In the 1980s, Anthrax rested, arguably, at the bottom of the Big Four totem pole. When they wanted to be, they could be just as dark, political and technical as their contemporaries Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, but they were really a different animal.
Aside from being the only member of the Big Four not born on the West Coast, Anthrax was made up of a group of oddball guys who liked to have fun and be goofy from time to time. Whether it be a rap song where a band member messed up the rhymes at the end of each verse (“I’m the Man”) or a twangy, Western-inspired ode to Tipper Gore and the PMRC (“Startin’ Up a Posse”), the New York boys didn’t always take themselves so seriously. Perhaps the fact that they were open to doing funny things their partners in crime were not ultimately led some in the uber-serious thrash crowd to not take Anthrax quite as seriously as those other three.
When it comes to staying power, though, none of those other bands have been able to hang with Anthrax. Over the course of their last three records, Anthrax has consistently produced far better music than any of their contemporaries, and I might argue that it’s some of the best music of their career.
There are a handful of bands out there in the hard rock/metal world that make a writer wonder if there’s really any point to reviewing a new release — bands like AC/DC, Motorhead and, of course, Slayer. They’re bands that do what they do, and they have a rabid hardcore following who loves every single similar note.
One of my favorite quotes from AC/DC guitarist Angus Young came in a New York Daily News interview when he said, “I’m sick and tired of people saying that we put out 11 albums that sound exactly the same. In fact, we’ve put out 12 albums that sound exactly the same.”
It’s a quote that perfectly fits Slayer, whose 12th album Repentless certainly doesn’t break from the mold of what they do. Though the thrashers have probably taken a few more chances with their music than AC/DC, reaching for a slightly more mainstream audience on 1990’s Seasons in the Abyss and incorporating some nu metal influence on 1998’s Diabolus in Musica, the basic musical elements on Repentless are not much changed from the band’s debut Show No Mercy.
For the past nearly 25 years, there’s been no more polarizing band in metal, or perhaps all of rock, than Metallica.
Since the release of that monstrous self-titled album in 1991, fans have been thrown into three different camps.
There are the loyalists that have followed and defended them faithfully through all of their ups and downs. The folks, like me, who have mixed feelings about their work since that time, but try to keep an open mind despite some disappointments. Then, there are the people who will never be satisfied with anything the band does again and take every opportunity to criticize.
Even though I had no real anticipation or excitement for this record, I felt some sort of obligation to listen to it.
I’ve been a Megadeth fan since I first heard the bass line for “Peace Sells” way back when, though my enthusiasm for the band has certainly waned since the early 1990s.
It’s been hard to hang with them through a series of albums that ranged from average to horrible and repeated comments from Dave Mustaine that the next album would have the intensity and energy of early Megadeth that have invariably led to disappointment.
Those same comments came during the recording of Super Collider, and again, they lead to disappointment. Super Collider sounds pretty much exactly like the last three or four records. There’s nothing really awful on it, but there’s not a whole lot to get excited about, either. It’s safe in the style that Mustaine has settled into in the band’s late career, it takes no chances, and it’s kind of boring.
Editor's note:Today, I launch a new feature here on Hall of the Mountain King called Something Borrowed. Each Wednesday, I'll take a look at a cover song that I like (or maybe one that I hate, I haven't decided if I'm going there yet) and say why I think it stacks up against the original. Enjoy.
No one can deny that Metallica is one hell of a cover band. Before this series reaches its end, I'm sure they'll have several entries in it. If I had to choose just one Metallica cover, though, this would be it.
After hearing Joey Belladonna’s cringe-inducing vocals on Anthrax’s version of Rush’s “Anthem,” I didn’t have much hope for this EP of covers from the thrashers, especially considering the rest of the lineup included covers of Cheap Trick, Journey and Boston.
The good news is that “Anthem” is far and away the worst thing on this record. The bad news is that it’s still a mixed bag.
For the most part, this is hard rock karaoke. Anthrax doesn’t take any chances with any of the songs here. They don’t play them in their own style or try to do anything different with them. They deliver note-for-note renditions of the originals with maybe a little extra crunch here or there, but not much else.
OK, I guess it’s about time I delivered a mea culpa on this record after all of my years of badmouthing it. It’s actually not a bad album.
There, I said it, as foul as those words taste in my mouth.
I’m joking, of course, but not entirely.
When Metallica’s self-titled album came out, it was a shift in my musical landscape. When I picked it up, on release day naturally, I initially liked it, though not as much as past works. The simplicity of the songs was a bit of a turn-off, but there were some pretty catchy tunes there.
