Anthrax

I had listened to Anthrax's music for years thinking that their best album was "Among the Living". When I found this album in all-time top100 list, I decided to buy. I had only heard the songs "Madhouse" and "Armed And Dangerous" before that. When the song "A.I.R." started the album I was amazed. "This is SO GREAT", I thought. The whole album went through and the final numbers "Medusa" and "Gung-Ho" proved that the purchase was worth money. This is one of the best thrash metal albums ever, and defintely the best Anthrax album although "Among the Living" is still a great album. This is defintely in my top list from now on.
Stars: Armed And Dangerous, Madhouse, A.I.R.

Anthrax has to be one of the most overrated thrash bands to come out the '80s and this album is really the best one they ever made.

Charlie Benante is great on drums but Dan Spitz is just a lousy guitarist. Anthrax's solos pretty much just suck! Joey Belladonna is OK but his whinning voice gets old.

A.I.R. and Madhouse are the two best songs on the album. The rest is OK but I find Anthrax to be just overrated in comparison to other thrash such as Pantera or Slayer. Good riffs; decent vocals and drums; mostly dum lyrics; and, simply lousy solo work. Makes me think of a decent garage band you invite for a summer block party with beer kegs. After a few beers the music starts sounding really great for a mosh with friends but that's about it.

This is a great thrash album from Anthrax, its fast and energetic but also has alot of melody. What separates Anthrax from the rest of the thrash groups were their ability to sound different and not to mention their great and memorable songs like Madhouse, Gung Ho, A.I.R ect. Its hard to believe that this album was released in 1985 during the height of hair metal and yet this sounds nothing like those corny hair or glam metal bands, Anthrax's songs are very hard hitting and they just simply rock without having any gimmicks and Joey's singing was brilliant much better than that first guy from their debut album. The best songs are Madhouse which was their biggest hit and it has some killer riffs I also liked Medusa which was a very catchy song as well as A.I.R and Gung Ho and the ballad song Armed and dangerous which also manages to thrash at the end. Anthrax were a great group and they were definitely ahead of their time along with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer who managed to influence alot of heavy metal groups during the 80's so if you want the best thrash album from the 80's then you can't go wrong with this album, make sure that you also get Anthrax's third album Among The Living if you liked this.

this 1985 masterpiece from anthrax is the follow up to fistfull of metal,both are high quality metal discs,this disc is awesome!this disc along with others kickstarted the thrash/speed metal scene which had been growing since the early 80`s,to me this disc has it`s place in metal lore,along with slayer,metallica megadeath,exodus,known as the big 5 that basically changed the world of heavy music.this is a classic disc and anthrax is a classic band,

This album showcases Anthrax in their glory. This music was my introduction to metal. Before I heard Anthrax I thought metal was all cheezy hair glam bands on MTV. Anthrax showed me how to rock. This album is one of their best and definately a metal classic. It manages to be melodic and yet blisteringly fast at the same time.

"Among the Living" just hasn't aged very well. Charlie's drumming has always been a personal favorite, and the bass and rhythm guitar work of Anthrax has always been well above par. But Dan Spitz has always been, well... lacking, as a thrash solo guitar player. He's not bad, just not all that great. Certainly better than the pre-marty Friedman Megadeth days, and at least on a par with Kirk "don't ever step off that wah pedal" Hammett... Kerry King's and Jeff Hanneman's maniacal mayhem solos are of a whole different caliber...

That, and, I hate to say it... but I just don't like Joey Belladona as a vocalist. He doesn't have a bad voice, just one that has always seemed out of place with the music, at least to me. And lyrics... well, we all knew Anthrax was far sillier than the rest of the 1980's thrash legends... but that has been a large part of their downfall over time. Seriously, listen to "Indians" or "I Am the Law"... they're a little TOO silly for a thrash band, at least for me.

Still a classic, still a must own, and definitely still a landmark among 1980's thrash, just a bit dated and flawed.

This album is the best of Anthrax. Belladonna's high flying vocals, Benante's pounding drums, and Scott Ian's punch you in your face guitar work make this a thrash metal classic!! Classic songs like Caught In A Mosh, I Am The Law, and the title track are speed metal anthems!! Enjoy!!, I sure as hell did!!

Anthrax has to be one of the most overrated thrash bands to come out the '80s and this ablum is a prime example.

Charlie Benante is probably the best musician in the band but I can't say much for the rest. Scott Ian and Dan Spitz have good main riffs but there is no skill whatsoever in lead guitars. Anthrax's solos just suck, period! Joey Belladonna is OK but his whinning voice just gets irritating after a while.

