ANTHRAX

PAGE UPDATED IN 2021

Reviewed:

- Fistful of Metal (1984)

- Armed and Dangerous (1985, EP)

- Spreading the Disease (1985)

- Among the Living (1987)

- I'm the Man (1987, EP)

- State of Euphoria (1988)

- Make Me Laugh (1988, single)

- Persistence of Time (1990)

- Attack of the Killer B's (1991, compilation)

- Sound of White Noise (1993)

- Black Lodge (1993, single)

- Stomp 442 (1995)

- Volume 8: The Threat is Real (1998)

- Return of the Killer A's (1999, compilation)

- The Collection (2002, compilation)

- We've Come for You All (2003)

- Summer 2003 (2003, EP)

- Music of Mass Destruction (2004, live album)

- The Greater of Two Evils (2004)

- Anthrology: No Hit Wonders (2005, compilation)
- Caught in a Mosh: BBC Live in Concert (2007, live album)
- Worship Music (2011)
- Anthems (2013, EP)
- Snapshot (2013, compilation)
- For All Kings (2016)

FISTFUL OF METAL          1984          (Megaforce)

- Standouts: 'Deathrider', 'Metal Thrashing Mad', 'Soldiers of Metal', 'Howling Furies', 'Subjugator', 'Anthrax', 'Howling Furies' 

Everybody's gotta start somewhere. Anthrax are one of the 'Big Four' of thrash metal (the others being Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer), and out of all their debut albums, Fistful of Metal is the one that I think tends to get the least amount of love. At least in my experiences anyway. I suppose I can kind of see why, even though I've always had a bit of a soft spot for it. At times, it's hard to even throw around the label 'thrash metal' when describing Fistful; honestly, speed metal is sometimes a more appropriate badge. True, musically it isn't as radical as some of the albums that were to come later - but considering this was 1984, I can only assume this was on the higher end of the extreme spectrum. Thrash was barely an established subgenre at that point, even if it did exist. 

Anyhow, this is the only Anthrax album to feature Neil Turbin on vocals and Dan Lilker on bass, the latter of which is a legend of the metal underground with Nuclear Assault, S.O.D. and Brutal Truth to his credit, but that's another story. With Turbin on vocals, you have an album that sounds a lot different to any of the Joey Belladonna or John Bush stuff. But honestly, he's still pretty damn good in an old-school metal sort of way. His normal singing voice isn't anything to get excited about (has a slightly punky-edge, a bit like Iron Maiden's original singer, Paul Di'Anno), but his screams and wails are cool, and he pulls 'em off when you want to hear them! And in terms of the music, even if a lot of the tracks aren't quite as fast as some of the band's signature songs, they're still mostly fast (save for the random cover of Alice Cooper's 'I'm Eighteen', which I unashamedly kinda like...). There's none of that sense of humour or cartoon-style imagery and lyrics that songs such as 'I Am the Law' or 'Madhouse' either, but they were still finding their feet around this time.

A couple of tracks on here do stand as some of my favourite Anthrax tunes - 'Metal Thrashing Mad' always gets me psyched, it's good old-fashioned American speed metal at it's finest. Short and sweet. I remember when I was in my final year of school, my guitar teacher said he would translate any song if we brought in an album onto guitar, and teach it to us. I chose 'Metal Thrashing Mad', and I still remember how to play most of those riffs. And 'Subjugator' really is an Anthrax deep cut - the thrashy riffs kick ass, and there's a really groovy, mid-tempo one in their too that I absolutely love. I like the rest of the tracks too; 'Deathrider' and 'Panic' are awesome, fast and hard-hitting songs and 'Soldiers of Metal', despite the cheesy title, has a galloping kind of, Iron Maiden-esque rhythm. Actually, you can still hear some of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal influences on here, particularly on tracks like 'Death from Above' and 'Howling Furies', which are both heavy yet melodic, mid-tempo cuts. And I'd describe the song 'Anthrax' as a cross between Diamond Head and Raven! A lot of the riffs are certainly not typical of the Scott Ian/Dan Spitz guitar duo, but they really work well and are memorable overall.

I'm looking at my collection right now (it's right beside my desk), and Fistful of Metal is one of those rare albums that I'd stick in the 'severely underrated' pile. I dig it, always have done, always will. It does have it's shortcomings, that much is true. For starters, the production isn't brilliant. As much as I love the riffs throughout, the guitar tones themselves could do with beefing-up. They're kind of thin. And I don't really hear much bass either. I have the album on vinyl and CD... neither sound particularly great. Yet somehow this is a record I've kept coming back to over and over again for more than half my life. Despite the fact they would get better with a lineup change and few tweaks to their songwriting, I still really enjoy Fistful of Metal all these years later! I've seen Anthrax more than 10 times if you count festival performances, and every once in a while they'll stick 'Deathrider' or 'Metal Thrashing Mad' in the setlist, and they still sound fresh in the live perspective. And I even like that laughably dumb album cover. It's metal as fuck! 

Adam's rating: 8.9/10

ARMED AND DANGEROUS (EP)          1985          (Megaforce)

Neil Turbin and Dan Lilker had been replaced with singer Joey Belladonna and bassist Frank Bello, and I'm guessing for most people, '85's Spreading the Disease was their introduction to the new and arguably definitive lineup, but they actually released this EP a few months prior. 'Armed and Dangerous', which is a melodic, almost progressive speed metal classic, made it onto the Spreading the Disease album, but I urge fans to track down a copy of this EP 'cos there's a nice selection of cool oddities on here. For starters, there's 'Raise Hell', which is a studio track that never made it onto an album. Sounds like something from Fistful of Metal, only with Joey on vocals. Some of the ingredients for what was to be Spreading the Disease can still be heard on it though. The cover of the Sex Pistols' 'God Save the Queen' is nothing to get excited about (probably because The Pistols have been covered by countless bands), but again, it's definitely worth hearing if you're a fan of this band. The live version of 'Metal Thrashing Mad' and 'Panic' are great however; I've always liked Fistful, and Belladonna sings these classics like they're his own songs.

I have the 1992 reissue, which also includes 'Soldiers of Metal' and 'Howling Furies' from the 1983 7" single they did before Fistful of Metal. So obviously these versions are inferior to the one's from the album, with rawer production and there's even a different drummer, Greg D'Angelo, playing on 'Howling Furies'. Again though, these tracks are essential for the fanboys. So really, this isn't an entirely consistent EP even if the majority of it is good stuff. It's definitely an essential purchase for any self-proclaimed fan though.
Adam's rating: 7.7/10

SPREADING THE DISEASE          1985          (Island)

- Standouts: The whole thing. 

Now that Joey Belladonna was in, Anthrax were starting to sound a little more, uh, Anthraxy on Spreading the Disease! Joey's a drastically different vocalist to Neil Turbin - apparently, prior to joining Anthrax, he wasn't really a metal guy, and tended to sing rock stuff like Rush, so in terms of vocal ability and style, I'd say that he differs not only from Turbin, but other thrash metal vocalists in general. He can sing! But things had also changed a little musically; the songs are starting to sound more 'thrashy' overall, moving away from what consider to be the speed metal focus of Fistful of Metal. 

