On this day, September 18, 2026, after a decade of not having any new music, we FINALLY have a new Anthrax album!!! Now if you’re like me and are a big fan of this band, then it’s a very exciting time!! It’s also time to put them BACK on the Chopping Block for their 2026 Rewind Review!! Let’s take a look….
Fistful Of Metal- ah yes the one that started it all. Of course this is the first and only album with original singer Neil Turbin as well as original bass player Dan Lilker (who would later go and form the band Nuclear Assault). This to me is very much an of the time album. While there are some good songs, it’s very dated and it still sounds this way after 40 plus years. I get it’s the first album but there’s a reason why I don’t really go back to this one. Fun fact, the original Anthrax font was printed in pink on the first LP pressings.
Previous Score: 6/10
New Score: 5.5/10
Standouts: Deathrider, Metal Thrashing Mad, I’m 18
Soldiers Of Metal- yes I know that everyone usually refers to Spreading The Disease as the first with new singer Joey Belladonna but it is this EP that is the first to feature him on vocals. And so Neil Turbin is out and Joey Belladonna is in on vocals. Dan Lilker is out and Frank Bello is in as bass player. I have to say that this feels very 80’s. The songs are songs that I could see being in an 80’s action movie and that’s not to say that is a bad thing but this came out in 1984 and feels very much like something from that decade. I’ll give it 6/10
Standouts: Soldiers Of Metal, Raise Hell, Howling Furies
Spreading The Disease- I know this one is considered a classic but really listen to it. Does it hold up?? My answer is no it does not. Now interestingly enough, Joey was not really familiar with thrash metal so he really was a newcomer to the scene. His audition was done a cappella with songs from Foerigner, Journey, and Deep Purple and history was made. Fun fact, before Joey was even in the band, it almost came down to having Frank Bello and Scott Ian share vocal duties in the same way Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons do for KISS. However you feel about this album, you cannot deny that there are some great songs that are classics for a reason, and some songs that really just don’t hold up.
Previous Score: 7/10
New Score: 7/10
Previous Score: Lone Justice, Aftershock, Gung-Ho
Among The Living- if you know me then this is my favorite album. Like ever it’s my favorite album of all time!!! This is the album that got me into metal and it’s one of those that’s always been there for me through both good, bad, and REALLY bad times. You can also hear that Scott and Charlie brought some left over riffs from the S.O.D. record Speak English Or Die. It’s one of those albums that tackles a lot of my favorite subject matter including comics like Judge Dredd “I Am The Law,” Stephen King novels and movies like “Among The Living” and “A Skeleton In The Closet,” to more serious subject matters like the struggle of the American Indian “Indians.” This album is also dedicated to Cliff Burton who was sadly killed in a bus accident (they were on that tour btw). Fun fact is that this album was co-produced by Eddie Kramer. Who is Eddie Kramer might you ask?? Well he’s collaborated with a lot of bands including Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and Carlos Santana among others. It’s a flawless album and yes I’ll take it over albums like Master Of Puppets and Reign In Blood. I’ve been very lucky to have seen them play it in full and in fact I have the setlist to prove it too.
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10 (as if that was going to change)
Standouts: A Skeleton In The Closet, One World, ADI/The Horror Of It All
I’m The Man- ah yes the one that brought us the song “I’m The Man” and you could say that this was definitely one of those songs that helped give birth to rap metal. This is just an EP with three different versions of the title track one being censored, uncensored, and a live version. Fun fact, this was meant to originally have the MCs of The Beastie Boys but due to scheduling conflicts, it didn’t happen. There’s also a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” and a live version of “I Am The Law.” A fun EP and I’ll give it a 7/10
Standouts: I Am The Law, I’m The Man Extremely Def III Uncensored Version, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
State Of Euphoria- I think if you’d ask me when I first started listening to Anthrax, I would’ve said that this is a terrible album. But after a few more listens, I’ve actually come to appreciate this one a lot more. I mean seriously though how do you follow up an album like Among The Living though?? Honestly this feels more like it should’ve come out after Spreading The Disease. Now of course they do carry over the comic books and Stephen King themed songs such as “Misery Loves Company” (a song about the Stephen King book Misery), “Now It’s Dark” (a song about the film Blue Velvet). When asked about this album and how they feel about it both Scott and Charlie have said that this album feels unfinished and I’d agree. If there was any of their albums that needs to be remastered or reworked it would be this one.
Previous Score: 7/10
New Score: 7.5/10
Standouts: Now It’s Dark, Make Me Laugh, Misery Loves Company
Persistence Of Time- now if you ask me, this is the album that should’ve come out after Among The Living. It’s dark, heavy, and feels like a good continuation. However because it’s so dark, it actually is a good sort of yin and yang compared to State Of Euphoria. Either way, there are some incredible songs on here and they’ve dropped the comic books/Stephen King type songs and went for a more mature subject matter. It’s really too bad that they don’t play more songs off this album because it really is one of their best albums!!