In terms of lyrics, this album shows a talent of close to zero. In "Indians" Belladonna sings 'Cry for the Indian!'; please! Cry for the Indian? This is thrash! You don't sing about crying for anything unless it's about some pioneer woman crying for mercy as she's getting raped and scalped by a pissed off Comanche. A sad excuse for an Indian Apology song compared to Maiden's 'Run to the Hills' and that's not even thrash metal. If I'd want to hear a song asking me to cry about something I'd be a Bon Jovi fan instead! "Efilnikcufecin." Wow! You can recite nice f***in life backwards: creative backward messages there dude! If I want to know more about Belushi's life I'll just watch 'Animal House' as that sums it up quite well and is a lot more entertaining than this song. "Caught In A Mosh." I can see the creative flow for this song, "Dude! Let's write a mosh song about a mosh and call it 'Caught in a Mosh'!" Wow, there's genius talent for you! For mosh songs I prefer more creative stuff like Pantera's 'Death Rattle' from Reinventing the Steel or just Slayer's 'Angel of Death' will do. "I Am The Law." Oh please not a comic book character song! It's about as exciting as the original Batman TV title song and about as bad as the Dredd movie that followed with Sly. The album came out when I was a teen and I thought this song was infantile even then! 'Skeletons in the Closet' is probably the best song on this album.

Anyway, Anthrax had a good start with Spreading the Disease but just became one of the most overrated thrash bands in history and this ablum is proof. Good riffs; decent vocals and drums; dum lyrics; and, simply lousy solo work. Makes me think of a decent garage band you invite for a summer block party with beer kegs. After a few beers the music starts sounding really great for a mosh with friends but that's about it.

This was (and still is) one of the greats in my library of thrash music. Anthrax really got into their groove on this album and everyone in the band was firing all cylinders. Heavy guitars, drums, and bass, along with Belladonna's vocals = excellent release.

Drawing themes from the horror fiction of Stephen King ("Among the Living" and "Skeletons in the Closet") and Judge Dredd comics ("I am the Law"), the band presented here a lively, unique metal sound that was quite infectious and energizing to listen to. This was one of my favorite morning wake-up calls before school, along with a Mountain Dew or a Jolt Cola (when we could find them). Good stuff!

Very simply put, this is one of the best metal albums by one of the best metal bands of all time!

This product had excellent shipping time. It came very fast. To make it even better, it came to 11 dollars even and had no scratches at all on the cd. There was however a crack on the case and the case doesn't stay together, but that doesn't really affect it at all.

I am by no means an Anthrax lover or follower. However, I rank this album up there with "Master of Puppets" and "Rust In Peace" if I want an album to get my adrenaline up. This is a [...]-kicking, awesome-sounding heavy metal album. It is guaranteed you will lift 10 extra pounds more in the weight room or not need your coffee in the morning after listening to this album. Every song is great except "Eighteen" (which I skip over).

Warning though- this album does sound way different than many other Anthrax albums, including there more popular album, "Among the Living". That is probably why I like this album ;-).

Anthrax's "Fistful of Metal" isn't a bad debut, it has some good stuff on it, but at the same time it doesnt stand up to the other Thrash Debut classics such as Metallica's "Kill Em All" Exodus "Bonded by Blood", Slayers "Show no Mercy", Overkills "Feel the Fire" and Kreators "Endless Pain". All of the previous albums I mentioned are four to five star efforts and have easily stood the test of time. "Fistful of Metal" sounds more like a Demo, and it let it also be known that Joey wasnt the vocalist here, he didnt come until the following album "Spreading the Disease" Still, out of the ten tracks, five of them are very enjoyable. "Deathrider", "Panic" "Metal Thrashing Mad", "Subjector", "Death From Above" are classic, and the cover of Alice Coopers "18" is decent, so that is five strong tracks, one decent song, and four songs that are god-awful. But hey, not all bands can release a decent debut, and you are talking back in the day when most of these debuts were all on Indie labels. Megaforce, Metalblade, and Combat records were all small independent Metal labels back then, and the bands just didnt have the pull like they do today to get singed, such as internet and reality shows, so I do give the band some credit here, but still, its not even close to the masterpiece of "Among the Living", but still worth to add to your Anthrax collection, and I would add this over the awful "Volume 8, the Threat is Real" or the mediorce "Stomp 442".

This album is the one that did it for me. Thrash at it's best! Vocals that are at times powerful, to Rob Halford screams. This is still my favorite Anthrax album. I saw them on their Spreading the Disease Tour and though Joey can sing, Neil's vocal style suits the heaviness better. Just my opinion. The songs are fast (Panic, Metal Thrashing Mad) to a heavy driving rhythm (Death from Above)...my favorite. It's not a Spreading the Disease or Among the Living album, it's more raw.