'A.I.R.' is a totally kick-ass opener that's built around a really catchy, headbanging riff. You can't not crank this one to eleven! Same goes for 'Madhouse', which has become one of the band's signature tunes that appears in every live set at some point. 'Madhouse' is just pure, unadulterated fun. Fun thrash metal! It was on 'Madhouse ' that you could hear this band had a sense of humour that other bands just didn't have (at least in the 80's, anyway).  'S.S.C./Stand or Fall' is something of an underrated gem, a fast, melodic slice of tight thrash metal. Hell, 'Aftershock' isn't talked-about enough either. The centrepiece of the album, to me, is the last track - 'Gung-Ho'. This is by far one of the fastest, craziest songs Anthrax ever wrote, and I absolutely love that military-style drumming and bugle-like guitar riff at the end! Again, it kind of shows that the band never really wanted fans to take them seriously during those earlier years.

I still don't think I can quite call Spreading the Disease a fully-fledged thrash album. There's still a few traces of the speed metal and NWOBHM roots of the debut record here and there; however, this is not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. As you know, I'm a fan of Fistful of Metal - I like it for what it is - and on tracks like 'Lone Justice' and 'Armed and Dangerous', the latter of which obviously appeared on the EP prior. 'The Enemy' and 'Medusa' are both mid-tempo numbers, but both break up the album quite nicely and do not affect the pacing - and they're both heavy! I'll go ahead and admit that 'The Enemy' is probably one of my favourite songs from the golden era of Anthrax. The speed/traditional metal touches combined with Joey's high-range vocal ability actually give this record far more melody than what the rest of the competition was doing. Granted, you'd also have bands like Forbidden and Annihilator throwing more melody than usual into their brands of thrash a bit later on down the line, but Anthrax were kind of like the pioneers of this, to me at least.

Not a whole lot to complain about here. I guess I'll say that the guitar tones are tilting slightly on the thin and trebly side; the songs would probably sound better with the same production as an album like Among the Living, but every track is still excellent. It's a superb thrash/speed metal album with a great sense of melody within the songwriting, as well as the odd humorous touches. It's not treading in 'masterpiece' territory, but I can't think of many records in this genre to be masterpieces anyway, from the top of my head. That said, there's tons and tons that are legitimate metal classics, and this is one of them.

Adam's rating: 9.2/10

AMONG THE LIVING         1987          (Island)

- Standouts: Everything until the last three songs, but even those are still great. 

General consensus is that Among the Living is Anthrax's best album, and I'm mostly inclined to agree. I'd like to be different and argue that something else they did is better on all levels, but I'm generally with the majority on this one. I never considered Fistful of Metal and Spreading the Disease to be fully-blown thrash metal records. Many of their songs were thrash, sure, but those albums still had plenty of speed and possibly even some traditional heavy metal elements left in them. And I never saw that as a bad thing, I mean, I consider those to be some of the best Anthrax albums. But Among the Living is definitely the transition from whatever early influences they still had playing a part in their music into full-on thrash metal. This album is heavier, faster, more aggressive... you get the point. The songs rip, and there's less melody in 'em overall (though there are still some good melodies to be found here and there). The best tracks here are arguably the band's best material - 'Caught in a Mosh' is obviously a, uh, mosh pit classic - it's insanely fast for the most part, aside from that slower part in the middle (and the short intro), but the chorus also manages to be catchy in a way. It's one of their signature songs, and so is 'I Am the Law'. Some days, this is my favourite Anthrax song of all time. Goddamn, those riffs make me wanna stomp my feet and march around my house! The lyrics are about Judge Dredd, but you already knew that. You probably already knew that 'Indians' - yet another Anthrax staple - is about native Americans (Joey Belladonna has native American heritage). Cool lyrics again, and the music is awesome as well. It's both one of the heaviest and most melodic songs on the record, absolutely awesome guitar work if I say so myself, and that "WAR DANCE!" breakdown part never gets old in the live perspective!

Those would have to be the top-tier tracks, but there's still a few more on here that qualify as some of the band's most recognisable tunes. The first is the album's opener, the title track. This is just a fine thrasher that tells you what this record is all about. Maybe not a personal favourite of mine, but it's not one I'd ever skip, no sir. 'Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)' (which is supposed to mean 'nice fuckin' life', but not spelt correctly) is about John Belushi's life, and is yet another absolute 'banger of a thrash metal anthem. Again, very creative lyrical matter compared to the average thrash band. I'd say that 'A Skeleton in the Closet' just about qualifies as an Anthrax staple too. If this track doesn't get you pumped, then there must be something seriously wrong with you.

Frankly, there's not a single filler moment on here, but the next couple of tracks aren't quite up to the same standards as the rest of the material on here, in my humble opinion. 'One World' is classic 'Thrax, no doubt about it, but it's definitely lacking in something special. I guess even autopilot Anthrax circa 1987 is still decent Anthrax at the end of the day. The 'A.D.I.' part of 'A.D.I./Horror of It All' is a nice little moody, acoustic intro. As for the rest of the song, again, I like it - it's a decent mid-tempo number, but it's just not up to same standard as the first three-quarters of this record. The final track, 'Imitation of Life', fluctuates between mid-tempo grooves and raging thrash metal, and is stronger than either of the previous two songs, but still doesn't quite make the definitive Anthrax grade. 

Among the Living is a mostly outstanding thrash album, but I wouldn't say it's that much of an improvement over Spreading the Disease. The best tracks on here are really fucking good, but although the last three songs are still decent, they're noticeably weaker than the rest of the tunes here. And to me that automatically makes the album less consistent than Spreading the Disease. Also, I think Joey's vocals are better on the predecessor - the fact the songs didn't thrash as hard overall and contained better melodies kinda gave him the opportunity to show off his abilities as a singer, but on Among the Living, that kind of goes out the window at times. Of course, this is purely subjective; I still think the many of the tracks here are stronger, and let's be honest, the average fan prefers this album over the last one anyway. And when it comes down to it, this is an absolutely essential metal album from the band that gets the least credit out of the 'Big Four'. This record perfectly displays all the ingredients that set this band apart from their competition. And the lyrics are awesome, can't be said enough!

I used to have an old CD pressing of this album in school, but I replaced it in 2009 when the Deluxe Edition was released. This version features some bonus tracks that aren't really worth talking about, plus a bonus DVD - a live concert from 1987 in London. I'd imagine this has been uploaded to YouTube at this point. Good thing, because I've just done a quick search and this Deluxe version doesn't seem to be that easy to find anymore.

Adam's rating: 9.3/10

I'M THE MAN (EP)          1987          (Megaforce)

I initially found the 12" vinyl I'm the Man EP for next to nothing in an antique shop, but I eventually got 'round to picking it up on CD as well. The song 'I'm the Man' was one of the very first attempts at mixing rap with metal. The band loved and respected rap music, but the song was intended to be a comedic novelty with it's intentionally dumb and funny lyrics; they had no idea how people would respond to it. Ironically, it became one of their more popular tunes and was regularly played live in the 80's. Of course, in 1991 Anthrax would collaborate with hip-hop legends Public Enemy for 'Bring the Noise', but they'd also record and updated version of 'I'm the Man', both of which can be found on the Attack of the Killer B's CD.
Adam's rating: 7/10

STATE OF EUPHORIA           1988          (Island)

- Standouts: 'Be All, End All', 'Antisocial', 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind', 'Make Me Laugh', 'Schism', 'Misery Loves Company', 'Finale'

In no way does this record have a poor reputation by any stretch of the imagination, but compared to either of the last two, it's certainly not revered in the same way. Reception was, and from the looks of it, kinda still is lukewarm. I read Scott Ian's autobiography a few years ago, and I think even he wasn't that happy with it. I dunno, I think part of the problem is because when you have such a strong album to follow up on, it's always a difficult spot to be in.