It didn’t take long for my opinion to change drastically. All of a sudden all of the people around me — many of whom had made fun of me for years for liking heavy metal, Metallica, in particular — were driving around with their windows down blasting this album. It was more than the angst-filled teenage version of me could take.
The decision to play 1984’s Ride the Lightning in its entirety a couple of weeks ago for their inaugural Orion Music and More Festival brought a historic moment for Metallica. It intrigued me so much that I tuned in to Fuse TV’s live stream of the concert online to see it.
The sixth track on the album, “Escape,” is one of only a handful of songs from their catalog that the band has never played live.
Oh, there’s been a snippet of it in a medley here and there over the years, but they’ve never played the whole song, and it’s said that no one in the band really likes it. I can’t understand that since it’s one of my favorite tunes on the album.
I didn’t have high hopes for this record. First, there was all the drama surrounding it. They bring in new singer Dan Nelson. The album’s recorded and ready to go when Nelson is canned, so it’s shelved. Then, much to my pleasure, John Bush is performing with the band again. But, wait a minute, he doesn’t want to re-record Worship Music because he feels like he doesn’t have any stake in the songs. Then, Anthrax shows up to play the first Big Four show, and who’s on stage with them but 1980s singer Joey Belladonna. He’s happy to re-record the album, and so Anthrax and Belladonna are reunited … again.
As I await the release of Anthrax’s Worship Music, the band’s reunion with 1980s singer Joey Belladonna, I’ll try to drown out the soap-opera drama with changing lineups and re-records surrounding it by cranking up their last record — and one of their best — 2003’s We’ve Come for You All.
Don’t get me wrong. I grew up on the 1980s version of Anthrax with Belladonna, and I still love it. But when he exited, and they tapped Armored Saint singer John Bush, the band became something different, and while I know a lot of fans will disagree with me, something better, in my opinion. The Belladonna era of the band was perfect for my teenage years. It was fast, brash and a little cartoonish and goofy. The band with Bush, though, was Anthrax for my adulthood. It was a little slower, a little heavier and a lot more thoughtful. Plus, Bush is just an all-around better singer to my ears. There’s more soul and a greater range of emotion in his voice, and if I’m being honest, I actually preferred Bush’s version of a lot of the Belladonna songs.
I remember reading an interview with Kerry King a while back where he was asked what he thought about producer Rick Rubin choosing to work with Metallica on “Death Magnetic” rather than working with Slayer again. King’s reply was something to the effect that Rubin enjoyed working with bands who were trying to reinvent themselves, and Slayer had no desire to reinvent themselves.
On the one hand, that’s admirable. On the other, maybe it’s time for Slayer to at least consider a few tweaks.
“World Painted Blood” is not a bad Slayer album. In fact, it might be some of their best work since “Divine Intervention.” Unfortunately, it’s gotten to the point where you’re kind of thinking “Slayer’s released their album again.” I quite enjoyed it for the first week it was in my CD player. After the second week, I’d had enough, and a few months from now when I want to hear some Slayer, I’ll be much more likely to grab “Reign in Blood,” “South of Heaven” or “Seasons in the Abyss” than this one.
There are certainly some songs here that most fans will agree on. The title track, “Psychopathy Red,” “Unit 731” are all a bit reminiscent of the band’s earlier work with catchy melodies and enough aggression to satisfy, but at the same time, they just can’t recapture the raw energy of the early records that they recall. A song like “Public Display of Dismemberment” tries to attain the speed and chaos of some of the band’s earliest work, but it comes off here as more of a faux chaos. There’s just not enough viciousness here, and it sounds a bit too premeditated. Perhaps its because they’re older, perhaps it’s because I’m older or perhaps it’s a combination, but these songs just don’t light that fire in me.
By contrast, the more interesting tunes here are the ones that many fans will probably dislike. On “The Human Strain” Tom Araya abandons his usual monotone vocal melody for an almost rap-like cadence that brings something different to the record. “Americon,” while certainly the most commercial piece here, is bouncy and quite catchy, though sure to send a certain segment of fans into a rage. The song, though, that’s most likely to polarize fans is the droning “Playing With Dolls.” It’s perhaps the softest song in the Slayer catalog, but interesting simply because it’s something they haven’t done before. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying these songs are great, but at least they bring something new to the mix.
