Forgotten Album of the Month: Anthrax

Forgotten Album of the Month: Anthrax

Anthrax were already thrash metal giants by the time of their signing with Elektra Records in 1992 but then they dropped a bombshell; they were firing longtime frontman Joey Belladonna and replacing him with John Bush of the recently disbanded Armored Saint. Longtime fans were immediately wondering what Bush would do and how he would be able to accommodate to Anthrax’s sound. Everyone got their answer with the release of 1993’s Sound of White Noise.

Right off the bat, the fans were rewarded with the hardest sounding Anthrax record since State of Euphoria in 1988. Songs like “Only” and “Potters Field” were not only hard and loud as all hell but were also catchy and could’ve easily been played on rock radio of the time. The fact that the band took on a bit of an alternative sound caught many people off guard but with the shifting tides of music, the band were able to adapt and adapt well. One song in particular, “Room for One More,” is hands down one of the loudest and best songs Anthrax ever did and should’ve been a much bigger single than it was.

By taking the level of experimentation up a notch, the band were able to attract some new fans as well as new levels of attention; with “Black Lodge,” the band collaborated with Angelo Badalamenti, the composer of the “Twin Peaks” television show to come up with a song as eerie and odd as the show it was inspired by. With other songs like “This Is Not An Exit,” the band turned up the volume and also were able to keep the excitement level up.

Unfortunately, it was also around this time that the band’s fortunes started waning; first longtime lead guitarist Dan Spitz left the band and then Elektra underwent a personnel shift resulting in the band losing their champions at the label and they subsequently watched their reputedly $10 million dollar contract waste away as the label basically refused to promote the follow-up, 1995’s Stomp 442. But at the time of this record’s release, the band were certainly on top. So take a listen to certain songs and you may be able to remember where you were when you first heard this record.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us_IxW5LcvY (Only)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUP7NSKXftE (Black Lodge)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_i11bdP2y0 (Room for One More)

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