I originally gave State of Euphoria a 7.6/10, but listening to this again, I reckon it's far stronger than that. Honestly, there's not a bad tune on here. 'Antisocial' (actually a cover, originally a song by the French band, Trust), is a melodic stadium number, and a song they always play live. And they play it live for a reason, 'cos it's awesome. Different, sure, but I've had many good drunken times hearing this song throughout the ten times I've seen the band live (not braggin'...). And there's a decent chunk of other tracks on offer that I really do think qualify as prime Anthrax. 'Misery Loves Company' for example - it's thrashy enough to get the mosh pit stirring, but it's got plenty of great and catchy vocal melodies that this band are so good at pulling off. I love 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind' too, that opening fucking riff kicks ass! At times, this track reminds me of 'Indians' structurally, which can only be a good thing. 'Make Me Laugh' is gold too. I'd actually argue that in terms of the vocal arrangements and melodies, this album is actually does it better than Among the Living at times, and 'Make Me Laugh' is proof of this. Everything about it is memorable, in a good way.

Many of the other songs are underrated. Okay, so maybe 'Be All, End All' is a little weaker than either of the previous two records' openers, but it's still hard to really pick faults with it. 'Who Cares Wins' goes on too long, I'll freely admit that, but there's some really good guitar riffs and melodies from Scott Ian and Dan Spitz in that lengthy intro, and the rest of the song rips. 'Schism' is fast as fuck and defintiely a hidden gem in the discography. The album's finale, uh, 'Finale', has kind of a crossover thrash kind of sound going on. I could be talking bollocks, but I hear more hardcore punk influence in it than the other songs, and that's a compliment. Underrated tune for sure. My least favourite song here is probably 'Now It's Dark', but the chorus is really cool and saves it from treading into filler territory. 

Yeah, so the jump from a 7.6/10 to an 8.8/10 is quite a significant one to say the least, but I'm really confused as to what my thinking was when I first wrote that review in 2017. Or all those years ago in school when I first bought the damn thing, for that matter. Maybe I was just following a hivemind? This is a damn good record - I'll admit, there's definitely a (minor) spark missing and some of the songs are unnecessarily long, but once again there's nothing on here that comes remotely close to being flat-out mediocre. Well, I never really liked the album cover much (not that this affects the music of course), but I think I can safely call State of Euphoria a highly underrated record. If you liked any of the other Belladonna-fronted Anthrax albums (which you should have!), then there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be checking this one out either.
Adam's rating: 8.8/10

MAKE ME LAUGH (SINGLE)       1988          (Island)

12" vinyl single, 'Make Me Laugh' was definitely one of the best songs from the State of Euphoria record. I rarely buy vinyl - let alone singles - but like the I'm the Man vinyl EP, I found this thing in the same antique shop for a couple of quid, and I didn't have any 12" singles, so why not? It comes with a cool poster too (surprised it was still in there to be honest). The b-side is a cover of the Sex Pistols' 'Friggin' in the Riggin''.

PERSISTENCE OF TIME          1990         (Island)

- Standouts: The entire record, with the exception of 'H8 Red'. 

Well, State of Euphoria was a lot better than I remembered. 1990's Persistence of Time remains as good as I remembered. And thankfully, I've always considered Persistence to be one of the best Anthrax albums. You can immediately hear a few differences when you listen to it after the previous three records - firstly, it's heavier. Not drastically heavier, but the guitars sound as if they've been tuned lower this time around, and that automatically gives many of the riffs more of a crushing kind of sound. Second, the lyrics aren't as fun anymore. I will admit that they're certainly less creative than what you heard on an album like Among the Living; the goofy comic book and movie themes have shifted to a darker tone, and even Joey Belladonna has lowered his vocal chords a little. Ironically, Scott Ian fired him in 1992 and at the time, criticised him for sounding too 'happy' on Persistence (which is baffling), which he obviously feels bad about now. From what I remember in Scott's book, he was going through a divorce around the early 90's, and that reflected on his songwriting style and the fact he was just generally pissed off with life overall. 'Course, Joey would return, but not for many years.

Getting back on track, the songs here are all great. Tracks like the opener, 'Time', and it's follow-up 'Blood', rage hard. They're also quite long, both lasting around seven minutes in total. Given the high quality of the endless riffs that are being jammed down 'yer throat however, this is not a bad thing. All the riffs mesh seamlessly, and these longer song-lengths don't feel like a slog in any way. Same goes for 'Keep it In the Family', which has always been my favourite song on this album. It too goes on for over seven minutes, and despite the fact it's a largely mid-tempo track, it just crushes! This is a fucking awesome number that I believe is supposed to be an anti-racism statement. So yeah, a big departure from the Judge Dredd-inspired words of 'I Am the Law'! Then you've got more fast, thrash metal monsters such as 'In My World' and 'Gridlock'. The former displays some serious intensity throughout, and I love all those "I'm not afraid" parts, while the latter kicks off with one of the fastest Anthrax riffs of all time. Joey's vocals are surprisingly subdued compared to that insane riff, but the contrast between his singing and the speed of the music works really well, actually.

'Intro to Reality' is a nice, moody and mellow instrumental, the only time the album really takes a break from the thrash. 'Belly of the Beast' has a kind of groovin' rhythm going on, but still thrashes. 'H8 Red' is maybe a tad weaker than any of the previous tracks, but I still think it's good overall. The album would still be just as good without it however. 'One Man Stands' is easily stronger. This song has a big, stomping, pounding beat. The last song, 'Discharge', is another of my favourites. Damn, what a harsh, violent way to conclude this rock-solid slab of thrash metal!

The only track on here that really resembles any of the goofball humour of the past, or at least just sounds like the band having a blast, is the turbo-charged cover of Joe Jackson's 'Got the Time'. True, it does sound a little out of place, but it's a damn good cover and a go-to live track. To be fair, this band were always good at covering other people's songs. 