I do admire King and Co.’s unbending desire to stay true to the Slayer brand and their unwillingness to compromise. It’s a trait that I’ve wished more bands in the past had. That said, though, I think it may be time to shake things up just a little. I think there are ways to put a little more variety in the music without going commercial. Otherwise, they risk becoming something of a nostalgia act with new records becoming just an excuse to tour their old stuff again rather than living, breathing blasts of new energy in the set.
The rumors are already out there that "Endgame" could be the appropriately titled final record from Megadeth. Of course, those rumors have been swirling for the last several records.
You might say it's a small wonder that Megadeth even exists today. It's been a tumultous decade or so for the band. A few rounds of stylistic changes in the 1990s, including the awful experimental record "Risk," turned some fans off. Then there was the announcement of founder and mastermind Dave Mustaine's retirement following a nerve injury in his hand, which he eventually recovered from. The subsequent reformation included an ugly split with original bassist and long-time Mustaine collaborator Dave Ellefson, the only other constant in the band over the years, which made Megadeth an even bigger revolving door of musicians in recent years. In an effort to conquer his longtime battle with drugs and alcohol, Mustaine became a born-again Christian a few years back, which didn't sit well with a few fans of his music that has, at times, been critical of organized religion. It would be easy to understand if he just decided to call it a day.
Not only has Mustaine not thrown in the towel, but he's blasted back at his critics with two of the best Megadeth records since the 1980s, 2007's "United Abominations" and the latest, "Endgame."
"Endgame" reaps the benefits of Mustaine's sobriety and conversion, as it seems to have given him a clearer focus on the music. Like "United Abominations" before it, "Endgame" strikes a solid balance between the technical flash and mastery of the early Megadeth records and the melody and hook-based tunes of 1992's "Countdown to Extinction," which marked the band's first shift in style.
"Endgame" opens with a short instrumental piece, "Dialectic Chaos," that leads directly into the high-speed thrasher "This Day We Fight," which wouldn't have been at all out of place on the band's high-intensity records from the '80s. The more melodic side of the band comes out on "44 Minutes," a song based on the 1997 North Hollywood shootout that spawned a movie of the same name. Unlike the impressive speed and technicality of the first song, "44 Minutes" relies on a big, memorable chorus and a moodier delivery. It's a pattern that repeats throughout the record. "1,320'" revisits Mustaine's obsession with speed and features guitar work to match. "Bodies," one of the best of the more melodic numbers, would have been a perfect fit on "Countdown to Extinction," while "Headcrusher" takes listeners right back into the chaotic speedfest. None of them disappoint.
The only questionable choice here would be "The Hardest Part of Letting Go ... Sealed with a Kiss," which opens in a plaintive ballad style that amplifies the weaknesses in Mustaine's vocals and moves to a galloping number. There's a nice little almost classical-sounding riff in there, but by and large it sounds a lot like some of the weaker moments from the 1990s. The other 10 tracks on the record, though, make you forget about this one.
Of course, no one listens to Megadeth for Mustaine's voice. It's all about the guitar, and that's in fine form here. He's obviously recovered fully from the nerve injury because "Endgame" features some of his most impressive work in a lot of years. The riffs are tight and crisp, and the leads scream across the top of them like a fighter jet. Veteran metal producer Andy Sneap also deserves great credit for the mix which gives Mustaine's guitar work more bite than perhaps it's ever had.
After years of artistic experimentation, phoned in records and not knowing what to expect from Megadeth, it's nice to have them back. When you put in a Megadeth record, you want riffs that rip your face off and blazing leads that shred what's left of it. That's just what "Endgame" delivers. If it's Mustaine's swan song, they go out on a high note. I, for one, hope we can get a few more records like these last two.
So I've had a day to digest the first song from Megadeth's upcoming record, and there's always a slight holding of my breath as I wait to see which Dave Mustaine showed up this time. Fortunately, at least on this track, it was the old familiar Dave.
"Head Crusher," despite being a bit unimaginative in the title and lyrics department, is a solid old-school Megadeth tune. It's aggressive, featuring shades of "Wake Up Dead" from the classic "Peace Sells" record, while also taking cues from the last 'Deth record, "United Abominations." That's a good thing as far as I'm concerned, since I consider that their comeback record. (I know most people consider it to be "The System Has Failed," but I really don't care for that record.)
So, it's only one song, but it's pretty much what you want from Megadeth. It opens with a fast riff and some lead wailing from Mustaine, has some slower, chunkier riffs in the middle, a decent melody and some screaming leads. It's a good taste of the new record. Hopefully it's representative of what we can expect from the rest of the record.
