Anthrax has an interesting history and have had many ups and downs but have always put out great albums. Of all the bands out of the Big 6 I feel like they’ve got the lost consistently good albums. And like the last post, I will listen to each of their albums and then review it, and post 3 standout songs however I am trying to stay away from hit songs and focus more on the deeper cuts or ones that wouldn’t be played live very often.
Fistful of Metal- and so we have the debut album from Anthrax which was released in 1984 and the recording on this one is very raw. Also when I listen to this, I feel as if a lot of these songs don’t hold up as well as their later stuff which makes sense because they don’t play songs from this album live very often or ever at all. This is the only album to feature singer Neil Turbin as well as Danny Lilker on bass. It’s not a bad album by any means and it’s a great first album by a young band but I feel like even if they went and remastered it, it would sound so much better. My biggest complaint is the vocals which aren’t bad but they just don’t seem to fit the band. There is however a pretty good cover of Alice Cooper’s I’m 18. I give this one a 6/10
Standouts: Deathrider, Metal Thrashing Mad, I’m 18
Spreading the Disease- for their second release we see one of the first major lineup changes with this band. They fired Neil Turbin and replaced him with Joey Belladonna as well as Danny Liliker being fired and replaced with Frank Bello (who happens to be a Charlie Benante’s nephew) on bass. This one is a great debut album with Joey and they still play songs from this album live and they are great live. You can tell by listening to this one that the band was still somewhat finding themselves but a great album nonetheless. I think that for the video for Madhouse people were complaining that it was offensive to the mentally handicapped but it isn’t. A definite 7/10
Standouts: A.I.R., Madhouse, Lone Justice
Among the Living- ah finally we get to one of my favorite albums of all time. What can I say that hasn’t been said about this album that hasn’t been said before? It’s a masterpiece and hands down one of the greatest albums ever made. It’s one of those rare albums where I can listen to it all the way through and never get tired of it. You can tell that the guys definitely had a great time making this album plus it’s dedicated to Cliff Burton. So many classics are in this and they are played live almost all the time. I was very lucky to have seen them play this album live at The House of Blues in Hollywood. What’s not to like it’s thrashy and the songs are about comic books and Stephen King novels. I definitely give this one a perfect 10/10
Standouts: A Skeleton in the Closet, Among the Living, ADI/The Horror of it All
State of Euphoria- this is an interesting one because it’s the follow up to Among and it feels sort of unpolished. By that I mean it’s not as aggressive or even heavy as Among but this is still a great record regardless. I think even Scott Ian and Charlie Benante said that they wished they took more time with this one and I know it took awhile to warm up to this one. I give this one 7/10
Standouts: Now It’s Dark, Out of Sight Out of Mind, Misery Loves Company
Persistence of Time- to me this one is what should have come after Among the Living. It’s so good and it’s definitely their darkest record by far but this is when they were at the top of their game and this was when Megadeth and Slayer had classic albums comes out as well thus resulting in the Clash of the Titans tour. What a year 1990 was for these bands. This is probably my second favorite record by these guys and I wish they’d play more songs off of this record live especially the opening track because that solo is just so damn good. Unfortunately this would be the last album to have Joey Belladonna on vocals. I give this one 9/10
Standouts: Time, Gridlock, Keep it in the Family
Sound of White Noise- another album and another lineup change. This time it’s Joey Belladonna who is being replaced with Armored Saint frontman John Bush and for the next couple albums we have what’s called the Bush era. This definitely feels like a 90’s era album to me but that’s not a bad thing. This record changed their sound and they went in a more straight up metal direction and a little less thrash metal if that makes any sense. I actually remember seeing episodes of headbangers ball when they were on the road for this album which is probably why I say that this is a 90’s album (fuck I’m old). That being said this is a solid record and a great first album with a new singer and sadly, this would be the last album to have Dan Spitz on lead guitar. It’d be interesting to hear songs from this album live with Joey singing them. I give this one 8/10
Standouts: Potter’s Field, C11 H17 O2 S Na, Hy Pro Glo
Stomp 442- the second album to feature John Bus on vocals and the first without Dan Spitz on guitars. Some would say that this is their weakest others say it’s Volume 8 but you know it’s all opinion. I personally think that this is a heavy record and you have Dimebag Darrell guest solo on the songs King Size and Riding Shotgun. A very overlooked album but a heavy album nonetheless it’s definitely worth a listen. I think this and the album after that just weren’t marketed very well. I give this one a solid 7.5/10
Standouts: Fueled, King Size, Tester
Volume 8: The Threat is Real- this one some would say is their weakest and compare it to albums such as Risk and St. Anger to which I say have you heard those albums? This one is in no way shape or form a weak album. Different? yes. Weak or terrible? Not a chance. It’s a definite departure from what they have done before it and it’s slower than Stomp 442. This is another album to feature Dimebag Darrel as a guest on Inside Out and Born Again Idiot as well as Phil Anselmo guest/backing vocals on Killing Box. Oh and who replaced Dan Spitz on guitars? That would be Charlie Benante (drummer) and for touring they got a guy named Paul Crook. This is a very unique record and like the last one I feel just wasn’t marketed right. Of course it didn’t help that the record label that they were on went bankrupt.