Hmm. Trying to think of any issues I have with this album. Well, I can't think of any major problems, but I will say that this isn't always a go-to Anthrax record for me, even though I think it's on par with Among the Living as the best album in their discography. I guess the reason for that would be the fact that a lot of the album sounds very similar and most of the songs are lacking in any sort of hooks. Not that there were any traces of pop to be found prior of course! It's just that, with the exception of 'Intro to Reality', Persistence of Time is constantly pounding your face with heavy riffs, some insanely fast, others a little slower; and they're almost always fucking good riffs at that. But there ain't a whole lotta melody in 'em, and that makes the tracks less memorable individually in my opinion. Depending on my mood, I don't always want to sit through an album like Persistence. I just can't be bothered at times, and also, although I don't think any of the songs are too long, the album length as a whole (just under an hour) is maybe a tad too long? However, in terms of consistency, this is a far superior album to Among the Living. 
Adam's rating: 9.3/10

ATTACK OF THE KILLER B'S          1991          (Island)

Maybe my favourite rarities collection of all time, Attack of the Killer B's is one of those rare discs that was clearly aimed at the fanboys, which is actually good enough to recommend for a casual listener. Obviously the title suggests that this is a collection of B-sides, but it's actually more than that. There's two new re-recorded versions of 'Milk' and 'Chromatic Death'. Why does that not sound familiar, you ask? Because originally, those were Stormtroopers of Death songs, Scott Ian and Charlie Benante's side-project. Being a massive fan of the first S.O.D. album (Speak English or Die), I was really curious to hear what the actual Anthrax line-up would sound like performing those tunes. There's a really cool cover of KISS's 'Parasite', and like 'Antisocial' from State of Euphoria, Anthrax really make it sound like one of their own. Can't complain about having a live version of 'Keep It In the Family' either, seeing as that crushing number was one of my favourites from Persistence of Time. Some funny shit to be found on here too, like 'Startin' a Posse' and a new version of 'I'm the Man', titled, uh, 'I'm the Man '91'. Obviously, this collection also contains 'Bring the Noise' - that famous collaboration with Public Enemy, and what a fucking phenomenal version of that song this is! Basically, Attack of the Killer B's is just a really fun, enjoyable collection of bits n' bobs.

Adam's rating: 8/10

SOUND OF WHITE NOISE          1993          (Elektra)

- Standouts: 'Potters Field', 'Only', 'Room for One More', 'Hy Pro Glo', 'Invisible', 'Black Lodge', 'Burst'

Joey's out, and in comes Armoured Saint vocalist John Bush. Anthrax in 1993 is a very different beast to their previous incarnations. Things did get more serious in tone with Persistence of Time, but musically it was still a no-frills thrash record, on Sound of White Noise however, things are drastically different on almost all fronts. The band commit blasphemy and give us a motherfucking grunge album! Well, alright, branding White Noise purely 'grunge' is maybe going a step too far, so let's just throw around the 'alternative metal' label, or some bullshit. Either way, this is far removed from the brand of thrash presented to us on Among the Living, Persistence of Time and whatever else. You can hear a lot of Alice in Chains in these songs, more-so than you can classic Anthrax at times.

So, this album is a blatant attempt at adapting to the 90's scene at the time, and somehow I think they actually pulled it off! Naturally, there's a lot of fans out there who disagree with me, and I can understand why some people refuse to accept this as a proper Anthrax record, despite the fact it was actually quite successful commercially (not that this has anything to do with anything). After all, there's nothing on here that's played at breakneck speed, there's no humour, there's no pop culture lyrics etc., and John Bush is a very different-sounding vocalist to Joey Belladonna. Yet there's still a lot of really good tracks here, in my opinion. James Hetfield even called 'Only' a perfect song (or something) - a bit of an exaggeration, but it's really fucking good either way. It's a relatively straightforward slab of 90's alt/grungy metal, and the chorus and it's hooks are bliss. I also like the pounding opener, 'Potters Field', and 'Room for One More' is an underrated gem too. And I really don't care if anyone feels the need to slag off 'Black Lodge'; personally I think it's an outstanding song. Totally different for the band, sure, but it works. It's a really dark and moody, almost depressing ballad. But the lyrics and hooks are brilliant, and stick with you. Weird music video though. 

I enjoy the sporadic riffy nature of 'Hy Pro Glo'. I'm not gonna call it a thrash song, but some of the riffs do sort of come close to being thrash, in a way. Same with 'Invisible', but I'd also say this track borderline delves into the groove metal style that was gaining momentum in the 90's. It doesn't need to be over six minutes long, but I still like this song overall. 'Burst', the shortest track, is also the fastest. It's pretty damn awesome, and in a way, has a touch of Cowboys from Hell-style Pantera about it, riffs-wise. 

There's a few songs I'm on the fence with however. 'Packaged Rebellion' is memorable, but manages to kind of bore me at the same time. '1000 Points of Hate' is not bad, but nothing to really write home about either. 'Sodium Pentathol' (which on the album is actually spelt out in it's formula) is filler, more-or-less. I'd be hard pressed to even call that one 'metal'. 'This Is Not an Exit' - which definitely is an exit, being the last song on here, is a fairly dull and sloppy way to conclude this record. And aside from maybe 'Burst', the album's not all that exciting guitar-wise. None of the riffs are crappy or anything like that, but none of them are particularly memorable - it's the melodies and structures of the vocals that do it for me. No wonder Dan Spitz left after this album. And the album also has a weird overall sound... it's kind of... fuzzy? I don't even know if I like it or not. You get used to it, and in a way, it suits many of the tracks. But the guitars and drums are drenched in this big, almost static-like fuzz that I've never really heard before. The only other metal LP I can think of, from the top of my head at least, that sounds even remotely similar to this would be Annihilator's 2002 album Waking the Fury. But even that has a different kind of fuzz!

You've really gotta hear this album for yourself. I could be wrong, but I think the album was well-received with the critics of the time, even if a lot of the metalhead fanbase abandoned them with the changes they made to their sound. I think Sound of White Noise is a very good album for what it is, even if it just falls short of greatness. Even when I first picked it up (which was bloody ages ago), I liked it, and I've always enjoyed John Bush's vocals. I couldn't imagine Joey Belladonna ever singing on this album and doing these songs any kind of justice, he just wouldn't have been the right man for the job. 

Adam's rating: 7.8/10 

BLACK LODGE (SINGLE)          1993          (Elektra)

Found this for a measly £1 at the record store, and seeing as it had a track I didn't have and was in an actual jewel case (unlike most singles), I picked it up. I've always liked 'Black Lodge' - I think it's a great song in it's own right even if it was different and much more grungy for the band. The song I was interested in that I didn't have was 'Love Her All I Can', a KISS cover. I was never a big KISS fan but I really like Anthrax's cover of 'Parasite' (another KISS number, included on Attack of the Killer B's) and I like this one too. Still has the stickers that came with it too.

LIVE - THE ISLAND YEARS          1994           (Island)

Not a live album for one specific concert, but rather a collection of material spanning two shows from 1991/1992.  That of course, means Joey Belladonna was still in the band at the time. Anthrax were also signed to another label by the time this came along, so I guess Island were still trying to milk some cash out of them. Either way, this is a highly enjoyable live platter with tons of energy that can be picked up for next to nothing in used condition. Recommended!
Adam's rating: 8/10

STOMP 442          1995          (Elektra)

- Standouts: 'Random Acts of Senseless Violence', 'Fueled' 

There's things about Sound of White Noise that I don't like, but on the whole it worked. They tried something new, and even managed to bag a couple of classic tunes with it. They followed it up with '95's Stomp 442, which sadly is about as generic as 90's groove metal gets. Not too sure what happened exactly. I remember in Scott Ian's book, he and John Bush were out on the piss in different bars almost every night around this time, so maybe their heads just weren't in the right place. And for whatever reason they never decided to replace Dan Spitz, at least not for many years. So what you have is Anthrax as a four-piece, with a bunch of guest guitarists doing the solos, namely Dimebag Darrell, Paul Crook and Mike Tempesta. 'Cos you know, Scott's the rhythm guitar player, and solos ain't his thing. Oh, before I forget, when Dan left he became a born again Christian, formed a Christian metal band called Red Lamb, and also went on to become a certified luxury Swiss watch maker (?!). Uhh, so yeah, good for him I suppose.

