produced by Ross the Boss of Manowar. The B-side was the song "Howling Furies" which was taken from a previous demo with Greg D'Angelo on drums which was his only recording with the band. On the back of this single, the band went into the studio and produced their debut album, titled “Fistful of Metal”.

In a comparison to the debut albums of the wave of thrash metal bands that were coming out of the United States at this time, this might not be spoken of in the same breath but still holds up remarkably well. The opening scourge of “Deathrider” is an instant classic, throwing itself out of the speakers at you and getting you in the mood from the outset. Even after 40 years it is one of those Anthrax songs that is instantly recognisable and beloved. It is sorely underplayed in all Anthrax set lists. This is followed by another all time classic, “Metal Thrashing Mad”, a perfect song for the day and not only a great concert song but a fan singalong song as well. In the traditions of “Whiplash” and “Rattlehead” from their contemporaries this is a song that described their fan base and immediately joined them as one.
Perhaps the one song that is a little out of place is the cover of Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen”, which seems like a strange song for a burgeoning new thrash metal band out of New York to cover. I admit that the first few times I played the album I found it a real disappointment after the amazingness of the opening two tracks. However, over the years it has grown on me, and I do not have the same reservations about it as I initially did.
Side One of the album is completed by the wonderful “Panic” which again lifts the tempo and returns the album to the speed and thrashing guitars that had come at the top of the vinyl, and “Subjugator” which runs along parallel themes.
“Soldiers of Metal” opens the second side of the album and kicks everything along just as nicely as the first side. “Death From Above” follows and is enjoyable but perhaps overstays its welcome a tad, clocking in at a touch over five minutes long – not unusual for the band going forward, but the longest song on this album by some distance. The band title track “Anthrax” is a terrific song and very much lost in the mists of time when it comes to the band. It fell out of vogue on live playlists very quickly and barely rates a mention when it comes to the band’s best songs in any conversation. Indeed, many aren’t even aware that there is a song CALLED “Anthrax” by the band! The short instrumental “Across the River” quickly segues in to the closing track “Howling Furies”, another great song that rarely gets its dues, and is a great way for the album to come to its conclusion.
After the release of the album, former guitarist Walls said he was shocked that the album was released without giving credit to himself as the primary songwriter on "Panic" and "Metal Thrashing Mad", as well as smaller songwriting contributions throughout the album. The price you pay I guess when you are fired from a band. Ask Dave Mustaine how he feels about those early Metallica songs…

This album is often much maligned, mostly by fans who came into the band following this album, and mostly due to the fact that Neil Turbin is the vocalist here for his one and only appearance, and those fans are used to Joey Belladonna in particular. But snubbing this album due to the singer would be like dismissing Iron Maiden’s first two albums because the singer wasn’t Bruce Dickinson, or Dream Theater’s first album because the singer wasn’t James Labrie, or any of another dozen examples of this. Okay, so maybe Turbin’s vocals aren’t your cup of tea, but that is no reason to ignore the terrific list of songs that appear on this album. And Turbin’s over the top screams or change of pitch at different times is part of the fabric of this album. It’s okay if you prefer later versions of these songs that were performed by other singers for the band going forward, but don’t dismiss this outright.
I didn’t hear this album until almost the end of the 1980’s decade, and was probably a little guilty of ignoring it initially as well, but this was more because I was getting all of the albums up to that point at the same time, and others attracted my ears more than this initially. But how can you not love the opening riff of “Deathrider”, the majesty of “Metal Thrashing Mad”, and other brilliant tracks such as “Panic”, “Howling Furies” and “Anthrax”? And I don’t deny that I don’t listen to this album as much as I do other Anthrax albums. But when I pulled it off the CD shelf a couple of weeks ago and started listening to it again, I was immediately drawn back in to this brilliant piece of thrash metal history. I haven’t air drummed this much in ages, and this album brought all that back as well.
Tensions were building between Lilker and the rest of the band for various reasons, eventually leading to the band firing Lilker before the tour to promote this album began. He would go on to form the band Nuclear Assault with former Anthrax vocalist John Connelly. Lilker was replaced by Benante's nephew and roadie Frank Bello. The band then went on a successful US tour opening for Raven and others to support “Fistful of Metal”.
In August 1984, Turbin and Anthrax went their separate ways after long-standing personal issues. In his book covering his time involved in heavy metal, music journalist Eddie Trunk admits pressuring Jon Zazula, Scott Ian and the band into firing Turbin because of his own personal taste in vocals. How much this influenced the eventual decision and how much was already in the works following their initial tour to promote this album, only the band themselves would know. And while Belladonna then came on board, and they produced the amazing follow up “Spreading the Disease”, this album is still a terrific album to listen to, and just appreciate it for what it is.

