Vocals: Joey Belladonna
Lead Guitar: Dan Spitz
Rhythm Guitar: Scott Ian
Bass: Frank Bello
Drums: Charlie Benante
Anthrax have been one of the most popular bands of the 80's thrash era, and Among the Living is some pretty cold hard proof. They have always made music that stands out from the rest of the metal pack, and Among the Living is a very unique listening experience. For me, this was my fourth pickup from Anthrax, but it really should have been my first. Spreading The Disease and Sound Of White Noise are pretty good introductions to the band, but Among The Living is the one recommended for the newbie.
The title track greets us first, and it starts with some nice lead and riff work from Dan Spitz and Scott Ian. Ian has always been one of thrash's top rhythm guitarists, and his playing sets the tone for this track, as well as much of the rest of the disc. The title track is based on The Stand (by Stephen King, for those of you living in caves), and it also features some nice bass runs from Frankie Bello and some pretty over-the-top drumming from Charlie Benante.
"Caught In A Mosh" feels like you are caught in a mosh, as the rhythm on this song with the rhythm guitar and rhythm section is standard fare for full-crowd moshing. The backing vocals are of the shouty variety, and these backing vocals are featured in many other sections of this disc. Joey Belladonna, as usual, is a treat to listen to on this song, with his somewhat high-pitched voice.
"I Am The Law" is easily the strongest song on this album, with one of the all-time best grooves thrash metal has seen this side of Overkill's best work. And that is exactly who comes to mind when I listen to this song, particularly to the rhythm section. The lyrics are about the story of Judge Dredd, which would later become a rather unpopular Sylvester Stallone movie, as the lyrics cover the story of Dredd in fine fashion. Some nice riffs also go into the chorus, as the groove continues. And once again, Belladoona's vocals really shine on this track, especially in the verses.
The title of "Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)" is pretty much "Nice fucking life!" backwards, and the song is of the faster variety. Once again, there is some very nice musicianship displayed by the rhythm section, as the rhythm of this song will make you bang your head nonstop.
"A Skeleton In The Closet" has some nice strafe riffing in the very beginning of it, and once again, leads into a rhythm standard for that full-crowd moshing. Once again, the shouty background vocals show up in the chorus, plus there is a nice groove in the chorus. Not the best song here, but it still is an excellent thrash song.
"Indians" is one of the strongest songs here, and this is one of Joey Belladonna's best vocal performances of his career, especially when "Die for the Indians!" is belted out in the chorus. Plus the rhythm guitar is at its strongest here. Perhaps the best song to form a circle pit in front of your stereo to on this disc.
"One World" has some nice lead guitar work and stutter riffing in the beginning intro, before leading into a nice groove for the rest of the song. Not a very fast song, but it's probably the second-best mid-tempo song here, and Belladonna hits some pretty high notes in the chorus.
"A.D.I./Horror Of It All" is acoustic-based at its onset, then it works into a lead and rhythm guitar based intro, then at about the 2:24 mark, there are a couple of nice bass runs from Frankie Bello. The bass runs here are the type that if you aren't listening for at first, you'll miss, but once you hear them, they sound pretty cool. They actually sound very cool. The rest of this song is fairly fast, and it does thrash metal in general proud.
"Imitation Of Life" has a very nice Overkill-based groove in the verses, then lead into fast drumming from Benante, working into a brutally heavy and fast bridge, particularly with the drumming and guitar playing. The singing in the bridge is also very fast. Then it works back into a nice strut during the chorus - probably the second-best groove-based track on this disc.
All of these tracks are the style that would cement Anthrax as legends of thrash metal, and are Anthrax at their creative, as well as musical peak. This is the first Anthrax album you should buy if you don't have anything from them - a great place to start!
Anthrax - We've Come For You All (84%)
Vocals: John Bush
Guitars: Scott Ian
Guitars: Rob Caggiano
Bass: Frankie Bello
Drums: Charlie Benante
Nice to have you back, guys. After a couple of disappointing albums - Stomp 442 and Volume 8: The Threat Is Real (I was far less impressed with Stomp than the tracks I heard from Volume 8, for anyone wondering), Anthrax have roared back with their best album with John Bush at frontman. This album isn't exactly thrash, but it is music we all know they are capable of making.