In general, this album seems to come under a lot of flak with fans, and while I agree that it's the worst Anthrax album, I wouldn't say it's flat-out terrible. Like I said, it's very generic, but it's certainly listenable. And in all honesty, there's not a song on here that I think is just embarrassing on all levels. It's just kind of mediocre and uninspired, and certainly more in line with what Pantera were doing at the time, more-so than thrash metal (then again, Dimebag does guest on this thing). That said, there's a few songs scattered here and there that (sort of) get my head banging. 'Fueled' is a straightforward heavy track with some simple, but catchy riffs, and I've gotta say that Charlie Benante's drumming on the chorus is tight as fuck. I think he's an awesome drummer, and doesn't get enough credit overall. I quite like 'Perpetual Motion' and 'Random Acts of Senseless Violence' too, and for some reason, I also enjoy the ballad 'Bare', which is the last track on here. Not too sure why, I just think John Bush handles it quite well. Shame then, that the bulk of this record is composed of cookie-cutter, detuned groove metal riffs, and the songs kind of just meld into one another. Most stay at the same tempo as well, and you certainly won't ever be reminded of 80's Anthrax musically. I really have fuck-all to say about most of 'em; I think I'd just be repeating myself. 

Like White Noise, this really is a far cry from any of their thrashy stuff. About the only thing it really does better than it's predecessor is the fact the production is clearer. Yet despite all this, I don't totally hate Stomp 442 like a lot of people do. I can stick this on in the background when cleaning my house, or just reading a book, and it works. So I'm gonna go right ahead and give this a slightly-above-average rating. However, unless you have to own every Anthrax album, there's not much point in seeking out a copy of this one.

Adam's rating: 5.7/10

VOLUME 8 - THE THREAT IS REAL          1998           (Ignition)

- Standouts:  'Crush', 'Catharsis', 'Inside Out', '604', 'Alpha Male'

Volume 8 - The Threat Is Real: the album where John Bush suddenly started wearing a bowler hat. 

I will say that this album is an improvement on Stomp 442, but it's nowhere near the return to form you'd want to hear. Hell, it's not even on par with Sound of White Noise for that matter, but there are some forgotten songs on here that I do like. As for the band lineup, they were still in four-piece mode with Dimebag and Paul Crook contributing any of the guitar solos. Phil Anselmo provides backing vocals on 'Killing Box', but you'd hardly know it.

Musically speaking, it's a bit all over the place. You have elements of the last two records, i.e. groove and alternative metal, plus grunge. But there's also some thrash and speed metal moments here and there too, even a little humour at times, something that hadn't been heard since State of Euphoria. In addition to these elements, there's even a little, uh, country (?!) on here too! 'Toast to the Extras' is the country-inspired thingy I'm referring too, thought I'd get that one out of the way first. I know it's probably terrible in reality, being a country rock-inspired ditty, but it is honestly quite fun and amusing. And you can tell the band probably had fun writing and recording it. I won't call it a 'standout' however.

I really like the first three tracks. 'Crush' is quite a simple number, but it has a heavy groove and catchy chorus. 'Catharsis' is alt metal through-and-though, but it's got some really infectious hooks and melodies in it. It's just a good song in general. 'Inside Out' is a slow and grungy song with moody, slow-building verses, as well as some crunchy, heavy riffage. Cool track. 'Alpha Male' is pretty good as well, the stomping beat of that simple riff is fun. There's a couple of really short S.O.D.-style bits on here with '604' and 'Cupajoe', which are ironically some of the fastest and heaviest moments on here. Scott Ian handles the vocals on 'Cupajoe', and it's pretty much just a comedic skit. 'Born Again Idiot' is alright too.

Sadly, like Stomp, Volume 8 has it's share of filler to go 'round. There's a handful of songs on the second half of the album that are forgettable. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there's anything on here that's just awful and unlistenable full-stop, but that doesn't mean they aren't still throwaway tracks. 'Killing Box' - the guitars are fine, but there's this really annoying synthy, keyboard sound in the background that ruins it for me. And 'Harms Way' is just generic 90's alternative rock. If you took away John's vocals and stuck, I dunno, Eddie Vedder on there instead, there's no way in hell you'd have guessed it was written by Anthrax. 'Hog Tired', 'Big Fat'... meh, this is just 90's Anthrax on autopilot. Not horrible, just boring. 'Stealing from a Thief' is marginally better, with it's cool and grinding Pantera-style riffs in the verses and bridge, but the chorus somehow randomly transforms the song into something that reminds me of what Smashing Pumpkins were doing on Siamese Dream! By the way, I love that album, but I don't want Anthrax writing Billy Corgan-style melodies in their songs!

Some fans never accepted Anthrax with John Bush, let alone the stylistic changes they made with him in the 90's. But I'm not one of those people. Stomp 442 is patchy, sure, but I've always like Sound of White Noise. And I get why they were doing what they were doing during that period. The 90's were unkind to the old-school metal bands - grunge ruled the first half of the decade while nu metal took over the latter half. Anthrax were trying to appeal to all the rock and metal fans in the 90's; their popularity was declining, and they had to do something about it. Volume 8 is kind of testament to this - there's all kinds of experimentation going on. Some of it works, 'cos there are some good tracks that I like for what they are. But obviously it's still one of the worst Anthrax albums, even if I am kinder about it than the average fan.

Adam's rating: 6.7/10

RETURN OF THE KILLER A'S          1999          (Beyond)

Given the title, I assumed this compilation consisted purely of the band's singles (up until '99 that is), but it's not. It's an odd 'best of' that limits itself to 17 songs and tries to balance the number of Belladonna and Bush numbers, so classics like 'Caught in a Mosh' and 'Black Lodge' are missing. It does however, feature one exclusive track, a cover of The Temptations' 'Ball of Confusion' featuring both Joey and John on vocals! It isn't one of their best covers by any means, but it is a fun listen regardless, and the CD is worth owning for hardcore Anthrax fans.

THE COLLECTION          2002          (Spectrum)

A bit of a weird compilation because there's a bunch of signature tunes missing on it, but also the first Anthrax CD I ever purchased. I must've been about 14 when I got hold of this! Anyway, 'Indians', 'I Am the law' and 'Caught in a Mosh' - none of these tracks are featured on here for some reason or another. In fact, there's nothing here taken from Among the Living, not the actual album anyway - just a live version of 'Efilnikufesin (NFL)' which was originally from the Island Years live record. I can only guess the lack of Among the Living cuts has something to do with record label politics? But then this disc was released under the 'Spectrum' label, which is apparently an Island Records brand. Well, most of Anthrax's older albums (including Among the Living) were released under Island anyway! Maybe whoever was in charge of compiling this CD just hates Among the Living?! As well as this oddity, the rest of this disc covers songs from Joey Belladonna's first stint with the band. So no John Bush tracks either!