If you haven't heard "Head Crusher" yet, it's streaming at Roadrunner Records. Check it out for yourself.
On the eve of Metallica's induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, I've rediscovered this gem from Black Sabbath's induction. Just wanted to share it.
I know there are people out there who will hold a grudge against Metallica until the day they die. Over the past couple of decades fans of the band, as the song on Death Magnetic says, have been broken, beat and scarred, and a lot of them still have a lot of anger. To be quite honest, though, I’m too old for that. I don’t have it in me to hold that kind of grudge anymore, and no matter what you’ve done in the past, if you deliver an album I like, bygones are bygones. That’s just what Metallica has done.
First thing’s first. This isn’t the ’80s and Death Magnetic isn’t the second coming of Master of Puppets. It does, however have more in common with those 1980s records than anything Metallica has done since. Early reviews that called it a cross between …And Justice for All and The Black Album are, for the most part, pretty accurate. A closer listen, though will reveal snippets of just about everything Metallica’s ever done - good and bad.
Perhaps the best thing about this record is the return of Kirk Hammett’s wah pedal and the shredding he unleashes here. Frustrated after being told by producer Bob Rock that solos would make St. Anger sound “dated,” he takes those frustrations out here, wailing away at will.
The impact of bassist Rob Trujillo is felt early and often on the record, his first effort as part of the creative team. It’s the first time in a long time that the bass on a Metallica record has been memorable, and he brings a welcome groove on songs like “End of the Line” and “Broken, Beat and Scarred,” which despite being one of the less thrashy offerings is perhaps the best with the most memorable riff and hook on Death Magnetic.
And the thrash does indeed make a return here, as announced earlier with album opener “That Was Just Your Life.” It has a nice galloping rhythm from James Hetfield, reminiscent of …And Justice for All. Admittedly, Hetfield still struggles a bit vocally, trying to sing too much rather than barking the lyrics, but occasionally he does hit a note that reminds you of old times.
To say the thrash is back, though, is not to say it’s a return to their old style. There are a couple of nods to The Black Album with the hook driven “Cyanide” and “The Judas Kiss,” which echoes “Holier than Thou” in places. There are also a few notable misses. “The Unforgiven III” is just as bad as you’d expect when looking at the title, and the instrumental “Suicide & Redemption” is pretty much a snoozer. While I don’t mind a new Metallica insturmental, they set a high standard in the 1980s, and this one simply lacks the complexity and elegance of an “Orion” or “To Live is to Die.”
Rounding out the record are the requisite power ballad “The Day That Never Comes” which offers a nod to the band’s better ballads of the 1980s, and the thrash ‘n’ roll of “All Nightmare Long” with its fast riffing and hard rock vibe. The show closes in good form with what, for many, will probably be the star of the record, “My Apocalypse.” It’s the shortest track on the record and gets straight to the point, offering a tip of the hat to Master of Puppets.
Death Magnetic delivers a solid set of songs that features a nice blend of the entire Metallica catalog. No, it’s not the much ballyhooed return to their classic sound. Those first four records are classics that continue to shape metal, but that band is not likely to return. They’re older and they’re mellower, and I guess, so am I. I suppose, to make a bad pun, it’s all in the eye of the beholder, but I like it.
It was this day in 2001 that Slayer’s "God Hates Us All" arrived in my mailbox. It was late that night before I actually had the chance to hear it, for obvious reasons. I had been called into work a couple of hours early for an all-hands-on-deck day that lasted well into the night.
On any other day, the vitriol of the final track on that record, "Payback," might have gotten a chuckle out of me. On this day, I was right with Tom Araya when he was screaming out "I’m going to tear your fucking eyes out, rip your fucking flesh off, beat you ’til you’re just a fucking lifeless carcass." Though unnoticed in the mainstream, which latched on to artists like Alan Jackson, in the days and months that followed Sept. 11, 2001, Slayer’s "Payback" was a song that expressed the anger and frustration that many people felt.
Obviously, "Payback" was written prior to the attacks and without knowledge of them, but there’s an eerie resonance between the lyrics and the events of that day and those that followed:
No matter what you think you’re gonna see/ You never wanted this barrage of fucking pride
When you draw first blood you can’t stop this fight
And of course,
Payback’s a bitch, motherfucker.