82. Anthrax / Attack Of The Killer B's. 1991. 3.5/5.

This was brought out following the highly successful Peresistence Of Time album and tour, and the success of Bring The Noise. This album, though not actually containing actual B side tracks, is full of that kind of material.

There is some good stuff on here. The update on S.O.D's Milk is better than the original. The update of their own I'm The Man is OK too. The live versions of Keep It In The Family and Belly Of The Beast are also good to hear.
The rest is all of novelty value, and worth a chuckle. Certainly, when I first purchased the album, I thought it was brilliant. Older age has brought a different version of events, and my earlier thoughts are now not as enthusiastic.

Still, it is above average in an age where there are an abundance of below average albums.

Memories : When this album came out, in our band days, we used to laugh ourselves silly at Starting Up A Posse and Dallabnikufesin. And though I can still see the humour, I don't laugh like that anymore when I listen to them. The advent of middle age...

Rating : Oddities and rareities. 3.5/5.

77. Anthrax / Armed And Dangerous (EP). 1985. 4/5.

Anthrax had followed the same learning curve and hard-working route that most bands do on their way to recording and releasing their debut album, which came in January 1984 in the form of “Fistful of Metal”. The band had had a varied assortment of members in the lead up to the writing and recording of that album, but it didn’t end there. Tensions had been building over time between bass player Dan Lilker and lead vocalist Neil Turbin, and eventually Turbin fired Lilker without informing the rest of the band. In an interview after the event, Lilker is quoted as saying "After I was thrown out, the guys unfairly said, "Well, it took him 30 times to record the bass track for 'I'm Eighteen,'" and if you listen to the bass track, if you didn't know the whole story, you would say, "Well, that's weird, isn't it?" It's only, like, five notes." Lilker went on to form the band Nuclear Assault with another former Anthrax alumni John Connolly. In his place at drummer Charlie Benante and guitarist Scott Ian’s insistence, the band hired Charlie's nephew Frank Bello to replace Lilker on bass guitar.
Anthrax then went out on tour to promote the “Fistful of Metal” album, opening for Raven amongst other bands. During this period there were continuing problems with Turbin both within the band itself, and from outside influences. Eddie Trunk, at the time becoming an influential music journalist in the heavy metal scene, has openly admitted since that he pressured Jon Zazula, the creator of Megaforce Records, and Scott Ian that Turbin was not suitable for the band, suggesting his vocals were not of the same quality as the music that was behind them. Along with the other issues that were being played out behind the scenes, the band parted ways with Turbin in August 1984. He was briefly replaced by singer Matt Fallon but this also didn’t work out, leaving the band in limbo.
Then, from around the corner, the band found their man. Joey Belladonna. He was older than the rest of the band, and they did not like the musical background that he came from, but he had a voice that drew attention to him from the first note he sang. The band played a few gigs toward the end of 1984 to assess how the new combination would go, and the resulting success confirmed Belladonna’s position in the band.
As a way to introduce their new lead singer, and to keep their name out in front of their fans, the band and their record company decided to release an EP to introduce Belladonna to their fans, as well as give Bello his first chance to record with the band. The result of this was the EP titled “Armed and Dangerous”, released to the world in February 1985. It became the vanguard for the stretch of four albums that propelled the band to stardom.