But you know what? I don't care. Like I said, I bought this when I was 14 and I certainly liked it enough to go out and buy more Anthrax records. The music that is on here is classic stuff of course. There's better Anthrax compilations out there, sure, and I don't exactly have much use for this CD nowadays. But I still have a soft spot for The Collection purely because it was my first taste of the band. 

WE'VE COME FOR YOU ALL          2003          (Nuclear Blast)

- Standouts: 'What Doesn't Die', 'Safe Home', 'Refuse to be Denied', 'Strap It On', 'Black Dahlia', 'We''ve Come for You All', 

Ahh, I like this album, but it's still not good enough to pass off as a return to form! We've Come for You All is the last studio album with John Bush (the last one with new songs at least), and it had been a bumpy ride for the band in terms of the quality of the music recorded since his membership. Thankfully, this record is definitely stronger than either of the previous two. In fact, for a long time I was convinced it was the best Bush-era Anthrax album, but I'm not so sure I can agree with that opinion anymore. There's a lot of decent tracks on here, but like Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, We've Come for You All doesn't really know what kind of album it wants to be. The music's all over the place once again, with thrash and groove metal influences as well as some straight-up modern hard rock elements, but at least it improves on the former overall. And with the inclusion of Rob Caggiano as lead guitarist, they were at least a complete band once more.

'What Doesn't Die' kickstarts the album. It does a fine job too; this track is a heavy slab of modern-sounding thrash. A breath of fresh air from the last bunch of albums. 'Refuse to Be Denied' is one of those songs like 'Catharsis' from Volume 8, in that it's not a particularly good Anthrax song, but is a very good tune in it's own right. It's a nice and straightforward, driving heavy metal with some great vocal melodies and structures. And I know the Belladonna purists out there probably cringe when they hear 'Safe Home', but I like it! It's tame, it's lightweight, but it's a fine ballad for what it is! Catchy, memorable... yeah, I dig it! Well sue me! I dig 'Strap It On' too - it's a fun metaller that is essentially just a tribute to the metal scenes of the 70's and 80's. And while 'Cadilliac Rock Box' and 'Taking the Music Back' are kind of questionable stadium metal anthems, they too are a lot of fun. Roger Daltrey even does backing vocals on 'Taking the Music Back', fuck knows how they got him on board for this project! The title track is pretty good, but the real diamond in the rough is 'Black Dahlia'. Fuckin' hell, where did that come from?! This song is heavy as hell, and has this black metal-style, blastbeat-pounding chorus that comes out of nowhere! This is honestly one of the most underrated songs in the entire Anthrax discography.

Naturally, there's a bunch of stuff on here that does little in the way of exciting me though. And that's why I still think Sound of White Noise is the best of the Bush era, even if I used to disagree with this. 'Superhero' is a fairly dull piece of hard rock while 'Think About an End', 'Nobody Noes Anything' and 'Any Place but Here' are just generic as hell. Aside from that chugging bit in the middle of 'Think About an End', there's nothing they do that make them stand out in this setlist. And come to think of it, why is this album fourteen tracks long? Technically sixteen if you count the two bonus acoustic songs at the end! It's unnecessarily long.

As I said at the beginning, I like We've Come for You All, but I wouldn't argue with someone who thinks otherwise. I totally get why some old-school thrash metalheads hate these albums. They're nothing like the stuff with Belladonna, or even John Bush's old band, Armoured Saint for that matter. But I really do think there's a whole bunch of songs from this era that are just great tracks in general - 'Only', 'Room for One More', 'Black Lodge', 'Fueled', 'Catharsis', 'Inside Out', 'What Doesn't Die', 'Refuse to Be Denied', 'Safe Home', 'Black Dahlia'... that's really not a bad list if you ask me, even if most of the album's they came from are inconsistent in quality. I must confess, I am quite biased when speaking of John Bush. I've seen this band ten times live, but the first time I saw them was in 2009 at Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth, and even though John had already left the band prior, he actually filled in live for a few dates that year (when Anthrax were going through all the bullshit with Dan Nelson), and he was awesome. In the live setting, I think he's just as good with Anthrax as Joey Belladonna. So I personally have nothing against John even if I don't think any of the actual albums he recorded with Anthrax stand as classics.
Adam's rating: 7.1/10

SUMMER 2003 (EP)          2003          (Nuclear Blast)

Really cool EP that was apparently a mail order exclusive from Nuclear Blast back in the day, as well as a bonus disc to the special edition versions of the upcoming We've Come for You All album. I dunno, I got mine from the good old Amazon Marketplace. There's a radio edit for 'Safe Home' (from We've Come for You All) and a track called 'Grunt & Click' - a leftover Stomp 442 track. I realise Stomp wasn't a particularly great record, but it had it's moments, and this isn't a bad song either. The rest of the CD consists of covers, and I happen to like Anthrax's covers, right from the start with their rendition of Alice Cooper's 'I'm Eighteen' on Fistful of Metal. 'Dethroned Emperor', the Celtic Frost cover is my favourite, with John Bush singing more aggressively than I think he's ever done. 'Cowboy Song', originally a Thin Lizzy track, is great fun. Thin Lizzy had tons of classics, and influenced many metal bands to come out of the 80's. Was never a big KISS fan, but 'Watchin' You' is a nice cover, just like 'Parasite' was (another KISS song they covered years back). Their version of The Sminths' 'London' obviously cranks up the intensity and completely transforms it (this track was originally featured on The Smiths' live album called Rank, and not on any of their studio records). I wasn't very aware of the Cheap Trick and Husker Du covers ('Auf Wiedersehen' and 'Celebrated Summer'), in fact, when I first bought this EP, I'd never heard of Husker Du as a band full stop, but I still enjoyed those tracks. Actually, 'Auf Wiedersehen', 'London' and 'Cowboy Song' were originally included as bonus tracks on the 2001 Sound of White Noise remaster, but I've got the 2003 Nuclear Blast version so I didn't have them anyway.  It's true that this disc probably won't interest anyone bar the serious fans, but for anyone who loves Anthrax as much as me, it's totally worth tracking down.
Adam's rating: 8/10

MUSIC OF MASS DESTRUCTION          2004          (Sanctuary)
I have a soft spot for John Bush-fronted Anthrax, mainly because the first time I saw the band live (Sonisphere, Knebworth 2009) he was on the mic. I've seen Anthrax eight times and the 2009 performance was the best one hands-down. I dunno if that's just 'cos I was 17 at the time and was easily impressed, but from what I remember they were fucking brilliant. Well, they're always brilliant, that particular performance was just extra special.