The reviewer James Prosser stated that it sounds like mp3's were used when doing this reissue. I have been thinking the same thing the past year or so that I've owned this.

It makes me think that we are truly living in a sad age when music is done on the cheap, and that fans seem to be just as apathetic as the musicians themselves.

Not all is terrible, at least metal is on the upswing again, but its releases like this that are truly showing its a scary time in music.

The album? Its classic early thrash seasoned with some incredible hooks and vocals.

This "remaster"? It seems like they took the original songs, compressed them into mp3 format (or similar) and smooshed them onto the cd.

I am 100 % serious with this assumption. As someone who has downloaded thousands of mp3s, but also owns thousands of cds, tapes and records, I know the difference between the two.

Too bad the people behind this rerelease pulled a fast one with this.

Production is thick, sludgy and just plain terrible... even worse than the notoriously sludgy wall of sound that Metallica achieved on "Justice". The songs are mostly long, not very inspired and tend to blend together too easily. Anthrax just sounds kind of tired on this disc.

Which is odd, as it's not that bad, taken song by song. Listen to just "Antisocial", or "Now it's Dark". Really pretty good songs, taken one by one. As an album, however, it just all tends to blur together into a bombastic wall of fuzzy grit... and not in a good way.

Still very worth a listen, and worh owning. Easily picked up used in local used CD exchange type stores... which also shows how well it's stood the test of time for repeated listening over the years. Unless you're huge into Anthrax, or just love that thick, bad 1980's production, it MAY gather dust in your collection.

Don't listen to the other negative reviews for this album. State Of Euphoria is a classic & next to Among The Living is Anthrax' best work. This is coming from someone who loved 'em from the very beginning (I remember going to an early release party for this album just to pick up the cassette, if that doesn't give you an idea of my age:P). The entire album is filled with pure anthems from "Be All, End All", "Make Me Laugh", "Who Cares Wins", "Sciczm" to pretty much anything else on the entire album. My best guess is that the majority of these negative reviews are coming from pimple popping teeny boppers who a couple months ago were all over Brittany's latest album & probably didn't even know who Anthrax were until it started to become cool to wear their t-shirts again (with their women's jeans; how the hell did that ever take off). Hell these kids testies probably just dropped. Take it from someone who was there from the beginning, whose still there now; this album rocks from beginning to end & deserves to be highlighted among any self respecting metal heads collection. BUY THIS ALBUM!!!

I own all the Belladonna years material (don't bother with the John Bush stuff). I really don't understand why the fans dog this album. This album showed their serious side, but also retained their goofiness. Perfect balance. It boggles my mind that everyone is trashing the song '13'. It's a quick little fun instrumental ditty, but people treat it like Anthrax was going for something big with it. If you're new to Anthrax I'd say pick up this one and Spreading the Disease first. Disease has bad production, though, so I'd say get this one first. Among the Living is far overrated.

Many grief that this is Anthrax's worst album. For the record, I agree but its not so bad that its stands out being total [...]. While most of the songs are average at best, Finale and Be All, End All are very enjoyable. Music of complexity and I like that.

I bought State Of Euphoria the night of FuMaR's inevitable last show. When I popped that sucker in, I was instantly hooked by that awesome cello intro on Be All, End All. That celloist, without a doubt, must be on the top 10 list or something, it is that good. Anyway, Anthrax's SOE is my favorite album by them or anybody, and it will remain so for years to come. I will give you a rundown of all 10 amazing tracks right now.

Be All, End All - A catchy tune that will leave you begging for more cello.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind - This song proves that Scott Ian is metals worst, and yet best, rythm guitarist out there.

Make me Laugh - my second least favorite track on SOE

Antisocial - my least favorite track on SOE

Who Cares Wins - this song contains Dan Spitz's best solo in his entire career, I am listening to it right now and it is good.

Now It's Dark - Incredible. This song has an outright addictive shout-a-long chorus and a sort of off tempo verse.

Schism - my favorite song on this Cd and by Anthrax in general. Spitz's breaks out the arsenal on this one.

Misery Loves Company - This song showcases Charlie Benante's best drumming performance in Anthrax. He really knows how to use a china.

13 - A funny little break from the madness until...

Finale - Anthrax's best closer to date. Scott Ian craps it up with the best rythm in the land. Guitar virtuoso Spitz's whips up some big cheese. Charlie pounds his bass drum of doom. Frank Bello thumps his bottom of steel. Joe Belladonna tears his vocal chords of chasmatic chaos. I love Anthrax.