Standouts: Inside Out, Catharsis, Giving the Horns
We’ve Come For You All- of all the John Bush era albums, this one has to be the best one by far. The 90’s weren’t so great for Anthrax but come 2003, they put out this masterpiece and wow what an album! The Belladonna era had Among the Living and the Bush era had We’ve Come For You All. Right out the gate we get the song What Doesn’t Die which is about zombies and who doesn’t love that? The video for that one is great as well. This is also the first album to have Rob Caggianno on guitars and he also produced the album too. Once again Dimebag Darrell guests on the songs Strap it On and Cadillac Rock Box and Roger Daltrey guests on the song Taking the Music Back. Just a great record and for those who love the Bush era and not so much the Belladonna era should definitely give this album a listen. I give this one a 10/10
Standouts: What Doesn’t Die, Black Dahlia, W.C.F.Y.A.
So before I get into the next two albums it should be noted that Anthrax went through a bit of a rough patch. Frank Bello left the band in 2004 to join Helmet. Then they got Joey Belladonna, Dan Spitz, and Frank Bello back in the band in 2005 for a reunion tour and were supposed to make a new record but it never worked out and the reunion ended and Joey and Dan left again. Next they got some guy named Dan Nelson who sounded like a Phil Anselmo wannabe and he got kicked out however they got him to record vocals on new songs. They then tried to get John Bush back in the band and even did shows with him in England but he wasn’t interested in re-recording songs. They finally got Joey back in the band and made:
Worship Music- well after years of problems, we finally have Worship Music and I gotta say it was definitely a welcome back for Joey. The fact that he re-recorded these songs and made them so much better than the originals says a lot. Rob Caggianno is back on guitar and while I’d rather have Dan Spitz back in the band, Rob does a fine job on lead guitar. A definite comeback album from years of trials and tribulations. I give this one 9/10
Standouts: Fight ‘em til You Can’t, Earth on Hell, The Devil You Know
For All Kings- and finally, we come to our last album from Anthrax in this review. This one is definitely darker than Worship Music and feels more mature than that one as well. This is also the first to feature Jon Donais (from Shadows Fall) replacing Rob Caggianno on guitar. In my opinion, I think that this one isn’t quite as strong as their previous album but still a great album there were better songs on Worship. I give this one 8/10
Standouts: You Gotta Believe, Breathing Lightning, Evil Twin
I had so much fun going back and listening to these albums and getting reacquainted with songs I hadn’t heard in a long time. Anthrax is one of those bands that if you see them live you will,always have a great time. I have never seen a bad Anthrax show and I can’t wait to see them again. They’re just so energetic on stage and the nicest guys too. The cool thing about having two different singers is that we get almost two bands out of it so if you like the Belladonna era then listen to that and vice versa. Me personally I like both about the same.
Now here we go for the album rankings:
- Among the Living
- Persistence of Time
- We’ve Come For You All
- Worship Music
- For All Kings
- Spreading the Disease
- Sound of White Noise
- State of Euphoria
- Stomp 442
- Volume 8: The Threat is Real
- Fistful of Metal
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