My thoughts n the new album

[spacebeer]

So, the new ANTHRAX record is out, well it has leaked. What do I think about it? I dunno, I keep playing it from scratch over and over again. Still I can’t help feeling a little disappointed since I am missing the balls of the 80’swork. It’s all too calculated in some way. To me it sounds like a Bushthrax album with slightly more thrash influences and a singer that actually sings the songs with ease where John always seemed to strain his voice over the higher pitched parts.

Still Joey sounds a lot like John Bush on some of the songs that’s a thing that IMO nobody can deny. I hear a lot of SOWN influences/sound e.g. “Crawl”. That’s not nessecarily a bad thing mind you. All in all the album possesses at least as much quality in the songwriting department as SOWN did. I really love most songs, only “The Devil You Know” and “Revolution Screams” sound kinda bland to me. Stuff like “Fight em” and “Earth Of Hell” at least hint at ANTHRAX’s thrash past. I really dig “The Giant” too it’s catchy. The more alternative tinged songs like “In The End” and “Crawl” are killer songs but they do sound more like AIC than ANTHRAX. Fact is that Joey nails all the songs, with a deeper and more aggressive style than he ever showcased. I think this is something the Bush era fans should be able to appreciate. I think it’s a very enjoyable 80/100 album for me, but I miss the real thrash/mosh riffs dearly…

Production wise it’s a very solid offering, but it does have the pretty generic “modern” sound to it. Scott Ian’s guitar tone sounds fine but lacks the signature sound he had in the 80’s, he sounds like a thousand others. The drums stand out as always and the leads are well played and performed. Frankie kicks ass as always but he should use his pick more live since he has too little attack playing with his fingers. The mix is great and sounds heavy…

All in all a killer collection of new songs from one of my alltime favourites which still gows on me. I still secretly hoped for a true return to the ATL style....

 

[scooterville]

Good review! I like it, it's metal to me! In a way I don't get why some fans are expecting Anthrax to copy what they did in the eighties. Don't get me wrong.....It would be nice but that was then, this is now. They've moved on and evolved into a solid metal band IMO. I also think this is the best album since POT. You can't really expect 47-51 years olds thrashing around on stage every night on tour, even though from what I saw last night they were rockin' hard and did a solid performance with the new music they have.
All in all for me...it's new music with Joey and I'm personally satisfied with the new album considering the stuff they had to go through to get to this point to get the album completed and released.

 

[hellzapoppin]

Has anyone heard the bonus track (Refused's - "New Noise"?)
I almost don't want to hear it. Some songs should not be covered.

 

[Joecephus]

So now Anthrax sounds like Alice in Chains?!?!

I just don't hear it.

 

[scooterville]

Has anyone heard the bonus track (Refused's - "New Noise"?)
I almost don't want to hear it. Some songs should not be covered.

I think it's pretty good!

 

[Thrashard]

To me it sounds like a Bushthrax album with slightly more thrash influences

+

 

[the Medication]

I think it’s a very enjoyable 80/100 album for me, but I miss the real thrash/mosh riffs dearly…

8/10 is a good score generally. I think the album's solid. It's solid as a metal album of 2011. It compares extremely favourably against the latest offerings by the other Big 4 bands (with almost definitely the best vocals). And it's great considering the inner turmoil surrounding its conception and execution. My favourite song is still the less thrashy 6-over-8 style I'm Alive. The intro to that tune is epic! Other highlights are Earth, The Devil, Fight em, The Giant, and Judas P. Don't really get the hype surrounding the ultra slow, grooved In the End - though the faster mid section IS a highlight, especially the layered harmonies.

People shoulda known (if they didn't) the album wasn't gonna be some '87 vintage thrash, what with all the clips of the tunes appearing everywhere and Nelson sung live performances. The 90s, 00s Anthrax still pervades the sound at times - of course - but there is also a fair share of thrash and d beat.

 

[timmyc]

I think it's pretty good!

Yeah I like it too. It's different, and in a good way.

 

[spacebeer]

I lik it too, like I said it's 80/100 good, which is....well...ehh..good

 

[scooterville]

Yeah I like it too. It's different, and in a good way.

IMO I think it's better than Refuse's version.

 

[AlexStomp]

I too don't get the hype about In the End either. Maybe people hyped it up too much and I set the bar high with my expectations of that song. When people say things like "epic" "master piece" "tearjerker", you can see how the mind would do that. On the other hand, I don't know the lyrics since Ive never been good deciphering them without a lyric sheet.

 

[ironmaidenfan09]

You can't really expect 47-51 years olds thrashing around on stage every night on tour

By 'thrashing around' do you mean the music they create or how they act on stage?

I would assume you mean now that they are older they can't be expected to do thrash metal albums?

If so go ask Slayer, Testament, Overkill, Exodus, Venom, Celtic Frost, Sepultura, Forbidden, and so on how they are still able to perform Thrash metal albums.

If Anthrax wanted to do full on Thrash they could. They just don't want to. They clearly are trying to break in to a bigger audience than just the Thrash metal community. That is what they have been trying to do since SOWN was released.... it hasn't worked..YET... It's almost like they put the tip in, but don't go all the way in.

But at least this new album sounds more like ANthrax than the previous 3 albums and has some bright spots.

 

[johnnieCzech]

By 'thrashing around' do you mean the music they create or how they act on stage?

I would assume you mean now that they are older they can't be expected to do thrash metal albums?

If so go ask Slayer, Testament, Overkill, Exodus, Venom, Celtic Frost, Sepultura, Forbidden, and so on how they are still able to perform Thrash metal albums.

If Anthrax wanted to do full on Thrash they could. They just don't want to. They clearly are trying to break in to a bigger audience than just the Thrash metal community. That is what they have been trying to do since SOWN was released.... it hasn't worked..YET... It's almost like they put the tip in, but don't go all the way in.

But at least this new album sounds more like ANthrax than the previous 3 albums and has some bright spots.

Spreading The Disease wasn't that full-on thrash metal either...

 

[scooterville]

By 'thrashing around' do you mean the music they create or how they act on stage?

I would assume you mean now that they are older they can't be expected to do thrash metal albums?

If so go ask Slayer, Testament, Overkill, Exodus, Venom, Celtic Frost, Sepultura, Forbidden, and so on how they are still able to perform Thrash metal albums.

If Anthrax wanted to do full on Thrash they could. They just don't want to. They clearly are trying to break in to a bigger audience than just the Thrash metal community. That is what they have been trying to do since SOWN was released.... it hasn't worked..YET... It's almost like they put the tip in, but don't go all the way in.

But at least this new album sounds more like ANthrax than the previous 3 albums and has some bright spots.

I'm referring to the music they make. I like thrash thrax too and your right i'm sure they can do thrash still, but i'm happy with the music on WM. I feel there are plenty of thrash elements on WM. It's the best i've heard since POT. I know they are going into a slightly different direction and i'm fine with that. Joey being back is definatley going to help them gain old and new fans IMO. So I'm looking forward to the current lineup and what the future may hold for them.