In short - This is Anthrax's BEST album. If anyone wants to talk about how bad it is compared to Among The Living, I dare you to listen to this album twice for everytime you listen to ATL. This is Dan Spitz's and Charlie Benante's best musicianship ever and I love it. Over, finished, gone, done, out.

The JMAN

the mastering job on this is pretty sweet. there's not a bad cut on here. if you're an old fan or someone curious about the beginnings of thrash, this is one to pick up. anthrax definetly held up their own against metallica, megadeth and slayer. plus they are one of the only thrash bands that had a sense of humour in their music. mosh on!

All you could ask for in one package. This is the ultimate collection - a must have!

This is an excellent cd to add to your collection if your one of those true die hard Anthrax fans! "No Hit Wonders 1985-1991" takes you all the way back to the beginning from "Armed and Dangerous" to "Attack Of The Killer B's". Great songs such as "A.I.R", "Efinkufsin (N.F.L.) and "Be All, End All" is all you old schoolers would want to hear on a 2 disc cd.

THRASH LIKE AN ATHELETE!!

all i can say is you gotta buy this because its anthrax and its makes me want to jump up and down and make out with people i don't care what kind of metal your into you gotta like and respect anthrax so even if your not a big fan you need this at least

If you liked the Joey days, you'll like having all the old tunes re-mastered and sounding better than ever. I did enjoy this cd for what it is, however truth be told, I much prefer Jon Bush as their frontman as his voice is a thousand times better than Joey's ever was.

Pick up The Greater of Two Evils as it features classic Anthrax tunes done right and while your at it, pick up We've Come for You All and Sound Of White Noise. All of these are awesome cd's from a band that has gotten no credit over the years.

First of all this is my favorite Anthrax album because of the production and heaviness of the record. Songs like "Keep it in the family", and "Blood" get me in a mood in which you just want to go destroy something. This is not as fast as Among the living but after State of euphoria this is a very welcome album. Oddly enough I think Korns debut album was influenced alot by Benantes drums and Bellos bass, just a opinion, anyway this is a must have!

I think so. Far darker than anything prior, and more mature (overall). Joey's vocals even seem to be in a slightly better register, not as piercing as before. The whole band just seemed tight and focused, even though Joey's departure and a whole new sound would emerge within the next two years...

The songs are longer than typical for ANthrax, but don't drag. Darker subject matter, written about in a more serious vein than usual, as well. Not that the fun is all gone... the killer cover of Joe Jackson's "Got the Time" is an absolute blast, and Frank Bello shows that bass players CAN be a good thing in metal (for once)!

Personal favorite, the last track "Discharge"... an awesome and slightly underrated album. Start here first, then move on to "Among the Living".

This is the last album that Anthrax did before kicking out their lead singer Joey Belladonna. On the next album they went for a more fashionable sound, and while that album was a huge success, it lacks soul when compared to Persistence of Time.

While it's not excessively dark or fast, Persistence of Time is heavy in a more profound way, this album has such a great attitude. Belladonna's voice fits perfectly and I feel that firing him may have been their biggest mistake.

Anthrax without Belladonna just isn't Anthrax any more.

After several very successful years in the 1980's, including releasing what many consider their best album (1987's "Among The Living"), Anthrax were at the peak of their career. The problem with this, though, is that they had a lot to live up to. And while some bands would have crumbled beneath the pressure, or just made a simple rehash of a past album, Anthrax released yet another solid album, "Persistence Of Time." This disc, which was their first album of the 1990's, was also the group's last studio effort with singer Joey Belladonna.

Most of the speed punk beats that "Among The Living" had are gone from these songs, as are the shout-along choruses. But "Persistence Of Time" retains the catchy songs and buzzsaw guitar riffs. And Joey still chooses to sing his vocal parts, so most of these songs have a melodic edge on them. This album is also noteworthy for arguably being Joey's finest hour from a lyrical standpoint, as they have clearly gotten quite a bit smarter and more mature and profound. (Political statements -- like anti-hatred and prejudicism -- is the main theme here.)

The album's first track, "Time," is about the only song on here with punk-ish drumming. This song also features punching riffs and catchy vocals. "Keep It In The Family" is slower its surrounding songs, with a mid-tempo rhythm, slowly grinding riffs, and a sluggish drum beat. The next song, "In My World," which has an inherent groove with surging guitars, thumping drums, and a memorable chorus, is very catchy. Elsewhere, "Gridlock" has blistering fast riffs and a winding guitar solo, "Intro To Reality" is entirely instrumental, "Got The Time" has a very punk-like feel to it, and, lastly, the album ends with "Discharge," which has chug and churning riffs and machine gun drums.

