Anthrax-Now and Then. A head to head comparison of Among the Living and Worship Music.

As there has been a tremendous amount of chatter about the new Anthrax album, "Worship Music" I began thinking if it was as good as everyone has been saying. I first listened to it on Spotify. I liked it immediately. I listened again. And again. And again. And then I went out and bought the cd.

The chatter on facebook continued among my friends, hyping the new disc. It was also up for discussion on VH1 Classic's That Metal Show. So now I'm chiming in just for my own entertainment. I find that when I write about music I am forced to listen much closer than if I'm just listening. I have ADD, my attention wanders. But if I write while I listen, I LISTEN.


So let's start with the cover art. The Among the Living cover is damn solid. The wall of obedient minions bowing their heads uniformly like the good disciples they are communicates much about blind obedience to authority. Randall Flagg in the middle looking all "preacherly" and with the holy glow around him is just plain creepy. It's classic.


But....the cover art for Worship Music just blows it out of the water even though they tap the well of zombies that is so overplayed these days. But it just looks way fuckin' cooler. And I can't get it to upload here but the blurred images add motion to the image and these zombie are drawn to the holy glowing Anthrax logo like moths to a flame. Actually, thematically both covers are very similar. These brain dead zombies are drawn to the light of the logo. The brain dead zombies on the cover of Among are diseased....by Flagg's artificial majesty.


Point 1 goes to Worship Music.


Track 1: AtL: Among the Living. An open chord hums and the second guitar twangs away gently dum,de dum dum. Then another guitar chugs like a train starting and then it all kicks in together...DUM DE DUM DUM. Benate's drums sound great. He bangs away on the toms. The lead guitar comes in mirroring the main riff. There's a couple of rolling fills on the drums and then it gets heavier than shit. Dum de dum dum. chug chug chug chug. Thrash is born. de dum de dum de dum. Then Benate totally spazzes out and the double bass gets knockin' and the song kicks in. The pace of the song is frantic. The weakest part of the whole machine is Belladonna's vocals. They sound thin and processed. Everything else is heavy as fuck. "I'm the walkin' dude! "....3rd verse it sounds like Joey is trading off vocals with someone else but I think it's Joey. His voice sounds a bit better here. I love the gang hardcore backup vocals. 1st real lead of the song is all right. Nothing super impressive. Dan Spitz was replaceable. Benate's drums are brutal. Belladonna's screams are better in this part of the song. When his voice is shredding as oppposed to the falsetto singing, he is worthy of fronting such a heavy unit. AMONG AMONG AMONG AMONG....FOLLOW ME OR DIE!!!!


WM: Opens with a synth/organ/siren/muddled voices/some guitars....just an intro so I'll count the next track the actual track one. Earth On Hell: It begins in a total fury of blast beats and riffing guitars. The main riff is jack hammer pounding but it doesn't live up to the standard set on Among. It's fast and brutal, but the grove just isn't there. Once again Benate's drums are beastly. The guitars sound great in this tune. A lot of stop start chugging. I can't stop listening to Charlie's drums. His fills are so good. I like the leads better on this one. Belladonna's vocals are tougher. The chorus of this one has the best riff of of the track...the ticking clock part leads to another great fill by Charlie B. Lars from Metallic should take note. The drums sound great.


Point 2 goes to AtL. 1-1.



Track 2: AtL: Caught in a Mosh...some open chords to start and guitar 2 is chugging. Then that fucking bass line comes in nananannananan....the guitars mirror the bass line and then some blast beats and then the song lashes out into an all out frenzy. The vocal pattern on the 1st verse isn't great....it's been sort of just thrown on top. "now get the hell out of my house." Great
vocals on the bridge though. The shouting backups are hardcore. Joey's singing is best in the chorus. There's a nice little bass fill in there too. At the 230 mark there is an excruciating scream from Joey...and it's good. When the song breaks into the main lead solo Joey intros it with a scream/singing thing that is dreadful. Harmonized solos ala Iron Maiden. Another verse and it's over.


WM: The Devil You Know: Stop/start riffing. Charlie's banging on toms and a snare. This one's got a groove. Some triplets by Charlie and then song starts. Joey's vocals sound very classic 80s here...whitesnake? A part sounds just like Cadillac Rock Box off another Anthrax album with John Bush. An arena sized chorus...is this Anthrax or ??? I just can't place it. Warrant? Some of the old school Anthrax gang vocals. "Gotta go with the devil you know"...song gets interesting around the 240 mark. Solo is kick ass. Sounds like a little bit of Wah Wah in there...not sure. Charlie's riding on the open high hat....this chorus is huge!!!!



Point 3= .5 each


Track3: AtL: I am the Law....opening riff is a classic. du duh du..der...ner...ner...ner...ner...some interesting bass. then we're chugging right along...chug, chug, chug, .....bass...some open chords and when the vocals kick in they accompany what might be the best riff on this album. Vocals are weak again. Especially the scream about mega city was ....bllllaaaahh.. whatever. RESPECT THE BADGE. fuck yeah...that's hardcore. YOU WON'T FUCK AROUND NO MORE. The scream on "Judge Jury and Executioner" starts really strong and ends barely hanging on....at about 340 the song goes berserk and goes into warp speed. More dual harmonies...bad leads. Some nice double bass....another scream by Joey as the song slows down and gets back into some singing. This might be the best scream on the album.