EP’s can be a tricky thing, because if they contain material that is available elsewhere then there seems to be no reason to buy them. This is where this EP is one of the best, because every song has its own individuality and while the title track was eventually available elsewhere, the other tracks can only be found on this EP which made it a perfect buy at the time and still is today.
“Armed and Dangerous” was a song that had already been composed by the band, but was finessed up here for this EP release. Both Neil Turbin and Dan Lilker had been involved in the writing process, and while they received writing credit for it, so too did their replacements Joey Belladonna and Frank Bello. It is a terrific song to introduce Joey especially to their fan base. It utilises his vocal range exceptionally well, while also showing how far the band had progressed in maturity to the playing of this track. The band is tighter than they were on their debut album, the rhythm seems clearer and more focused, and the rough edges have been sandpapered back. This song also eventually appeared on the band’s following album “Spreading the Disease”, and it is no wonder because it is a beauty.
The rest of the EP stands up just as well. “Raise Hell” was a fully formed song that didn’t make the cut for the first album, which when you hear it here makes you wonder why. Why would you decide to have a cover version of the Alice Cooper Band’s “I’m Eighteen” rather than a song that you had composed yourself? No doubt a record company decision. I also wonder how Turbin would have sung this song because it would have been different from the way Joey sings it, one would suspect. Its not a bad song, certainly not worthy of getting the cut from the first album. The band then does a rendition of the Sex Pistols “God Save the Queen”, which sounds good, but lacks any of the spitting venom of the original. It’s funny really, because you would expect a thrash band would have really gone to town on this song and drawn every piece of irony and venom from the track, but that’s not the case.
The final two songs on the original EP are the new line up of the band playing two songs from the debut album in the studio. And they both sound fantastic. The version here of “Metal Thrashing Mad” with Joey on vocals and Frankie on bass is surely the definitive version of this song. Joey’s vocals are perfect, hitting the heights when they need to, rathe than the forced scream that Neil uses on the original, and much the same from John Bush when they did this song again on “The Greater of Two Evils” album two decades later. This is fast, thrashy and combines all of the great talents that the band possesses. Much can be said of “Panic”, which again sounds like a huge upgrade on the original version from the “Fistful of Metal” album. The band races along at top speed through this song, and Joey does a great job on vocals again. I suspect that everyone who heard this on its release, having heard the original line up and the debut album, could only have been impressed, and thought that the second album was going to be a superior upgrade on that first release. They would have been correct.
Some years later when this was re-released on CD, another two songs were added, those being the two tracks from the band’s first single released from “Fistful of Metal”. “Soldiers of Metal” was the single and “Howling Furies” was the B-side. An added bonus for those that came across this in the age of the spinning discs.

I didn’t own this EP when it was first released. I must have gotten it pretty soon after it was released on CD in 1990, because I know I knew the song “Metal Thrashing Mad” prior to seeing the band in concert for the first time in 1990, and I know I heard this version of the song sung by Joey well before I heard the original version from the debut album. So that dates me getting this in mid-1990, which does make sense. And because I got the later CD version, I also had the two B-sides from the original single released, with the first version of the band, which was great for me, as it was my first exposure to them and their sound, before I finally heard the “Fistful of Metal” album.
EP’s are an interesting beast. How often would you reach for an EP to listen to when you could just reach for a full-length album instead? Why listen to this when you could have “Spreading the Disease” on instead, for instance? Well, as I’ve rediscovered this week, because it might sound bloody amazing! I’ve always loved this EP, but just rarely think of putting it on. So, when I dragged it out last week, I was ecstatic. I put on my CD player in the Metal Cavern and loved it so much I played it three times in succession. And then again over the following days. There is a great feeling about the tracks on this EP, a feeling of hope, a feeling of enjoyment. The band sounds like they are having fun, something that Anthrax almost always seemed to be doing on stage anyway.
There’s really not much more to say. I think this is a great EP. It does the job that an EP must do. It publicises whatever tracks the band wants to put out there in order to either keep the fans sated until the next album comes out, or pushes a song from the next album to try and get fans to buy that as well. It also has the bonus tracks that are not available anywhere else, so to buy it means you will have those songs and be able to snigger quietly when others talk around you saying, “I’ve never heard that song!!!” Of course, in this day and age of streaming and downloading that becomes a less likely event. But if an EP is not on those platforms – much like THIS one isn’t out there on a streaming platform – then you, like me, can enjoy it in your own home, and feel smug all over again.

73. Anthrax / Anthrology : No Hit Wonders 1985-1991. 2005. 5/5

In line with the Big Reunion Tour of 2005, Anthrax brought out this double CD compilation of the best of their years together - basically, the albums Spreading The Disease, Among The Living, State Of Euphoria and Persistence Of Time.

The song selection is perfect (I mean, they condensed 4 albums into 2, and added a couple of extra tracks, so you should certainly have the best!), and the remastered editions have great sound quality.