"Persistence Of Time" loses some points for recycled, repetitive riffs and overly long songs (making some tunes, like "H8 Red," become rather boring). But, all in all, this disc is worth your time and money if you're a speed metal or Anthrax freak. It's not a classic, but it still makes for a very enjoyable, worthy listen.

This is by far Anthrax's most complex album. Kinda like their "...And Justice For All" but with a better production. If you like progressive thrash metal, you're bound to like this record.

I love this CD! Every track is great. Excellent job by Anthrax!

This album one any true anthrax fan would want. This is a monster album, with heavy guitar licks and riffs, and the speed that we all have come to expect from Anthrax. The new five man line up featured on the album also places back the depth that was lost after the sound of white noise album. With songs like "Think about an End" and "Any Place but Here", modern hard rock/metal bands get a display of why guitar solos will always have a place in metal. All of the songs are really excellent. So go ahead, splurge and buy this album, you will not be disappointed.

Anthrax misses a bit with this one. I find "We've Come For You All" to be on the slow side", for Anthrax anyway. Tracks such as "What doesn't Die" start out great but don't seem to take off. I guess I was a bit disappointed with this album. From other reviews I thought is was going to blast out hard record. And for Anthrax it just seems a bit slowed down. I will say that as whole there is not a bad song on the record. It is definitely a tightly recorded album and it does rock, it rocks hard, but it doesn't thrash. Anthrax definitely went with more of a hard rock feel on this release.

I will say that I am comparing this record to the other John Bush albums and not the Belladonna era. The Belladonna era was Anthrax's trash period. When Bush joined the band they got heavier but lost a bit of their speed. This is fine with me because I actually like John Bush's vocals with Anthrax more than Belladonna. John Bush has a really powerful voice. All one has to do is listen to any of Armored Saints material and his power can be heard. In my opinion "Sound of White Noise is the best album Anthrax has done with Bush. Tracks like "Room For One More" just shred. That's my problem with "We've Come For You All" there is not one song on the album that is as heavy as "Room For One More" of "Only" or even "Hypro Glow". John Bush's vocals in my opinion are the strongest aspect on the record. He can still belt out hard.

I do not think this album is bad by any means. I do enjoy it but it's just a bit more of a laid back Anthrax. It does have some really catchy grooves to it. This record is a heavy just not extremely heavy for Anthrax. The songs are creative though and this album has a strong diversity of tracks. It's not bland in any way. My advice to anyone who is not too familiar with Bush era Anthrax to not start here, I will say however that I did see Anthrax with John Bush and they still play their old school material extremely fast and hard. Their live show has not slowed down a bit.

I love Anthrax and have every one of their albums, but is anyone else sick and tired of Scott Ian's two note riffs????

Anthrax has had a couple of bad albums since "Sound of White Noise" and this one might be the best release since "Among the Living" It seems that Anthrax has finally balances themsleves as a True Metal Band again, and not this album doesn't contain the usual slower "Filler Material" like some of the past albums. No, its not as Heavy as the 1980's stuff, yet it is a good solid Metal Record. Its got some slower Stuff (yet still Hard) and some good "Thrash" Tunes. So I guess this is a little bit of everything for every type of Metal Fan. If you want to hear "the Newer Anthrax" Material, this is the one to start with.

I've been an Anthrax fan ever since I picked up "Sound of White Noise" over ten years ago. I became interested in this album after I heard "Crush" and "Inside Out" on their first greatest hits compilation, and for the most part I was pleased with it. I know that this album is one of their most overlooked, but there are some real gems here. "Inside Out" is a great metal song, and songs like "Hog Tied", "Big Fat", "Killing Box" and "Born Again Idiot" are good, straight ahead rockers which fit in well with the overall tone of the album. "Stealing From a Thief" is one of my favorite tracks, as it immediately pulls you in with an awesome riff. "Harm's Way" is another song that really grew on me with its hooks and choruses, as well as the passion that the band seemed to put into it. "Toast to the Extras" and "Pieces" feel very out of place, but I can understand that the band wanted to try a few different things, and I can't fault them for that. I feel that Anthrax has already embedded themselves as among metal's best, so to experiment with a different sound here and there is no big deal. Throughout the album, singer John Bush (who I believe remains one of the most underrated vocalists in metal today) is able to perfectly adjust his tone to match the mood of each song. The lack of guitar solos is also a little bit of a bummer.
Overall, this a good, solid metal album that most Anthrax fans will enjoy. I recommend it, especially the remastered edition, which includes a great cover of Radiohead's "The Bends".

