If anyone had doubts that Anthrax are still capable of making strong music, then here’s the proof.
Eight years on from their last album, We’ve Come For You All, and more than two decades since Joey Belladonna last sung with them in the studio, the band have returned with one of their finest albums.
Musically it takes the grinding power of We’ve Come… and adds the more clear-cut melodic approach of ’87’s classic Among The Living, plus a slight hint of industrial influence. The result is a powerful collection of songs which manage to be violently metallic yet sophisticated.
This isn’t Anthrax contriving a future by regrouping. Belladonna’s tuneful style complements the riffing virulence so well that it’s hard to imagine anybody else doing these songs justice. The overall impression is of a dangerous ferment of dirty-bomb explosive plus rousingly jagged, anthemic groove on the likes of Fight ’Em Till You Can’t, In The End and Judas Priest.
After a time in the wilderness, Anthrax are back – to their best.
