Anthrax - For All Kings - Review

A new review is up at my blog and this time it's Anthrax - For All Kings:

http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2016/03/dying-wind-through-shredded-sails.html

TLDR version - This is a very frustrating album that doesn't really gel for me.  The band tries to meld thrash with melodic, modern-rock style choruses on a lot of the songs and I don't think the results are any good.  There are some good tracks toward the end of the album though, and I enjoy many of the riffs and solos.  Oh yeah, Joey sounds really weird on it for some reason.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

I haven't even picked this up yet. I am so not stoked about this album, but it's Anthrax so I will grab it eventually.

the sentinel wrote:

I haven't even picked this up yet. I am so not stoked about this album, but it's Anthrax so I will grab it eventually.

You never know, you just might like it.

Good review WF. I'm glad someone else feels the way I do about this album- frustrated.Pretty much sums up my thoughts.

Thrasher73 wrote:

Good review WF. I'm glad someone else feels the way I do about this album- frustrated.Pretty much sums up my thoughts.

Frustrated is perfect. I want to like this album, but something about it just seems...awkward. The lyrics/vocals sound too crammed-in or forced with no melody. Joey's voice sounds fine to me. No issue there.

It's getting shelved for now. Maybe when I come back to it in a month or so, something will click.

I don't know, I like it. Different strokes and all that.

No matter if you hated it or loved it, most seem to agree that the title track blows.

Witchfinder wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

I haven't even picked this up yet. I am so not stoked about this album, but it's Anthrax so I will grab it eventually.

You never know, you just might like it.

I will prob get it this weekend. It's got some big shoes to fill (in my ears) given how much I enjoyed "Worship Music" and the covers album. I was reading the latest issue of Classic Rock and Ian was asked about the new album and he said " people who loved Worship Music will love this album; it's just a better record." We will see there, Scotty.

I finally got to hear it; agreed, this is a tired mess that takes the worst of Worship Music (I only enjoyed half of that album to a small degree) and MULTIPLIES it. Your review is spot on.

Alright, so I grabbed this last weekend and I have spun it once since then. I have to say that I liked it more than I thought I would, but first impression is that it's not something I want to keep revisiting. I will spin it a few more times though to give it a proper review.

the sentinel wrote:

Alright, so I grabbed this last weekend and I have spun it once since then. I have to say that I liked it more than I thought I would, but first impression is that it's not something I want to keep revisiting. I will spin it a few more times though to give it a proper review.

I look forward to reading it.

Alright, so here we go:

"You Gotta Believe" is a good opener that sounds like the new Anthrax stuff and has a nice opening riff and a sing along chorus (although for a 6 minute long song it seemed to jump to the chorus pretty quick) while "Monster in the End" keeps it moving nicely. The a capella intro to the title track is just...awful. I give the guys props for trying something different, but it just doesn't work. Next up is "breathing Lightning" and it's def my fave song on the album. I really like the chorus. Another good tune is "Suzerain" even though I have no idea who or what that is. The rest of it just blends together in an unremarkable cacophony of riffs and words.
There are some good moments here and as WF suggested a week or so ago, I do like it. I just don't love it. It's nowhere near as good as "Worship Music" but rather sounds like the songs that didn't make the cut for that album. It's kind of like going back to your childhood home and everything is familiar but strangely foreign at the same time. It's also a bit long at 13 tracks. I know 2 are an "intro" and an "interlude" but I would have cut these and two tracks (Evil Twin and All of Them Thieves) to get down to a streamlined 9. They should have done a separate EP (think "Beyond Magnetic" with a few tunes and a cover sometime in the late Summer or Fall. I didn't bother with the deluxe edition with a few useless live tracks and opted instead for the single disc edition for $10 at a local FYE as part of the March is Metal Month sale. Overall, a 7/10.

the sentinel wrote:

Alright, so here we go:

"You Gotta Believe" is a good opener that sounds like the new Anthrax stuff and has a nice opening riff and a sing along chorus (although for a 6 minute long song it seemed to jump to the chorus pretty quick) while "Monster in the End" keeps it moving nicely. The a capella intro to the title track is just...awful. I give the guys props for trying something different, but it just doesn't work. Next up is "breathing Lightning" and it's def my fave song on the album. I really like the chorus. Another good tune is "Suzerain" even though I have no idea who or what that is. The rest of it just blends together in an unremarkable cacophony of riffs and words.
There are some good moments here and as WF suggested a week or so ago, I do like it. I just don't love it. It's nowhere near as good as "Worship Music" but rather sounds like the songs that didn't make the cut for that album. It's kind of like going back to your childhood home and everything is familiar but strangely foreign at the same time. It's also a bit long at 13 tracks. I know 2 are an "intro" and an "interlude" but I would have cut these and two tracks (Evil Twin and All of Them Thieves) to get down to a streamlined 9. They should have done a separate EP (think "Beyond Magnetic" with a few tunes and a cover sometime in the late Summer or Fall.  I didn't bother with the deluxe edition with a few useless live tracks and opted instead for the single disc edition for $10 at a local FYE as part of the March is Metal Month sale. Overall, a 7/10.

Good review. It's a strange album.

I know I can skip them, but those musical interludes really bother me for some reason. They just seem so pointless.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I know I can skip them, but those musical interludes really bother me for some reason. They just seem so pointless.

They absolutely are and seem to only serve the purpose of padding the run time and number of tracks on the album. Plus, on "Worship" when I burned it to my desktop it messed up the track order and I had to retype everything. Not a huge deal, but a pain in the arse.

Got my copy a few days ago and gave it a very quick spin. I heard some potential in there.

I will play it again later after i have finished listening to the 58 cds i got from turkey a few days ago.

Gilbert wrote:

Got my copy a few days ago and gave it a very quick spin. I heard some potential in there.

I will play it again later after i have finished listening to the 58 cds i got from turkey a few days ago.

58, damn! Good luck with that.

the sentinel wrote:

Gilbert wrote:

Got my copy a few days ago and gave it a very quick spin. I heard some potential in there.

I will play it again later after i have finished listening to the 58 cds i got from turkey a few days ago.

58, damn! Good luck with that.

Yep. Don't get t shop around here so i await my business trips to europe. Large list: death angel, destruction, suicidal angels, dark angel, fueled by fire, bonded by blood, helstar, exumer, iron savior, steel assassin, savage messiah, messiah's kiss...only to name a few

Well my friend, you enjoy.

I've run through this album 4 times thinking I'm missing something or just not getting it. The end result is that there are quite a lot of really cool moments spread out even within the songs. I'm a big fan of Anthrax, so I really wanted to love it. A good listen, but I'm a bit disappointed. Kind of sounds like the band recorded separately. Not sure, but it sounds disconnected and jumbled. The musicianship is great, it's the songs and how they flow. I'm thinking these songs will shine once the band jams these in concert and irons out the wrinkles.

That's not a bad theory as any new songs would blend more seamlessly in a live setting alongside the classics. I put this one on the other day and enjoyed. But, the impetus for spinning it was more of giving it another chance and not that I really wanted to hear certain songs.