the album starts weak with the boring & simple song "Crush" which is followed by "Catharsis", maybe the best song on the album but not that good compared to other bands. "Inside Out" is next and sounds like Anthrax try to be KORN, a lame boring & cheesy song. P&V is simply unlistenable, bad rhythm, bad riff, annoying vocals, 604 is good but short, "A Toast To The Extras" is definitely the worst song of Anthrax's career, after trying to attract popfans they even tried to attract country-fans with this cheesy song. do they even know which fan-base they wanna have? "Born Again Idiot" is unlistenable, they forced themselves to write a thrash-song and it is really bad, the drums sound like someone is swabing the deck, unbelievable annoying vocals from John Bush. "Killing Box" is lame, boring & cheesy like most other songs on this cd. "Harms Way" is ok but not that good, slow, boring & ok-melody, "Hog Tied" is one of their Pantera-wannabe songs, it has nice groove, melody and a listenable chorus, "Big Fat" is slow, boring & cheesy, "Cupajoe" is short but sweet like S.O.D., "Alpha Male" is cheesy, boring & unmelodic, "Stealing From A Thief", another one of their Pantera-wannabe songs is cheesy, slow, boring, unmelodic and could be used instead of sleeping pills like 80% of the songs on this album. Volume 8 is definitely the lowest point of Anthrax's career!

I have been an Anthrax fan since the early eighties. I still can't figure out how Metallica has always been more popular. Anthrax, with John Bush on vocals, is in my opinion what metal is all about. Anthrax never falls into that cookie cutter thrash riffing, or lyrics about some science-fiction fantasy that you can't relate to. No, Anthrax have been and will always be a bunch of regular guys, putting out some of the best sounding, never taking themselves too serious, metal out there. I find Metallica more one-dimentional than Anthrax. Volume 8, in my opinion, along with Stomp 442 (I know many may disagree), are Anthrax and metals finest moments...Enjoy!

The threat is real, and it kicks a**.

Overall just a good, solid metal album.

Originally released in 1998, Volume 8: the Threat Is Real was the third album of "the Bush era". I was always aware of Anthrax growing up, but aside from their goofball "I'm the Man" single, the band never really made much of an impact on me until they replaced vocalist Joey Belladonna with Armored Saint's John Bush. Bush's energetic and intense yet still melodic vocal style just seemed like such a better fit for Anthrax's brand of thrash, and I still view that lineup's debut - 1993's Sound of White Noise - as the best Anthrax album ever.

Volume 8 is the band's first album since being unceremoniously dumped by their record company. Some have argued that the previous two Anthrax albums (1993's Sound of White Noise and 1995's Stomp 442) were mediocre efforts, causing the label to kick the band loose. Anyone can listen to either of those albums and come away unimpressed needs to have their heads examined! Volume 8 is another high-octane performance by the new and improved Anthrax, and picks up right where Stomp 442 left off. It is undeniably a metal album, albeit a more diverse one than previous efforts. You certainly wouldn't have found a country-esque song like "Toast to the Extras" on Among the Living! Guest appearances by Pantera's Phil Anselmo and Dimebag Darrell reinforce Volume 8's metal credentials

Anthrax is a band that gets smarter and more creative with each release, yet still manages to maintain their "metal thrashing mad" aggression. Volume 8 may seem a bit uneven at times, but with so many tracks there are bound to be a few "off" moments. Still, the fact remains that an average Anthrax song is still going to be better than many other bands' best efforts.

The 2003 reissue of Volume 8 features three bonus tracks, four if you count the fact that the previously hidden (and incredibly powerful) song "Pieces" is now a separate track. In addition to a new studio track called "Giving the Horns", the band gives us another pair of diverse covers - Radiohead's "the Bends" and DRI's "Snap/I'd Rather Be Sleeping". When it comes to cover songs, Anthrax never ceases to amaze me with their unorthodox choices. How many other metal bands will cover both Iron Maiden and Radiohead? If you're one of the faithful who bought Volume 8 the first time around, you may want to consider replacing your old version.

The only album I owned of theirs for a long time. A varied and haphazard compilation, B's is explicitly awesome. The gang from NYC jam on punk, rap, thrash, TV show theme songs and more. My song faves have changed throughout the years, but if I wanna listen to Anthrax this is the first album I go to. Joey left after this, John took over and it stopped being fun for me. I guess I like it when metal makes me laugh.