The music and rhythm is more groove based and the production is surprisingly good, considering how Anthrax is given credit as the main producers on this album. Almost every song is a highlight in some way, as most of the songs here are either excellent or very good. There is only one totally throwaway track "Black Dahlia", which lacks inspiration and direction, but that cannot be said about the rest of the tracks here. For anybody wondering, there are no collaborations with rappers, which in my opinion, is a good thing. "Contact/What Doesn't Die" greets us first, with the stutter riffing in the beginning of "What Doesn't Die" being very good. John Bush sounds incredibly inspired in the chorus of this song, and the rest of the band backs him very well with just as much inspiration. "Superhero" has a nice groove in the chorus, and "Refuse To Be Denied" does as well. The guitar playing is somewhat slower than the norm though.
"Safe Home" is a ballad, and got some airtime on my local active rock station, as this is probably as close to radio-safe as they get on WCFYA. It sounds a lot like "Black Lodge" (from The Sound Of White Noise). Charlie Benante's drumming in "Nobody Knows Anything" is some of the best I've heard from him since the Among The Living album, and check out the tribute to Judas Priest at the end of "Strap It On". It sounds a little like "Love Bites" (from Defenders Of The Faith). "Cadillac Rock Box" has a nice winding chorus, as well as some good rhythm guitar playing, while "Think About An End" and "W.C.F.Y.A." end the disc with a slight thrash edge. Two fairly unique songs, and a great way to end the album. Both tracks would also make a great ending to an Anthrax show, now that I think of it.
One of the best CD's of 2003, and a keeper at that!
Armored Saint - March Of The Saint (71%)
John Bush - vocals
Phil Sandoval - Guitars
Dave Pritchard - Guitars
Joey Vera - Bass
Gonzo Sandoval - Drums
Ahh, Armored Saint. The Band that would give us the current lead singer of Anthrax (John Bush) and current bassist of Fates Warning (Joey Vera). A good start for both guys and a good start for American Power Metal in general. But I do think that many critics overrate this album - I'll get to that later.
I just got done describing this album as American Power Metal, but I only said it because it sounds like America's response to Judas Priest at the time. The Tipton and Downing-style riffs are definitely there, but the drumming is a little faster than the Priest of that era, especially on tracks like "Madhouse", which was one of the few moshable traditional metal songs of the time, along with Iron Maiden's "Wrathchild". The vocals from Bush are very good, just not up to Rob Halford's ability and range. That's a small complaint, and for good reason. "March Of The Saint" has a good winding rhythm to it, "Can U Deliver" has great lyrics and good riffing, and "Take A Turn" is a powerful ballad. "Seducer" also has some decent riffs as well. Most of the second half is filler to me, though. Not bad sounding filler, but filler nonetheless.
While March Of The Saint has it's strengths, I would recommend picking up Symbol Of Salvation first, if you haven't heard any Armored Saint.
Death - Symbolic (83%)
Vocals/Lead Guitar: Chuck Schuldiner
Rhythm Guitar: Bobby Koelble
Bass: Kelly Corson
Drums: Gene Hoglan
This was my first Death album that I bought and I thought it was pretty good. But upon The Sound Of Perseverance being constantly in my CD player, this is no longer my favorite Death album. But that is a very small complaint, as most of the music on here is very good.
The music is very melodic and the production is very good, without the music straying toward the Gothenburg sound. I happen to prefer the Gothenburg sound a little better, though. There are also some head-spinning time changes, especially in songs like "Zero Tolerance" and the opening title track. Chuck Schuldiner still has a good voice at this point in his career, but he's given way to more of a scream. In other words, if you are expecting the growl that he displayed on Scream Bloody Gore and Leprosy, you're going to be disappointed. But his scream is just as effective as his growl.
Not to be outdone by his voice, this album and has some of the best guitar shredding by any death metal axeman. Check out the solos in "Sacred Serenity" and "Without Judgement" for some examples. But my favorite song from this album is "Misanthrope", which in my opinion has one of the best death metal choruses ever. Gene Hoglan handles the double-bass drumming with ease on this track and most others as well. "Crystal Mountain" is a strong track as well, with more awesome shredding.
This is still Death and the genre they helped invent, even with the more melodic elements. But fans of more brutal death metal like Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel may be disappointed by this release. Ahh well, it's their loss. I say, though, it's a rather fitting testament to the legacy that is Chuck Schuldiner (R.I.P.)
