Anthrax - 'Anthems' Album Review

Type – Album Review
Artist – Anthrax
Title – Anthems

Anthrax has always been much more hit than miss when it comes to covering other artists’ songs. Quite often, the NYC thrash icons think way outside the box and they aren’t afraid to cover songs by acts as disparate as Public Enemy, the Smiths and the Police. Early in their career, however, they were far less adventurous, choosing instead to lazily record near note-for-note renditions of popular metal or punk tracks, from Alice Cooper’s “Eighteen” to Black Sabbath’s “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” to the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen.” And once every thirty years or so, they simply struck out.

'Anthems,' the band’s brand new EP, unfortunately adds several tracks to the negative side of this equation. Instead of covering songs by lesser-known bands (Trust, Celtic Frost, Discharge) or by non-metal acts (Joe Jackson, the Chantays, Beastie Boys), the six cuts here are all classic rock gems originally recorded in the 1970s by some of the biggest bands at the time. Half of the selections are still FM radio staples which 95% of Anthrax’s fanbase has undoubtedly herded nauseam. Even worse, these new versions sound almost exactly like the originals. Instead of making these songs their own, Anthrax is content to just plug in and grind them out, almost as if they were merely warming up.

It is obvious that the band was looking to have some fun with this collection of covers that ranges from the expected (given Scott Ian’s affinity for AC/DC, “T.N.T.” feels like its almost overdue) to the unexpected (the Hammond B3 organ-laced Boston cover “Smokin”). The sense of fun definitely carries over into the listening experience. As was the cast for the band’s last “serious” album, “Worship Music,” the MVP is definitely Joey Belladonna, with a vocal performance the widely exceeds expectations. Sure, he’s always had the Steve Perry thing going, which makes the Journey cover “Keep On Runnin’” feel natural. Less expected is the way he hits the helium heights of Geddy Lee’s vocal part in the Rush cover “Anthem,” or the way he channels Bon Scott on “T.N.T.” his swag on “Jailbreak” is pure Phile Lynott.

Some of this EP is predictable and the rest is somewhat unpredictable which all in all creates a great EP. Make sure to check out the album on iTunes and check out Anthrax if you haven’t listened to them before, much love.

@GillianLIMTV