Anyhow, Music of Mass Destruction is a CD/DVD live package from around the time We've Come for You All was being promoted, recorded in Chicago. The DVD is great, with the band ripping through the setlist with ease. The CD on the other hand, is a bit disappointing. It's not the performance, more like the mixing. John Bush sounds good as do the guitars, but the audience's participation is a little too loud for my liking, and for some reason Charlie Benante's drums have this annoying clicking sound going on for the duration of the disc, and every time I listen to it, I know at some point my ears will just tune into that sound. Shame really, because for me it's the DVD that's the bonus, not the CD. Still, it is nice to have some live Bush-era material, and it was also cool to see 'Fueled' and 'Inside Out' on there, from the forgotten Stomp 442 and Volume 8 - The Threat is Real records.
Adam's rating: 7/10

THE GREATER OF TWO EVILS          2004          (Nuclear Blast)

These kind of albums are pretty lazy for the most part. You know what I'm talking about - one's where they re-record a bunch of oldies. I was still pretty curious to hear this one though, just to hear what John Bush would sound like on classics such as 'I Am the Law', 'Indians' and 'Keep It In the Family' in the STUDIO setting. I've heard him sing the classics LIVE, duh. Obviously, they chose not to re-record anything from Sound of White Noise up until We've Come for You All, 'cos that would have been pointless, so it's all Belladonna-era stuff as well as a handful of tracks from the Neil Turbin-fronted Fistful of Metal. Come to think of it, the Fistful of Metal numbers were the main selling point (apart from the fact I have to have every Anthrax album...), seeing as that was always an overlooked debut album. 

Much of The Greater of Two Evils is hit and miss. Some of the favourites like 'I Am the Law', 'Indians' and 'N.F.L.' sound like they've been slowed down a little when compared to their original counterparts, and that bugs me. Others sound really fresh however, like 'A.I.R.', 'Deathrider', 'Panic' and 'Gung-Ho'. Can't fault Bush, as he does a decent job throughout; I do think the fact that the guitars have been detuned lower helps his style of singing though. He wouldn't sound right singing directly over the original recordings of the albums these songs were from. And it was really cool to have new versions of underrated Fistful of Metal tracks - I know I stated that album was good but nothing special, 'Metal Thrashing Mad' has always been one of my favouirte Anthrax tunes regardless. The Greater of Two Evils is a fun, if inessential listen. I've got the Japanese import edition, which has three extra bonus re-recordings of 'In My World', 'Lone Justice' and 'Anthrax'. Why these weren't included for everybody else I have no idea.

Adam's rating: 6.3/10

ANTHROLOGY: NO HIT WONDERS          2005          (Island)

I would've skipped over this if it wasn't for the fact that it contains two tracks I didn't have: the full uncensored version of 'I'm the Man' and their cover of Black Sabbath's 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' - of course, I bought this before I had the I'm the Man EP itself, so in a way, this compilation is even more redundant to me nowadays! The rest of this two-CD collection is your standard Belladonna-era 'best of' - it's actually a really good package for the casual listener, but for me it's just another one to add to the collection. The sound mastering is very good however - other than Among the Living, the rest of my 'golden era' Anthrax discs are old-school pressings, so the volume isn't loud as on this compilation. 

CAUGHT IN A MOSH: BBC LIVE IN CONCERT          2007          (Universal)

I'm not good at reviewing live albums. I can point out the facts just fine: both shows featured are from 1987, with disc one being recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, and the second disc their Castle Donnington Monsters of Rock performance. The fact these shows were recorded in '87 also means it was during the band's peak. Er, the band sound tight, heavy and energetic...oh yeah, and both discs contain very similar setlists. See what I mean? I can't talk about live albums for shit, but I will say that this is more of a collector's item than an essential for sure.
Adam's rating: 7.5/10

WORSHIP MUSIC           2011          (Nuclear Blast)

- Standouts: 'Earth On Hell', 'The Devil You Know', ' Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't', 'I'm Alive', 'In the End', 'The Giant', 'Judas Priest', 'Crawl' 

This album was recorded within a three-year period, and I remember eagerly anticipating it. Dan Nelson was initially supposed to sing on it, and subsequently many of the songs were co-written by him. Obviously Nelson was out of the band by 2009, with zero recordings under his belt. John Bush filled in for any gigs Nelson was supposed to be present for, and from what I can tell was offered the chance to stay, but he never actually took up the offer. In the end Worship Music marked the return of Joey Belladonna, and let's be honest, I think everyone wanted him back in Anthrax at this point. So Joey's reunion was a long time coming, but the music on this album is strong, so it was worth the wait I guess. None of those Bush-fronted records were all that great; Sound of White Noise came close, and the rest had their moments, but none of them really rocked anyone's world. With Worship Music however, I can finally throw the 'return to form' badge around and actually mean it! Seriously, this is an excellent comeback.

What surprised me most is the diversity going on. I remember thinking that before the single 'Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't' was released, this album was gonna be a relentless monster in the same vein as Persistence of Time, but to my surprise, Worship Music is a very melodic speed metal album that has both it's thrashers and it's melodic heavy metal platters - I would honestly say it's more comparable to an album like Spreading the Disease than Among the Living or Persistence of Time, only with some more modern metal elements and production values. This comes with age, and does not affect the quality of the music.

I will say that opener 'Earth on Hell' is a chaotic thrash metal beast, with some awesome drumming. Aside from the production, and the fact Joey's voice has evolved a little over time (but not in a bad way whatsoever - he sounds fantastic still, just a little different), this is golden-age Anthrax. It's followed up by 'The Devil You Know', which is very much a superb slice of melodic, catchy heavy metal. People get so caught up in the crazy Anthrax thrashers that they forget the band are actually really good at writing what are essentially radio-friendly, hook-laden metal songs. This is just a brilliant song, even you prefer Anthrax's thrashiest stuff. The same can be said for the single 'Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't'. This track is admittedly faster and grittier than the previous, but the chorus is insanely catchy and melodic, it ticks all the boxes! The mid-tempo chugging groove metal of 'I'm Alive' is slightly weaker than the songs that came before it, but is honestly still very good overall - and once again, it's pretty catchy. It's kinda hard to come up with chuggy riffs that are memorable and original these days, given that they've been done to death at this point, but on the whole this song works too. 

'In the End' is one of my favourite Anthrax songs of any era. It's an epic track that I guess qualifies as a ballad, but certainly not in a sappy or mellow way. The chuggy riff used in verses in this instance, is among one of the best on the whole album, and the chorus is absolutely spot-on. There's a reason why this track is a regular in the live set. And the song wouldn't be complete with those bell chimes! Getting back to the thrash metal side of things, 'The Giant' is a nice little cut that brings back some of the aggression that the last couple of tracks were lacking in, but once again, the song still features a great, hooky chorus! The band really were on a roll with their songwriting this time around. The song 'Judas Priest' is a sort of tribute to the band lyrically of course, and references many of their songs in the bridge section ('Screaming for Vengeance', 'Rapid Fire', 'Locked In', 'Savage', 'Saints in Hell', 'Running Wild' to name but a few...), but musically it's prime Anthrax and sits within this record nicely. The slow-moving 'Crawl' sounds closer to a John Bush-era number to me, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. It's a moody, almost epic song with definite radio potential. 

In terms of complaints, I do kind of miss some of the cartoony imagery, and the lyrical matter's still nowhere near the level of creativity we saw on Among the Living. 'Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't' is about fighting zombies, but the majority of this album is pretty mature in general, once again! Despite how great Worship Music manages to be overall, sometimes you just want those nostalgic vibes, and for the most part, this is still a few leaps and bounds away from those 80's records. And 'The Constant', while still solid, isn't very memorable to me. It's not a bad tune, just weaker than the rest of the songs. And while I do think the closer 'Revolution Screams' is stronger than 'The Constant', it's still not a perfect closer. Charlie Benante's drumming on it is amazing once again, but the song just isn't a favourite of mine.