Previous Score: 9/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Time, Gridlock, One Man Stands
Attack Of The Killer B’s- so it’s commonly known that Persistence Of Time is the last album to have Joey on vocals however, it’s actually this one. Now as the name suggests, it’s basically a collection of B-Sides however this is the compilation album that gave us the song with Public Enemy “Bring The Noise.” And aside from that, there are actually some pretty good songs. This is one of those albums where if you’re a hardcore fan, then you’ll most likely enjoy this but I’d still check it out just for the hell of it. I’ll give it 8/10
Standouts: Keep It In The Family, Startin’ Up A Posse, N.F.B. Dallabnikufesin
Sound Of White Noise- the beginning of the John Bush era!! You might say that this album is unofficially called The Sound Of John Bush!! For those that haven’t listened to it, they’ve largely moved away from their previous sound and gone for almost a darker heavier rock sound. Now you may ask why would they do such a thing and well the answer is actually quite simple. They had done The Clash Of The Titans tour with Slayer and Megadeth but the opener was a very young and relatively unknown Alice In Chains. Once Facelift was released, that band really blew up and that was the sound of the time. Sadly, this would be the last album with Dan Spitz on guitar. Again, it would be years before I gave this album a chance but don’t make the same mistake that I did and avoid this one. It really is one of their best albums. It just isn’t a thrash album.
Previous Score: 8/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Potter’s Field, C11 H17 O2 S Na, Hy Pro Glo
Stomp 442- following up two monumental albums is no easy feat not to mention one without your longtime singer and now one without your longtime lead guitar player but as they say, the show must go on. With Stomp, something seems to be lacking and it’s not quite as strong as other releases. There was a time when I loved this record but now it sort of doesn’t hit me the same as before. Not to say that this is a bad record because it’s not but it’s one that I don’t really revisit very often. Now this is the first without Dan Spitz but future Meatloaf guitarist Paul Crook (although he is uncredited) would take over lead guitar duties and there are a couple songs with Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell (that’s right. For all you Anthrax haters and Pantera lovers, Dime plays on this one). This one isn’t as dark as the last two albums but it does feel like a good what happens next kind of album.
Previous Score: 7.5/10
New Score: 7/10
Standouts: Fueled, King Size, Tester
Volume 8: The Threat Is Real- I’ve really really grown to appreciate this one A LOT more over the years and it’s actually become one of my favorites. Now this is one of those albums that is extremely underrated. It didn’t help that they were signed to an independent record label called Ignition which then went belly up and copies of the album weren’t produced. This also came out in 1998 and what was popular back then?? Nu-Metal. So you have a record that was relatively unknown to a lot of people because of no record label marketing the album, you have bands like System Of A Down, Korn, and Limp Bizkit as the popular bands so it’s no wonder this didn’t do well. Even Scott Ian said “I’m still proud of the songs we wrote for Volume 8: The Threat is Real. They were really diverse and heavy, modern sounding with a crushing metal groove. 1998 is the year nu metal took over but we were definitely not a part of that scene. If anything we were old metal, so getting anyone to support us was proving difficult.” Now of course it wouldn’t be an Anthrax album without guest appearances from both Dimebag Darrell and Phil Anselmo who made guest appearances on songs like “Killing Box” and “Born Again Idiot.”
Previous Score: 7/10
New Score: 9/10
Standouts: Inside Out, Catharsis, Giving the Horns
We’ve Come For You All- where do you go after a label fiasco and basically almost being in limbo?? Why you go on a tour that sells out which gives you inspiration for the next album of course. 2003 rolls around and that gives us the album We’ve Come For You All. This isn’t really a comeback album per se but rather a reenergized album. This one just goes for it. It’s heavy, has some ballad-y type songs and of course a guest appearance from Dimebag (sadly this would be his last time), Roger Daltrey of The Who, and Anthony Martini of E-Town Concrete. This is probably one of their heaviest albums and Scott Ian said (of getting on a new record label Nuclear Blast and Sanctuary) “To be honest, I don’t care about that at all. You know, business is business and the creative side is the creative side. Creatively, there was no big challenge. We just wanted to try to make the best record we can.”
