|
Anthrax
|
| By
Vinnie Apicella
"Among The
Living" and
amongst the "big four" Thrash Metal acts that redefined Heavy
music for
listeners in the early '80s, few can deny Anthrax their place among the
elite of the genre. One of the earliest bands to make "moshing"
the
fashionable crowd pleaser its grown into today, and to say nothing of
their innovations in the "Metal/Rap" crossover. because I
really don't
want to, but facts are facts, "I'm The Man," was there, and it
was funny
and in a clever sort of way, was cool. What we've got here is the tale
of two bands really, both equal in their distribution of ingenuity, the
former, fronted first by the little known Neil Turbin and
"Fistful"
infamy, later Joey "Injun" Belladonna," and currently the
explosive
force that began with the innovative "Sound of White Noise," a
1992
statically charged storm bringer of a record that introduced the
formerly "Saintly" presence of one John Bush, third known and
current
vocalist. Disturbed, like many, at the time, a decade ago, Anthrax made
the bold decision built on more modern impulses, waved goodbye to
yesterday, still true to their noble fan base, but almost completely
redesigned with nary a trace of what was. But few could argue that a
change was sorely needed within this band. Following the uninspired late
'80s releases of "State of Euphoria" and "Got The
Time," the band was
fading, and such is the curse of prior success, they were never going to
rival against the likes of "Spreading The Disease" or
"Among The Living"
again the way they were going. The first of these current reissues,
"The
Sound Of White Noise" was bombastic in nature, spawning future fan
friendly favorites as "Only," "Room For One More,"
and "Black Lodge,"
the latter an extra feature in remixed edition for current purposes.
Anthrax was back on the scene and still doing it their way, they catered
not to the burgeoning Grunge crowd, steered clear of the growing level
of Aggro-cut and Rap Metal mainstream and put out what should go down in
history as one of the best Metal records in history. Getting used to
Bush on vocals was the biggest transition for any listener to make-a
complete 360 from the formerly high-strained Belladonna-led sound, sure
it was like Armored Saint trading in their noble steed for an extra
liter of jet fuel and blasting skyward, yet musically far beyond
preconception. A few years later saw the release of the Spitz-less
"Stomp 442" and the band furthering the development of their
core sound
from an album ago and while commercially it didn't measure up to its
predecessor, this owed more to lackluster label support than musically
propulsive elements, "Stomp" was up to the
task-"Fueled," "King Size,"
"Riding Shotgun," "Drop The Ball," and several more
reasons to relish in
the almighty riff, maybe never as pronounced as right here. Anthrax
proudly control their own destiny these days and all the better for
fans, legions of loyalists who've stuck by throughout a career of
triumph and turbulence. Deserving of mention also is the last Anthrax
studio release "Volume 8," which was unfortunately dead on
arrival and
suffered a fate of obscurity, an increasingly disturbing trend that
would continue to haunt those of the true Metal variety, but an album
worthy of equal praise as these two. The Anthrax camp is alive and well
and while their reemergence in 2002 is imminent, here are two prime
examples why this band continues to produce where others fail; featuring
quick textual walkthroughs and impressive bonus cuts, covers (featuring
Lizzy's "Cowboy Song," and a must-hear version of Frost's
"Dethroned
Emperor") and cut to the bone classics, must have additions to
concussive Metal collections everywhere!
|
More from the Online Metal Journal |
|
|
|
|