Death - The Sound Of Perseverance (91%)
Vocals/Lead Guitar: Chuck Schuldiner
Rhythm Guitar: Shannon Hamm
Bass: Scott Clendinin
Drums: Richard Christy
I first bought Symbolic from these guys, and I was very impressed. But The Sound Of Perseverance impresses me even more. Why? Because just about every facet of the band has improved on this album - more inspired songwriting and musicianship, and better-than-average production for a death metal band.
Like Symbolic, the music on The Sound Of Perseverance is very melodic, and the music is very agressive. There is less growling and more screaming on this album. Death, at this point in their career, may had found a better drummer in Richard Christy (Control Denied, Iced Earth), and Gene Hoglan was pretty tough to top. His drumming skills are way over-the-top, especially on songs like "Story To Tell" and their cover of Judas Priest's "Painkiller". Chuck Schuldiner showed he could shred with any axeman of any metal subgenre, as he proved in the instrumental "Voice Of The Soul". Very good stuff from one of the founding fathers of Death Metal. He actually put himself above Trey Azagthoth in many parts of this album, in my opinion. There are also some nice bass runs in the middle of "Scavenger Of Human Sorrow" and "Flesh (And The Power It Holds)", which add depth to both songs. Guitar playing is also very technical on songs like "Story To Tell" and the aforementioned "Flesh". All in all, this is a very complete melodic death metal release.
The only weakness on this album is their cover of Judas Priest's "Painkiller". They didn't quite butcher the song, but Chuck Schuldiner tried too hard to sound like Rob Halford, and not surprisingly, fell short. But the other parts of the song are very good - other than the messed-up vocals, it does Priest proud.
Death manages to be melodic without delving too much into the Gothenburg sound, and they do so in style on The Sound Of Perseverance. It's just too bad that Chuck Schuldiner died; he left us too soon.
Dream Theater - Awake (95%)
Vocals: James LaBrie
Guitars: John Petrucci
Bass: John Myung
Keyboards: Kevin Moore
Drums: Mike Portnoy
What an amazing piece of progressive metal! Some people say that Images & Words is their best album, but I think this is their best. This is their best because the album is full of variety, and features some great instrumental genius. Just imagine if you were given sheet music from guitarist John Petrucci as a novice guitarist yourself, you would never be able to figure out all the different song structures. Plus the drumming and bass playing is also top-notch. Overall, this is just a top notch album.
"6:00" greets us first, and the drumwork in the beginning of the song is just amazing. And vocalist James LaBrie, while not necessarily possessing great range, hits every note on this song crystal clear. The tempo is upbeat, and it's a great upbeat feeling that continues into the next songs, "Caught In A Web" and "Innocence Faded". These two songs are very melodic and have really good solo work from John Petrucci, plus some nice fill work from drummer Mike Portnoy. "Erotonamia" is an instrumental that features many time changes and many interesting parts, and is one of the few metal songs I can say where I love the keyboard work. "Voices" is of the slower variety and clocks in at over 9 minutes, but it is a very nice listen, because it features some of James Labrie's most emotional singing - a definte strong point.
Next is "The Silent Man", an acoustic-based ballad where you feel like you are in the studio with the band. James LaBrie's vocals shine again, as do the backing vocal harmonizing on this song. I didn't care for "The Mirror" and "Lie" because I thought that John Petrucci was trying to steal from Dimebag Darrell's riffset, but both songs have grown on me, because they are both headbanging, thrashy, and pretty good in the prog and songwriting category as well. "Lifting Shadows Off A Dream" is another great mellow song from DT, with more emotional-style vocals from LaBrie, and very well-written lyrics. "Scarred" is the only weak track on this song in my opinion, because little seems to change during the song, it just seems like DT meanders on and on for the 11 or so minutes of its length, beating the same parts to death. But that is a small complaint, because the album ends with the excellent "Space Dye Vest", which begins with a piano interlude and works into a very futuristic setting for almost the rest of the song, and it shows the tremendous variety and diversity that this band has.
Overall, the highlights are nonstop on this disc. This album is a can't miss for fans of power and progressive metal, and for metal fans in general. If you're a fan of intricate musicianship and songwriting - don't delay - pick up this album today!