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: What Doesn’t Die, Black Dahlia, Cadillac Rock Box
Taking The Music Back- another EP and yes, it does have the song “Taking The Music Back” however it does have a cover of the Police song song “Next To You” with Frank Bello on vocals (who can actually sing really well, BTW) but it also has a cover of U2’s “Exit” as well as one of the most underrated and unknown songs “Ghost.” Honestly since John Bush is playing Anthrax songs with his other project Category 7, I think this would be a very welcome addition to the Setlist. This is only a four song EP but it makes a great companion to We’ve Come For You All. Unfortunately, the only way to really listen to this is on YouTube, but I promise you it is well worth the search and listen. I’ll give this 9.5/10
Standouts: Ghost, Next To You
The Greater Of Two Evils- this is an album of re-recorded songs from the Neil Turbin and Joey Belladonna albums but with John Bush on vocals and Rob Caggiano on guitar. Originally this was going to be titled named Metallum Maximum Aeturnum, with possible plans to change it to Old School, New School, Our School: Metallum Maximum Aeturnum or Metal Thrashing Mad: Metallum Maximum Aeturnum. At first I wasn’t a fan but I actually really like this record. There’s just so much power behind John Bush’s voice that he gives these songs new life. Sadly this is the last record album with him on vocals as well as the album before the 2005 reunion with Joey and Dan Spitz. I’ll give it 9/10
Standouts: Among The Living, Keep It In The Family, Deathrider
Worship Music- from 2007-2010 you could say was a weird, odd, and tumultuous time for Anthrax. The Among The Living reunion didn’t really go that great behind the scenes and Corey Taylor of Slipknot was approached to be the new singer however, Roadrunner Records put a stop to that and instead Taylor went on to make the Slipknot record All Hope Is Gone. Then they made this album with replacement singer Dan Nelson who definitely wasn’t the right fit. John Bush was brought back and he joined them for shows in England but he ultimately didn’t want to recommit to Anthrax and focus on Armored Saint. Fast forward to 2010 and they bring back Joey Belladonna who re-records the vocals on this and I actually think he nails it. Again this isn’t a comeback record but rather a return to form album. Again much like other albums, this is more of a what happens next record and feels like the perfect record to come after We’ve Come For You All.
Previous Score: 9/10
New Score: 9.5/10
Standouts: Earth on Hell, The Devil You Know, Revolution Screams
Anthems- ah yes the obligatory covers EP. Every band eventually does them whether people like it or not. Personally, I’d rather they put out a new album or EP but I also look at it as something to satisfy the fans until the next studio album. This one has 8 cover songs from bands like AC/DC, Rush, and Thin Lizzy and they’re good but again I’d rather have original songs. If you’re going to bother to learn other people’s material then I say put out new stuff. Either way a fun listen and I’ll give it 8/10
Standouts: Jailbreak, Anthems, Smokin’
For All Kings- so Joey is back in the band, new guitar player Jon Donais (Shadows Fall) is the new lead guitar player and we have a new album. I remember hearing the single “Evil Twin” and thinking “ok it’s kind of in the same vein as Worship Music.” Well aside from that song and a few others, this album as a whole is boring. It certainly hits me differently now than when I first heard it. Yes at the time I didn’t think it was as strong as Worship and I still feel that way. There’s just a lot of filler but I am a fan of the darker tone. Now as far as the album title meaning goes, Scott has been quoted as saying “The meaning, to me, for this title is that everybody can be a king. Everybody can have control over their own lives, control over their destiny, just by growing up and becoming a responsible human being. I’m not necessarily saying that being a “king” is being the boss in your relationship, or any relationship for that matter. A king of yourself is what I mean. Taking responsibility and ownership for your own shit is basically what it means to me.” As I said, this isn’t a bad album by any stretch and there are some brilliant moments but this might’ve been better off as an EP rather than a full length.
Previous Score: 8/10
New Score: 7/10
Cursum Perficio- on this day, September 18, 2026, after a decade of no new material, we finally got a brand new album!! Now of course in this day and age, it’s normal to release singles and I like the three that they gave us prior to the albums release and they do work in the context of the record. I have to say though I was expecting more. The band sounds great like they are firing on all cylinders here and there are some really heavy moments here. However in some instances, it’s short lived. Take the song “It’s For The Kids.” That opening 30 seconds is fuckin’ heavy!! I want more of that!! The biggest problem I have with this album is the vocals. Don’t get me wrong, Joey Belladonna is a great singer but he lacks POWER!! I hate to sort of beat a dead horse here but this band needs a singer like John Bush. Just imagine how much power and deeper he would’ve made this album sound. The thing with this album is that it seems like Joey is just singing words. The passion and fire seems to be lacking. I know it seems like I don’t like this record and that’s not what I’m saying. At the end of the day it’s still an Anthrax record and there are some great songs on here but there are other albums I’d listen to first. I’ll give this one 7.5/10
Standouts: T.O.M.B., NYC 93, Infectious
Anthrax holds a special place because they are the band that got me into metal. Anthrax are one of those bands that have certainly had their highs and their lows but you know what? They have always put out great records no matter what. Even the ones that are just ok are still pretty damn good!! Regardless of how you feel about them or which era is your favorite, they are part of the Big 6 and have been influential to so many bands. There’s a reason why they are legends and icons. Then of course you get to the live show and I have to say that they are hands down one of the most fun bands to see live. What’s even better is that for as legendary and for as long as they’ve been around, they still play in small places.
Final Grade: A+
Previous 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
New Album Rankings:
- Among The Living
- We’ve Come For You All
- Sound Of White Noise
- Persistence Of Time
- Worship Music
- Volume 8: The Threat Is Real
- The Greater Of Two Evils
- Taking The Music Back
- Stomp 442
- State Of Euphoria
- Cursum Perficio
- Attack Of The Killer B’s
- For All Kings
- Spreading The Disease
- Anthems
- I’m The Man
- Soldiers Of Metal
- Fistful Of Metal