1) Milk - 2nd best song. Pre Anthrax hardcore. Joey's vocals are awesome and the half-time breakdown is epic. The guitar solo. The fake ending. My Cheerios are no longer the same.
2) Bring The Noise - The reason I bought this album. These guys aren't great rappers, but Chuck f'ing D sure is. "Sonny Bono...Yoko Ono!" Best song here. Groundbreaking.
3) Keep It In The Family - The better of the 2 live songs here. Not the best Anthrax song, but it keeps the 7+ minutes interesting. I always thought it was about incest.
4) Startin' Up A Posse - Used to be in the top 3. Still the song most hated by my parents. Between the sampled sex sounds, background chants and Bonanza, this song's priceless.
5) Protest And Survive - Too much repetition. Probably the hardest song here, but the sameness bores me. It needs a breakdown!
6) Chromatic Death - Again, nothing spectacular. So short it doesn't have time to go anywhere. The guitar sounds like bees (or B's), which is fitting.
7) I'm The Man '91 - I heard this version first and loved it. Then I heard the superior original. Has some great Beastie Boys beats, though. Plus a couple Blue Velvet quotes.
8) Parasite - A Kiss song! Definitely top 5. Kiss sucks, but there's some sweet covers out there. Again, I love when they break it down. It's my favorite part of thrash music.
9) Pipeline - This album is nutty. Surf-rock gone oh, so heavy. An instrumental that seems way too short. One of the better songs here, due to its randomness.
10) Sects - A new fave of mine. A French hardcore song about Jim Jones. Wha!? I wonder if the original is in French. Great tempo changes. "I die you die, don't ask why."
11) Belly Of The Beast - My least favorite. The chorus is so annoying to me. Unlike the other live song, this one shouldn't be over 6 minutes.
12) N.F.B. (Dallabnikufesin) - Kitchen sink time. Is it a White Lion cover? No...but it's the power ballad apex they were probably searching for. Not the best, not the worst.

OK this product can be looked at in two ways. Either simply for it's music or in a wider context.

Firstly the music. Based just on this there isn't a lot here to make this a mandatory purchase for your averagle metalhead. A few live numbers and a few covers of varying levels of interest. It would really be up to the individual to decide what ones they prefer. Apart from that this disc has a few Anthrax curiosities for the completist though they are mostly joke tunes.

Secondly the wider context. That is that this disc was billed as an EP despite clocking in at over 40 minutes. Many bands would call this an album. Anthrax have here put together a nifty little package aimed squarely at their fans. This was never intended to be treated as the next Anthrax album -as the liner notes state - and any fan of this band who approaches this release in the right frame of mind will be rewarded with an amusing and worthwhile package of curios. Pluse the liner notes are genuinely useful and interesting.

Three stars - an average of two stars for the music alone is worth and the four stars the idea and band behind this release deserve for this useful 'round up' of odds and sods from the vault.

For the newcomer, no way. For the fan, for sure, snap it.

Anthrax, thrash metal, fun. Yes, we know.

Now, what about the material on the disc? Overall, its pretty good. "Milk (Ode To Billy)" is about a boy who wants milk for his cereal. It sounds like standard Anthrax song. Meshing the goofyness with the sonic aggression brings a smile to my face. The rest of the album proceeds in a similar tasteful fashion. For the most part...

The live tracks are okay, but they throw off the momentum of the studio tracks. And the re-make of "I'm the Man" blows.

But man, the rest of the material is quite good. Any fan of the band, or even just any sort of faster-than-average metal, should consider adding this to their collection at some point.

I am no much familiar with Anthrax discography but I own this album and I really like it.Bring The Noise (with Public Enemy) is a killer,Keep It In The Family and Belly Of The Beast are also very successfull, the other songs in the album are not bad.

Startin' Up A Posse is one of the all time greatest songs, so make sure you get the version of this CD that contains the song. All the songs are fun to listen to, even though I was never really a fan of Persistance of Time that much. Long live OLD ANTHRAX!

Anthrax, along with Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth were the 4 bands that converted me into a metalhead in the 80's. They always seemed to produce consistent headbanging material. However, I was a little concerned that this consistency would be broken when I heard that John Bush would be replacing Joey Belladonna at lead vocals for the 1993 release "The Sound of White Noise." Once I heard the album, I was concerned no more.

Believe it or not, I instantly preferred Bush's vocals. Every album that Joey appeared on was solid and consistent and followed the basic headbanging formula. Not that this is a bad thing, but Anthrax never really seemed to stray too far from the norm. John Bush brought a level of maturity with him and "The Sound of White Noise" became their most mature album up to that point.