WM: Fight em til You Can't" - an attempt at a White Zombie type sample. I don't think it's a real sample...doesn't sound great. Could've gotten a stronger voice in there. Song starts with a der ner ner ner.............then kicks into some serious riffing....the main riff of the song is great, especially once the second guitar kicks in. Charlie leads into the vocals with some great fills. Joey's voice sounds strong, nice harmonizing with backup vocals. Some more classic Anthrax mean guy backing vocal shouts. A nice lead in the chorus....the bass sound on this song is really fat and chunky. There's a cool whispered part just before it slips back into the verse. The double bass plays right along with the guitars on the chugging riff here. Some more wah sounds from the lead guitar. Interesting melodic lead. Charlie's drums go crazy once again. Scott riffs...and riffs. The bass sound and interplay between the riffing and the double bass really carry this on. A double hit on the snare. The chorus again...it's big. Arena sized again. The final bridge/chorus/verse thing is good but somewhat familiar again...I can't place it.

Point4: AtL 2.5 - 1.5

Atl: Efilnikufesin....guitar is a bit whiny. dual harmonies again. another nice chugging riff. bello's bass is really clankin' away in the background ala steve harris. vocals processed again. not a great vocal pattern, it's almost like he's talking...the bridge leading to the chorus is the best part of the song..."wasting your life...." nice riff here and charlie's drums
blast away...N.F.L...nice shouts again. Bello's really going nuts on the bass again. Boring solo. Great riffing by Scott

WM: I'm Alive: Nice soft strumming...both guitars working together. The chugging riffs come in. Some toms and bass drums. Chanting vocals. It's all building and being led by the drums. Again, Charlie's snare sounds great. Open high hat. A little bass fill and the vocals start. Joey's voice is strong again. The chugging riff grooves. Another GIANT chorus. Vocal harmonies. A blistering guitar solo. Great tone. I don't need to listen to any more of this track...it's the best on the album thus far. Still listening...330...great stop start break. Another kick ass solo. it's not just fast but it's got emotion in it. I love the guitar tone here.

Point 5 = WM. 2.5-2.5

AtL: A Skeleton in the Closet. Chugging...Chugging. Snare high hat. Double Bass. Jackhammer riff......great bass sound by Bello. Charlie's double bass drums are leading this song. Another Bellos bass blast. Some great lead riffs here....almost danceable. Charlie's drums make this song. and Frank's bass. I do like the leads here...they're switching from ear to ear....sirens and cries. they really add to the song. The more I listen, the more I like Frank's playing here.

WM: HYMN 1...sound like be all end all...Cello. I like it. Cinematic...but it's not a song. So now we're into the chiming bells of In the End. Nice looping riff. A nu-metal sort of lead over it. Charlie's drums are pounding...dududududududududududud. This has the feel of an epic. A double bass fill...chugging guitars. a stop. start. Nice vocal pattern...voice still sounds strong. Good guitar work. Big chorus. Dual guitars harmonizing again....big looping riff. Bells, crowd cheers. Officially an epic song. Whoooaaaaaoooaaahhhh....chanting. Chorus. Booming drums.

Point : WM 2.5-3.5

AtL: Indians. The tribal drums. The chanting guitars. After listening to Worship Music, this sounds hollow and thin. Then it kicks into the blitzkrieg lightning riff...blistering. then the main riff dances around. Joey's voice just sounds shredded. Great mean guy backup vocals again. Classic song...that fuckin riff is the best on the album.

WM: The Giant...great guitar sound to start. Sort of annoying vocal patter. No melody. Sounds like an industrial song. The bridge is interesting. But the main verse sucks. Yuk

Point: AtL 3.5-3.5

AtL: One World: nice bass. Boring guitars....humming insects to open. cool fills by charlie...roto toms???? Typical thrash riff of the time. Could've been Exodus. Main riff is cool once Joey starts singing. ONE TWO, NOT, THREE FOUR.....IT'S NO EXCUSE. I love the Anthrax metal backup vocals...hardcore. Throwaway song. Good main riff....could've been something.

WM: Skipping Hymn 2...Judas Priest. Ok start. Like the lead to open. Another nice Chugger once the riffing starts. Main vocal pattern during verse is boring. Bridge/Chorus is more interesting than verse pattern.

Point: .5 each 4-4

AtL: ADI/Horror of It All: Nice little acoustic ditty. Actually, not very interesting. Chug, Chug, Chug. It's a march....the bass sounds great....the song keeps building and climbing. Straightforward drumming by CB. When riff changes it still sounds cool...leads are annoying. Spitz sucked. Very long lead in to this song.Double bass...back to cool ass riff. Vocals mediocre. "Whoa,..oh....oh. It's time to say goodbye...it's a horror" Melodic and catchy. More annoying leads. Great riffing though.

Wm:Crawl: sound like a strumming banjo. Is this Velvet Revolver? Holy cow...the vocals...is this velvet revolver? Is this velvet revolver? Now It's any modern rock radio mainstay of the past 5 years...BORING!!!!

Point: AtL 5-4

AtL: Imitation of Life: Dull start. ooohhhh...but wait. What a fat fucking riff after that start...the dull start actually makes the big fat riff fatter. Genius!!!! This song crawls along...then blasts into the stratosphere. More great speed riffing. But once the song speeds up the vocal patter sucks. Worst screams ever...ah....ah.....ah.....Anger burns.....the song is now a blur of sounds......more of the worst screams ever. nothing very musical about this part of the song....great mosh break in the middle.

WM: The constant: opening riff sounds like Saliva. It's a straightforward rocker. Nothing different than the last song from this album. there's one more track...Revolution Screams---sort of noisy. Not the great riffing I heard before. More big radio arena rock...but not original. The song gets a little interesting at 450 mark.

Point AtL 6-4....

and there you have it. Among the Living is still the classic Anthrax album.