The BEST Anthrax

Okay - bought S.T.D - for $ 6.44 - on popular vote - etc

A month ago I bought Sepultura - beneath the remains - CD
Thought it was pretty damn cool -
figured Anthrax must - be just as good -

Wow ! STD is really a groundbreaking great release !
I actually saw them live - for this tour - I so remember “ Armed and Dangerous “
It was one of those Sunday afternoon shows - remember “ Madhouse “ too.
The crowd was insane. Went - to just rock out. Ah, the good ole days.
Didn’t know - Carl Canedy - produced it. Love The Rods !

Glower wrote:

Wow ! STD is really a groundbreaking great release  !
I actually saw them live - for this tour - I so remember “ Armed and Dangerous “
It was one of those Sunday afternoon shows - remember “ Madhouse “ too.
The crowd was insane. Went - to just rock out. Ah, the good ole days.
Didn’t know - Carl Canedy - produced it. Love The Rods !

It indeed is a great release. And sounds very unique. Spreading the Disease is a how-to in thrash meets power vocals, and Among the Living is the same in thrash meets insane-catchy chorus melody lines.

The actual thrash metal riffs on STD are better though. I can find no fault in this record. It accomplishes everything it sets out to do. I don't think there's a weak song in there. I already mentioned my favourites are the last two tracks, but all the ones prior are also excellent. A ton of energy, pretty loose sounding playing and just buckets of fun.

ATL followed by PoT.

Bit of an unusual choice for favourite Anthrax song but it is mine!

Not so unusual, it's an excellent tune.

Bought Persistence of Time. Can’t believe it ranked the lowest. A fun listen. Quality metal.
Reminds me of buying anything by Megadeth. It delivers ! Anthrax had a great run, way back when

The best Anthrax album is Spreading the Disease, but the best moment in all of Antrax catalogue is the last ~2 minutes of A.D.I. / Horror of It All from Among the Living. For a long time I was disappointed that they didn't seem to play it live at all but looks like this decade they've included it in their shows.

I don't care much about most of that song but holy hell the last two minutes are fantastic!

Temple of Blood wrote:

STD has the catchiest songs and the best marriage between the music and the vocal style.

This is exactly how I feel it too. I think Belladonna sounds the best in this album. Even in Among the Living his voice is a bit too thin for the music, but somehow Spreading the Disease avoids that completely.

STD. And that's all.

I have to confess I simply don't like this band. I've tried, even chose at different points in my life because I really love thrash and find the genre wholly appealing. But these guys stand outside of that appeal. They're boring. There's not a lot of talent going on (okay, so Charlie's a schizo drummer), the songs lack menace, and Joey's voice is STUPID. That's right, I said it, he's got a stupid voice. It's like he's pretending to sing, like bad karaoke, like Natural Ice advertised as beer. I can't take it.

I did like State of Euphoria once upon a time but the more I listened to it the more the cracks would show. Hell, I don't even like them being a part of the Big 4 outside of historical purposes (debatable), and they seemed totally out of place in the Big 4 gig that was aired.

I do like Scott Ian as a person, though. He's a crap player (fuck his tone!) but I wouldn't mind hanging out and sharing a joint with him.

Thanks guys, felt good to get that off my chest. Phew.

Joey Belladonna has a GREAT powerful voice.

Lari wrote:

Joey Belladonna has a GREAT powerful voice.

See, I don't hear that at all. I find it rather weak and meandering. His sustain is forced and he tends to bleat out his notes with little to no dynamic arc. It's just yelling to me. And his sustain is worse.

I mean, different strokes and all, it's just that I'm more than forgiving with most thrash vocalists because that kind of music doesn't really require top-notch pipes, but there are two exceptions that make my eyes twitch from sheer inner-ear irritation, and those are Sean Killian and Joey Belladonna.

Lari wrote:

Joey Belladonna has a GREAT powerful voice.

Yes. And a very cool guy. I have 5 of his solo albums [3 remain unreleased]. He and Jack Frost worked really well together.

Glower wrote:

Bought Persistence of Time. Can’t believe it ranked the lowest.  A fun listen. Quality metal.
Reminds me of buying anything by Megadeth. It delivers ! Anthrax had a great run, way back when

Yeah dude Persistence is so good, and it's what I voted for. It feels heavier to me also than the previous albums. I didn't know that "Got the Time" was a cover for decades, and then randomly heard the Joe Jackson version somewhere and had my mind blown ha.

Were I you, I'd buy all the other albums on the list too, plus Attack of the Killer B's. All essential, really.

UNCLE SAXON'S KICKASS CDS wrote:

Lari wrote:

Joey Belladonna has a GREAT powerful voice.