There is little else really to say. Great songs, great performances. Of course, if you already have the albums, as most people will, it is money spent on items already procured.

Rating : You can't beat it. 5/5

63. Anthrax / Among The Living 1987. 5/5.

A lot of bands tend to find their feet by the time they come around to writing and recording their third album. Think about it, think about your favourite bands, and think what their third album is, and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Everything just seems to come together. And that is exactly what occurred for New York thrash legends Anthrax when they released their third studio album “Among the Living”, an album built on the kind of live and life experience that can only come from both touring with a band at their peak, and the tragedy that can sometimes follow it.

Anthrax had made quite a jump in quality from their debut album “Fistful of Metal” to their follow up “Spreading the Disease”, not just from the acquisition of Joey Belladonna as lead singer, but in the refinement of their sound and the tightening of their music. On the rise at the same time as bands of their ilk like Exodus, Slayer and Metallica, you get the feeling that they were learning on the go, and by being around these bands they found a way to improve their own skills in order to get to that next level.
No doubt being asked by Metallica to support them on their European tour promoting “Master of Puppets” must have been eye opening, seeing that band as they were hitting their theoretical peak, and watching them destroy audiences night after night. And who wouldn’t have wanted to see that tour, with Anthrax thrashing serious carnage as the support act? The amount that the band must have improved on that tour is immense. And then the tragedy struck, with the bus crash that killed Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, and the shock that came with that, and how the members of Anthrax rallied around the members of Metallica in the days and weeks afterwards.
How does something like that change you? How do you cope with it? How do you move on deal with the consequences. For Anthrax, with the remainder of that tour cancelled, they entered the studio to record their follow up to “Spreading the Disease”, and the emotions that had built up over recent weeks all went in with them. But that wasn’t all. There was a fury in the new songs, something that had begun on “Spreading the Disease” but had reached a whole new level on the new album. There was fury in the guitaring and drumming and there was anger and emotion that mixed in with that as well. In a 2012 interview, Scott Ian was quoted as saying that part of the reason the album sounds so angry is because Cliff died. They’d lost a friend and it was so wrong and unfair. The album itself is dedicated to Cliff Burton’s memory, and there seems little doubt he would have been proud of what the band produced. Indeed, it became one of the greatest thrash metal albums ever released.

The more you listen to this album, and the more you break it down, the better and more impressive it becomes. Each song has its own ability to build the tension and momentum, to drive the speed of each song and to draw the listener in to participate in the while process. The way that the songs are structured lyrically are the crowning jewel of the production, because not only are they designed in a way that they become instant crowd favourites, but they utilise that to get the fan involved just by listening to the album at home, or in the car, or on their way to work. And it is literally impossible not to join in. With Joey Belladonna creating the lead vocals, and guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Frankie Bello chanting in the back up lyrics, the whole album comes across like you are listening to it in a live setting.
From the opening bars of the title track “Among the Living”, you are dragged in, and it is still an anticipatory exchange that collectively occurs as the song builds to the beginning of the vocals.
And the subject matter of the songs is just brilliant. From riffing on their love of Stephen King novels with “Among the Living”, which is based on the antagonist of The Stand, and with “A Skeleton in the Closet” which is based on the novella “Apt Pupil”, to their love of comic book literature with “I Am the Law” based on the Judge Dredd character in the graphic novels. All of this is mixed in with social conscience issues such as “Indians” which harps on the plight of the native North American Indians, to “One World” which talks about the risk of nuclear war, to NFL (Efilnikufesin) which deals with drug abuse which from a 2019 interview was inspired by the death of John Belushi. All of the lyrics are terrifically written, serious when they have to be, laced with humour when they don’t have to be. It all helps make the mixture of songs so interesting and intricate in developing the mood of the album.
And that mood? Well, it is fast, furious and generally without a resting point. “Among the Living” kicks it off in style, scintillating guitars and Charlie Benante’s hard hitting drum beats. And there is no way you can’t chant along to “I’m the Walkin’ Dude!, I can see all the world”, and the at the end once Joey has said “follow me or die”, and Scott and Frankie chant along “Among! Among! Among! Among!” through to the song's conclusion. Truly awesome. This is then followed by the headbangers anthem “Caught in a Mosh” which takes this to a different level. Frank’s brilliant solo bass riff into the main guitar riffs, before Charlie’s solo drum smashing launches the song proper is a fantastic way to give every member of the band a piece of the action so early in the album. And of course, the chorus again unleashes the crowd participation chanting with the duelling vocals of “Ain’t gonna live my life this way” and “STOMP STOMP STOMP!”, before the chorus of “What is it?” “Caught in a mosh”. Brilliant. And we leap into the opening riff of “I Am the Law” which again showcases everything the band has to offer and the crowd surfing chants and lyrics again enhance the song from the outset.
“NFL (Efilnikufesin)”, apart from hilariously having some people believe it is a song about American Football, and “A Skeleton in the Closet” both close out the first side of the album superbly, ripping lyrics that confused those that believed all heavy metal music was about the devil, instead being thoughtful, provocative and meaningful while the music was fast and thrashing.
“Indians” opens the second half of the album and is probably the least thrash song on the album but one where the heart is the lyrics. And then you get to the middle of the song, and Scott Ian starts stomping along to the drums and cries out “WAR DANCE!” and the song leaps to another level. Charlie’s drumming throughout this song is also just superb, it truly sets the mood perfectly for the subject matter at hand. And it doesn’t let up there. “One World” is ridiculously thrashing, and then climbs into “Horror of it All”, which was written about Cliff Burton, and having to deal with his death, before “Imitation of Life” concludes an album that, even for 1987, was an absolute triumph.