With this album, Anthrax dared to challenge themselves with more complex song arrangements, much deeper melodies, and more thought provoking lyrics. It's almost as though Joey was holding them back from expanding out of the thrash box that they were in. Bush's vocals are tremendous and allow for more powerful choruses and hook lines. Each song is as memorable as the next with plenty of headbanging material to go around. However, songs like Packaged Rebellion and Black Lodge are unlike any previous Anthrax songs, but are just as great. Other high points are Potter's Field, Hy Pro Glo, Invisible, and Room For One More.

Do I think this is the best Anthrax album? It depends on my mood. If I'm looking for straight up headbanging with killer riffs and pounding drums, I prefer Among The Living. If I'm looking for the entire package, The Sound of White Noise satisfies all of my metal cravings.

As with any review, these are my opinions and not everybody will agree with them which is what makes these reviews so much fun. Enjoy!

Anthrax fans can be lumpers or splitters; splitters consider there to be four anthraxes, lumpers only one. I tend to think of two Anthraxes; a Belldonna Anthrax and a Bush Anthrax. "Sound" is the first album of the Bush reign. Bush's voice is much deeper than Belladonna's, one of the reasons that I think of two separate Anthraxes. The writing of "SOWN" accommodates that difference well.

Many believe that John Bush's voice forced the band to take a more mature approach to their music, eliminating comic books, Stephen King and Mythology as their muses. However, a relisten to P"ersistence of Time" will show anyone that the boys were already headed in that direction. "POT" and "SOWN" actually transition well together because of this. In fact, C11H17N2Na02S (the chemical formula for sodium penthanol, a.k.a. truth serum) sounds like a leftover from "Persistence", and one could easily imagine Joey singing the song. Both albums veer away from the high-pitched speed riffs of the earlier albums and emphasize the rhythm section (Charlie and Frankie).

While I will not speculate as to whether I like Belladonna or Bush better, I will say that this is the best effort of the Bush Anthrax. Most metal fans will have heard the "hits": "Black Lodge", "Only" and "Room for One More", but "Hy Pro Glo", "Potter's Field" and "1000 Points of Hate" are just as strong. Music fans wishing to explore Anthrax should start with "Among the Living", still the best `thrax album, and "Sound" and compare the two lead singers themselves. Luckily, the greatest back-up singer in history, Scott Ian, is a constant on both!

i really licked the music on this album, but i wish they would go back and remaster it though. the sound quality on this album sucked big time. there is alot of distortion that can't be fine tuned out on any stereo system.

The excitement of a new singer copules with the fact that it was released at the height of the grunge revolution put this album on the radar screens of many metal heads. Just what would it sound like?

IMHO;

This is an Anthrax stripped of much of their likeability. From the packaging to the generic feel to the albums tunes this is an Anthrax taking the opportunity to divest themselves of the hysterical delivery style of the Belladonna years. And John Bush rocks. What a voice, what a down to earth way of vocalising these metal musings.

That's not to say I like the end result. And I don't. Which I realise puts me out of synch with accepted wisdom on this album which was seen as a rebirth. Well it was, but not into something to my taste. John Bush yes. But the overheavy tunes, well no thanks. Right from the opener of Potters Field this album just doesn't gel with me. To my ears it feels like the band were trying to come to terms with the new vocal style they were writing for.

But don't take my word for it, read some other reviews before blowing your cash. After all I didn't hear this until after hearing the second Bush era release Stomp 442. Which was awesome. So going in reverse order to this perhaps explains my being underwhelmed by this critically adored, hard and heavy offering.

After building a name for themselves amongst the thrash world in the 1980's and helping to pioneer the rap-rock crossover with Public Enemy in 1991, Anthrax were at the peak of their career. The problem with this, though, is that the band had a lot at stake (and a lot to live up to) when the time came to record their sixth studio album (which was also their first with singer John Bush) in 1993. But Anthrax weathered the storm and released "Sound of White Noise," an album which isn't just another great `Thrax record, but arguably the best of their career! Even though there aren't any shout-alongs on this album, every song is superbly catchy and highly energetic. Plus, "Sound of White Noise" really captures Anthrax's classic sound: fast, chainsaw riffs, chunky, churning rhythms, wailing guitar solos, speed punk beats, and fairly melodic vocals. "Black Lodge" is a big standout track. It's much slower than the other songs, but it's not a typical, depressing ballad because Anthrax add their own ingredients to it (like spaghetti-western guitars and synthesizers). Other standout tracks include "Only," "Hy Pro Glo," "1000 Points of Hate," the very speedy ninth track, and "Burst" (which features machine gun riffs and a wah-wah solo). Granted, because this disc is eleven tracks and fifty-six minutes in length, some of the songs are overly long, but other than that, there is nothing to dislike here. All thrash and Anthrax fans are highly encouraged to add "Sound Of White Noise" to their collections.