Yes.  And a very cool guy.  I have 5 of his solo albums [3 remain unreleased].  He and Jack Frost worked really well together.

I queued up that 1995 Belladonna album for the first time in over a decade recently and it really rips front to back. Spells of Fear did not age very well for me.

corplhicks wrote:

Lari wrote:

Joey Belladonna has a GREAT powerful voice.

See, I don't hear that at all. I find it rather weak and meandering. His sustain is forced and he tends to bleat out his notes with little to no dynamic arc. It's just yelling to me. And his sustain is worse.

I mean, different strokes and all, it's just that I'm more than forgiving with most thrash vocalists because that kind of music doesn't really require top-notch pipes, but there are two exceptions that make my eyes twitch from sheer inner-ear irritation, and those are Sean Killian and Joey Belladonna.

In thrash metal, where mediocrity is the standard, you don't like the exception - the excellent vocalist? To me at least Belladonna was the one single major draw to Anthrax's music. A thrash metal band with a power vocalist? Yes, please! Great pipes, great voice. Puts 99.9% of his peers to shame.

Lari wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Lari wrote:

Joey Belladonna has a GREAT powerful voice.

See, I don't hear that at all. I find it rather weak and meandering. His sustain is forced and he tends to bleat out his notes with little to no dynamic arc. It's just yelling to me. And his sustain is worse.

I mean, different strokes and all, it's just that I'm more than forgiving with most thrash vocalists because that kind of music doesn't really require top-notch pipes, but there are two exceptions that make my eyes twitch from sheer inner-ear irritation, and those are Sean Killian and Joey Belladonna.

In thrash metal, where mediocrity is the standard, you don't like the exception - the excellent vocalist? To me at least Belladonna was the one single major draw to Anthrax's music. A thrash metal band with a power vocalist? Yes, please! Great pipes, great voice. Puts 99.9% of his peers to shame.

I can understand and respect where you're coming from, but like I said, I don't find him to be excellent. In fact, I find him to be perhaps the most mediocre of the bunch. It's simply a polar perspective--I find that 99.9% of his peers put him to shame.

Props to all who enjoy him, but he's simply not my cup of tea.

If you’re looking for a thrash band with an excellent vocalist, look no further than Forbidden. The big 4 doesn’t have one.

Sorry for the derailment, carry on.

^^ Most certainly! I was actually thinking of Russ Anderson after I sent my reply. Good call, great vocalist.

In my opinion, Eric AK is the best vocalist from the thrash genre. He doesn’t have the same range as he did on the first few albums, but his voice is still strong compared to almost everyone else from the 80s.

Troublezone wrote:

In my opinion, Eric AK is the best vocalist from the thrash genre. He doesn’t have the same range as he did on the first few albums, but his voice is still strong compared to almost everyone else from the 80s.

Yes! Nobody really talks much about him as a great singer, and that's a shame because he is really good.

I can't believe I forgot about Erik. Wracking my brain, I don't think there's another thrash vocalist that tops his style.

Bobby Ellsworth is a strong contender, well, at least outside of those first few Overkill albums I suppose.

Troublezone wrote:

In my opinion, Eric AK is the best vocalist from the thrash genre. He doesn’t have the same range as he did on the first few albums, but his voice is still strong compared to almost everyone else from the 80s.

I think he is now much better than he was in the 80's or the 90's. His voice is now much stronger and charismatic than before.

Another singer who has been much better in this century than he was in the last century is Katon W. De Pena from Hirax. Not that he should be compared to Eric AK at all because he isn't a good singer like that, but compared to what he used to be he is lightyears away from what he was as a thrash vocalist. Hirax is an odd one out also because they've made better albums in the last two decades than anything they released in the 80's.

Rami Airola wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

In my opinion, Eric AK is the best vocalist from the thrash genre. He doesn’t have the same range as he did on the first few albums, but his voice is still strong compared to almost everyone else from the 80s.

I think he is now much better than he was in the 80's or the 90's. His voice is now much stronger and charismatic than before.

Another singer who has been much better in this century than he was in the last century is Katon W. De Pena from Hirax. Not that he should be compared to Eric AK at all because he isn't a good singer like that, but compared to what he used to be he is lightyears away from what he was as a thrash vocalist. Hirax is an odd one out also because they've made better albums in the last two decades than anything they released in the 80's.

I agree that AK still has a great voice, but nothing tops his range or power on No Place for Disgrace.

Yes AK is great as well. He always slips my mind.

Great heads up, Thrasher. Just listened to a few songs off of Forbiiden Evil. I'm sold !