It didn’t hurt that it was one of the heaviest, fastest, most aggressive Slayer tracks in years. Though not intended for that purpose, the song was incredibly cathartic after the days of dealing with a constant barrage of news, rumors and body counts in the after math of the attacks. It offered a way for this metal fan to vent his frustrations by cranking it up on the way home from work and screaming along, imagining that, just maybe, the song described exactly how bin Laden’s end would come. In a perfect world, maybe it would have.
Here's a pleasant surprise. Yeah, I know a lot of people called Megadeth’s last record The System Has Failed a return to form, but personally I didn’t hear it. I thought that record had about three really good songs and a bunch of mediocre stuff that sounds like what Dave Mustaine’s been pushing for the past decade or more. This one, on the other hand, I would call a return to form, if that form is Countdown to Extinction.
I had my doubts going in, as I’d heard only the boring “Gears of War,” easily the most banal song here, and the remake of “A Tout Le Monde” with Cristina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil. To be completely honest, I like this version of the song better than the original, but I end up wishing that Scabbia was singing more (or perhaps even all) of it. Of course it does seem a little sad that Mustaine has to keep revisiting old songs to try to mine a big song (as he did with “Return to Hangar” a few years ago). It’s almost like he’s admitting he doesn’t have another great song in him.
With those two songs and the fact that I haven’t really liked a full Megadeth record since Cryptic Writings in mind, I was fully prepared for another record with a few exciting moments (a la “Kick the Chair” from The System Has Failed) and a lot of Dave jerking off his inner artiste. There is some of that here, but not as much as I’ve come to expect in recent years. The album opener “Sleepwalker” sets a good tone for the record. It’s an old-school thrasher that wouldn’t have been at all out of place on any of the band’s first four records.
After that track, this record settles into Countdown to Extinction territory -- a slower and simplified version of the frenetic riffs of the band’s earlier efforts, relying less on technical mastery and more on hooks and catchy bits. The best examples are “Never Walk Alone” and “Burnt Ice,” which are not nearly the heaviest songs on the record, but they will be the ones, along with the chorus of the title track, that you’re still humming a few days later.
There are a few failures here aside from “Gears of War.” There’s “Blessed Be the Dead” which has some really awkward lyrical moments as Mustaine describes the four horsemen. (You’d think Dave might shy away from writing a song about the four horsemen, wouldn’t you?) “You’re Dead” has a similar problem when he tries to make this weird melodic shift from the verse to the chorus that probably would have been really cool if it had worked. Falling in between is “Amerikhastan” that features a really annoying and preachy spoken word verse, but also has one of the strongest hooks on the record, reminiscent of “Architecture of Aggression” from Countdown...
There are a few blasts of thrash glory scattered here and there throughout the songs, but by and large this is the early 1990s version of Megadeth, a bit more restrained and perhaps a bit tamer, but still a potent force. A big point in the favor of this record is that the songs here seem just a little angrier than most of the songs Mustaine has done in recent years. He has that snarl back that’s been largely missing, at least to my ears, for a long time. The Drover brothers of Eidolon fame, and, strangely, former White Lion bassist James Lomenzo, form the backing band for Mustaine on this outing and handle the duties well.
It's always nice to be surprised by a band, particularly a former favorite that you’ve practically written off. No, United Abominations isn’t in the same league with Rust in Peace or Peace Sells... but it is the best complete effort that Megadeth has released since 1992.
A little more than a year ago, it looked like Megadeth was done thanks to nerve damage in founder/guitarist Dave Mustaine's left hand. After listening to "The System Has Failed," that might have been for the best.
The latest Megadeth outing has its moments. "Kick the Chair," with its "Rust in Peace" vibe, is one of the best songs Mustaine has written in years. "Die Dead Enough" and "The Scorpion" are interesting, even if they do sound more like Alice Cooper than Megadeth. And with original guitarist Chris Poland back in the fold - at least for the recording sessions - the guitar work is outstanding.
But most of the songs on the album are just plain boring. I'm talking fall-asleep-in-the-middle boring.
"Blackmail the Universe" tries to recall the band's glory days, but falls well short. Mustaine makes a plea to old-school metal fans on the Judas Priest-flavored "Back in the Day," but considering the cheesy delivery, it's likely to fall on deaf ears.
If you're a fan of the 1990s Megadeth sound, you might enjoy this album. If you're hoping to hear Mustaine and Co. rip out some old-school thrashers, download "Kick the Chair" for 99 cents and use your 15 bucks to pick up one of the remasters.
In the 1980s, Anthrax rested, arguably, at the bottom of the Big Four totem pole. When they wanted to be, they could be just as dark, political and technical as their contemporaries Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, but they were really a different animal.