It will forever be one of those dark questions that hangs over my head until it is my time to leave this existence as to how I did not find either this band or this album until about 18 months after this had been released. 1987 was my final year of high school and it was during this and the preceding year that I had been exposed to and experience so many new and exciting bands and albums, that it is really quite remarkable that Anthrax and “Among the Living” was not one of them. And I often wonder to myself just how much that final year of high school would have been significantly improved if I HAD had that album to help me through those final few months.
Instead, it wasn’t until mid the following year that I bought my first Anthrax album (which happened to be ‘Spreading the Disease’) before picking up this album after that. And to say that I had my mind blown would be an understatement. At that point in time the peak of thrash for me had been Metallica, but this just went way beyond that. Songs such as “Caught in a Mosh” and “Skeleton in the Closet” and “Horror of it All” were just amazing, there is no restraint, those drums just fly and drag the guitars along with them, and somehow Joey not only has to keep up, but then hit those high notes in the same instance. I still can’t get over “Horror of it All”, it is just an amazing song.
And like I said, the ability of these songs to draw out crowd participation is immense. Driving to Sydney or just around our hometown with four people in the car, singing these at the top of our voices, is still such a strong memory, as well as seeing the band for the first time at the Hordern Pavilion in 1990 and jumping around like madmen at these songs.
All five members star on this album. It is still incredible at times to think that Charlie not only plays the drums as amazingly as he does, but creates the guitar riff and melodies as well for the majority of Anthrax’s songs.


As with the majority of bands who were labelled as thrash metal in the early to mid-1980's, Anthrax’s sound did revert to a more traditional heavy metal appearance over time. But this album, this moment in time, when they were on the ascendancy and when they were firing and when they had fury and anger to deal with, stands as a testament to the greatness of the band and the joy of thrash metal. Because this is pure unadulterated genius, where the combination of live interaction onto a studio album to create a perfect moment in time cannot be faulted. Except that I didn’t discover it until 18 months later.

51. Anthrax / Alive 2. 2005. 4/5.

One day, someone will come out with a definitive answer as to why John Bush and his other mates were given the flick so easily...

Anyway, here it is. The Reunion Tour, with Joey and Frank and Dan all back in the fold, and less than six months later, this live album appears. Which is fine. There is nothing wrong with the guys playing abilities, and Joey's voice still holds out as well as one can expect. The songs are great songs, and they still sound great.

It is interesting to hear Joey trying to sing the “new” version of Deathrider, as John sang it. It doesn't work. Very interesting. But when it comes to Time, Be All End All, Medusa and In My World, Joey is just the king (though, strangely, he doesn't receive the vocal support he used to get from Frankie...).

This is an excellent recording from the reunion tour. One does wonder, though, where Anthrax The Band will go to from here...

Rating : A blast from the past. 4/5.