On the whole though, this one's actually gone up a notch in my books. Worship Music might not have been the thrash metal monstrosity I was expecting it to be, pre-release 2011, but it still managed to be as good I was hoping in a different way. Anthrax managed to put out one of the better albums of their career, a superb, modern, melodic heavy metal record - also with the odd thrasher included here and there, of course. You'd think I'd be disappointed by the fact this isn't such a fast and crazy album, but the fact is, these are just excellent songs whichever way you look at 'em. A much-needed triumphant return.

Adam's rating: 9/10

ANTHEMS (EP)          2013          (Nuclear Blast)

Normally albums and EPs full of covers don't really excite me, and admittedly the reason why Anthems made it into my collection is mainly just to fill in the gaps. But truth is, Anthrax have always been rather good at covering other people's songs! This is a neat little EP that in particular displays Joey's fucking amazing abilities as a vocalist! He sings the Rush track, 'Anthem', brilliantly. And on the AC/DC classic, 'T.N.T.', he sings it in his own way while still imitating Bon Scott enough to give me AC/DC vibes! The covers of Thin Lizzy's 'Jailbreak' and Boston's 'Smokin'' are fun too, although I don't care all that much for 'Keep on Runnin'' and 'Big Eyes', mostly 'cos I'm not the biggest fan of either Journey or Cheap Trick. But in terms of quality, those tracks are still on par with the rest. In terms of the actual playing, the band don't really do anything original with the music instrumentally, sticking close to how they were originally played - but this is fine. At the end of this disc are two different versions of 'Crawl' from Worship Music, the first is just the album version, the second is a remix with an added orchestral sound of pianos and strings, which actually works surprisingly well due to the epic nature of the song! 
Adam's rating: 8/10

SNAPSHOT          2013          (Megaforce)

Found this CD for six quid in my favourite local record shop, had no idea what it was, or what it is actually promoting (a website?) - bought it anyway 'cos it looks good in my Anthrax collection. The compilation contains ten tracks in total, two of which have to be downloaded from a website that doesn't exist anymore, so I can't actually hear 'em (live versions of 'Panic' and 'Metal Thrashing Mad'). The rest of it consists of random songs from Worship Music, the Anthems EP and another live number. So yeah, other than the live 'Medusa' included (plus the one's I can't actually download), I already had everything the disc had to offer in terms of the music. It does come with four collectors band photos on cards however. A completist's CD, no more no less.

FOR ALL KINGS          2016         (Nuclear Blast)

- Standouts: 'You Gotta Believe', 'Monster At the End', 'For All Kings', 'Breathing Lightning', 'Evil Twin', 'Zero Tolerance', 'Suzerain'

Worship Music is just an excellent heavy metal record. I'd even call it a career highlight for Anthrax, age clearly not affecting their ability to write and perform great songs. So how do you go about following it up? Simple, write more songs in vaguely similar fashion. Only difference is that this time the songs were written with Joey in mind, and not Dan Nelson (which surprisingly had zero negative impact on how much enjoyed Worship Music...). Aye, For All Kings doesn't showcase the youthful, crazy Anthrax you heard thirty years ago, instead you're getting the more mature, melodic Anthrax you got on the predecessor - and that's honestly what you need in this day and age. They're embracing what they've learned over the years, rather than trying to desperately cling on to any of the rage they still had on Among the Living and State and Euphoria.

This album starts off with a brilliantly fast, bombastic and thrashy opener in 'You Gotta Believe'. This is vintage Anthrax with modern production, and even a touch of prog within the songwriting. After this track however, there's a handful of excellent melodic, hook-laden heavy metal cuts, similar to tracks like 'The Devil You Know' and 'Crawl' from Worship Music. The first is 'Monster at the End', which is a very nice little slice of catchy metal goodness, honestly wouldn't have sounded out of place musically on Sound of White Noise (if it wasn't for Joey's vocals and the far superior production that is). The title track comes next, and this is an extremely modern-sounding and heavy track, but the bridge and choruses are extremely tuneful, and the guitars in particular are fantastic. My favourite track on the entire record is 'Breathing Lightning' - damn! This is maybe one of the most melodic, uplifting, soaring Anthrax tracks ever! It makes you feel good! The riffs are great, the melodies are catchy, you can sing along to the chorus... these are many traits that I find are missing in metal today! The genre doesn't have to be doom and gloom 24/7, but it doesn't have to be cheesy Euro power metal either!

On 'Suzerain', the band delve back into the best aspects of the John Bush era - it's a very solid groove-driven number with extremely memorable vocal hooks and lyrics. In some ways, John might just have been the ideal vocalist for this song, but Joey's singing doesn't detract from the overall quality either way. 'Evil Twin' - this is a decent song too. It's tight, it's modern, but it's unmistakeably contemporary Anthrax. 'Blood Eagle Wings' is the album's lengthy epic track, almost a ballad. It's a bit like 'In the End', only not quite as good. All the transitions from the moody atmosphere of the intro and outro, to more dynamic parts in middle of the song keep it interesting however, and it's still a definite standout. 'Defend/Avenge' kicks up the intensity once more, and has a very heavy, chugging rhythm throughout it's playing time. The closing track, 'Zero Tolerance' is this record's final gasp of greatness, probably the fastest number the band have penned since motherfucking 'Discharge' from Persistence of Time!

As always, I can pick a few holes here and there. The album gets a little tiresome after 'Defend/Avenge'. 'All of Them Thieves' is okay, but is definitely bordering on filler. And the mid-tempo hard rock of 'This Battle Chose Us' feels like it was just thrown in there as an extra too. The whole product would've been just as good without it. This album's just short of a one hour run-time, and while Worship Music was roughly the same length, possibly even a tad longer, but the fact is I simply just prefer that record to For All Kings. There's enough great tracks on For All Kings for me to enjoy the hell out of it, but aside from 'Breathing Lightning' (and possibly 'Zero Tolerance'), none of them top 'Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't, 'The Devil You Know' or 'In the End', in my opinion.

This is a great album, plain and simple. I don't enjoy it quite as much as much as I do Worship Music, but it certainly trails closely, and makes for a great companion album. If you liked Worship Music (which you should), there's no reason at all why you shouldn't be picking up For All Kings. Come to think of it, aside from maybe Megadeth's Dystopia, I don't think I enjoy anything else the other 'Big Four' bands have put out as much as these two Anthrax albums from the past decade....

Adam's rating: 8.7/10

Closing thoughts on this discography:

Anthrax peaked relatively early into their career; the first 5 records are all thrash metal classics, then the '90s happened and the band moved with the times. But even the John Bush era has albums I can recommend, even if they're not up to the same standard as the early material. We haven't seen many albums since Belladonna came back, but both Worship Music and For All Kings are fine examples of a legacy metal band releasing top-notch records in the 21st century. I don't think Anthrax's discography is necessarily the best of the 'Big Four's', but there's plenty of great studio albums to sink your teeth into here.