The "Big Four of Thrash" Blog

2011-11-11T18:21:00.001-08:00

Worship Music

Anthrax fans have had no choice but to be very patient waiting for the arrival of the group's tenth studio album overall, 2011's Worship Music. Doubling as the first Anthrax studio album since 2003's We've Come for You All and the first with singer Joey Belladonna since 1990's Persistence of Time, Worship Music was also recorded once before with singer Dan Nelson, and was to be released in 2009. After the group parted ways with Nelson shortly before the album's projected release, Belladonna was welcomed back into the fold, and all the vocals were re-recorded. But to Anthrax's credit, it all fits together seamlessly, resulting in arguably their finest studio album since, well, the last one that Belladonna sang on! With vintage '80s metal sounds reconnecting with the masses in the early 21st century, one of thrash metal's originators picked a fine time to unleash a strong and inspired effort, especially on such standout stompers as "The Devil You Know," "Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't," and "In the End." And while the subject of "Judas Priest" is not the heavy metal band of the same name, the track still serves as a tip of the cap to one of heavy metal's all-time greats (and what makes the tribute even more fitting is that the year that Worship Music was released, Halford and company announced their impending retirement from touring). As with past Anthrax records, it's not all about pushing the pedal to the metal from start to finish, as evidenced by the slowly building beginnings of "I'm Alive" and "Crawl." Despite the long Boston/Def Leppard-esque layoff, Anthrax certainly deliver with Worship Music.

2011-11-11T18:07:00.001-08:00

Th1rt3en

Megadeth's 13th studio album, and first since 2001’s The World Needs a Hero to utilize the talents of bassist/founding member Dave Ellefson, was produced by Johnny K (Staind, Disturbed) and features a combination of newly composed tracks, along with older cuts written years ago but never put to tape. Darker, heavier, and more immediate than 2009's Endgame, Dave Mustaine's snarling vocals ride higher in the mix this time around, but fans need not fear, as his fleet fingers are still possessed with the power to conjure the dead. Much of the aptly named Th1rt3en feels vintage, from the familiar political themes on “We the People” and the tightly wound, Dio-esque riffing on “Public Enemy No. 1” to the soft, melodramatic military snare intro of “Never Dead,” which eventually explodes into a wicked blast of retro-thrash that feels positively invigorating, not redundant. Elsewhere, the melodic slow-burn “Millennium of the Blind” fuses Ten Years After's “I’d Love to Change the World” and Metallica's “Fade to Black” into an anti-corporation/war rant that calls out the “millennials” on their submissiveness, the snaky “Black Swan” casts long shadows that mimic “Symphony of Destruction,” and first single “Sudden Death” stands defiant before the skeptics who thought that Mustaine's newfound faith would render him bereft of the old ultraviolence.

2009-10-24T19:22:00.001-07:00

World Painted Blood

There will no doubt be a lot of hoopla concerning the name Slayer have chosen for World Painted Blood. In many ways, it could have been called Reign in Blood Revisited. But the word "revisited " is the key. Some compositions on this new recording have more of the band's early-style melody in them, with lightning flare-up riffs between verses; quick, unexpected guitar pyrotechnics; and blastbeat power drumming from Dave Lombardo (the band's original drummer who returned to the lineup for 2006's Christ Illusion) pushing it all into the red. But there are mannerisms and strategies from the band's later albums at work as well — even if they are unconsciously employed. Christ Illusion reached deep into Slayer's old bag of tricks to reorient themselves to more speed-based playing after the midtempo records of the late '90s, and there was a fantastic concentration on riffs and call and response between the guitars and rhythm section. On World Painted Blood the focus is more on songs, and therefore the return of the "melodic" aspect of the band's past — and let's face it, during the classic years Slayer were peerless in that department. The riffs make sense in the context of Tom Araya's sung verses, and so do the considerable beats. Check the opener with its intricate instrumental intro bracing the listener for the eruption of power that follows — Araya's spoken word interludes notwithstanding. "Americon" combines wah-wah riff heaviness with thundercrack drumming and Araya's downtuned bassline. Check the speed and intense guitar exchanges in "Public Display of Dismemberment" and "Psychopathy Red" for the best evidence of Slayer at their most powerful on this set. Despite great songs and great playing, there are more midtempo tracks here than on Christ Illusion, and Greg Fidelman's production style takes a different tack altogether for this guitar-manic crew. Lombardo's drums are WAAAAAAAY up in the mix, as are Araya's vocals — you can understand every word, even on the thrashers; the guitars are simply further down in the mix and sometimes it becomes difficult to discern Araya's bass. Therefore, the first listen or two to World Painted Blood might be a bit confusing for the seasoned Slayer fan, but that changes quickly, and the sound of those drums blasting in one's head will become a more than welcome presence in the mix. [There are two other editions of World Painted Blood: the Deluxe Edition comes with a bonus DVD containing a thematic narrative (and disturbing) animated video, and the other one is on vinyl with a copy of the CD enclosed in the sleeve.]

2009-10-24T19:21:00.002-07:00

Christ Illusion

The reunion of the original Slayer lineup appears for the first time in the studio since 1990's Seasons in the Abyss (a record that topped off one of the great four-album stands in metal history: Hell Awaits, Reign in Blood, and South of Heaven preceded it). Drummer Dave Lombardo's retaking of the drum chair places the band back on the edge, pushing themselves and the genre to look back at where they've been and where they go from here. For a band that has been together as long as Slayer has, they have never made concessions and have stubbornly refused to sound like anyone but themselves. Christ Illusion is a raging, forward-thinking heavy metal melding with hardcore thrash; this is what made them such a breath of fresh air in the first place. And while they no longer sound terrifying, that was never their point anyway. Slayer rips through these ten songs, complete with lightning changes, off-kilter rhythms, and riff invention, together with plodding crescendos, sick-as-hell guitar breaks, and dark, unrelentingly twisted-as-f*ck lyrics that reflect a singular intensity. The big themes on Christ Illusion center on the perverse myth of religion and its responsibility for, and cause of, war. One can talk about the power big-money has at stake in the Middle Eastern havoc, but the root, according to some of these songs, is the culture war between two competing myths, Christianity and Islam, that this time out could result in the apocalypse. On the opener, "Flesh Storm," Tom Araya roars the refrain above the guitars and frantic drumming: "It's all just psychotic devotion/Manipulated with no discretion/Relentless/Warfare knows no compassion/Thrives with no evolution/Unstable minds exacerbate/Unrest in peace...only the fallen have won/Because the fallen can't run/My vision's not obscure/For war there is no cure/So here the only law/Is men killing men/For someone else's cause."

Elsewhere, such as "Eyes of the Insane," the story comes in the first person from the point of view of a soldier who is suffering the effects of PTSD, yet he may or may not still be on the battlefield. Lombardo's drums open it slowly, then the Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King guitar gods create an intensely harrowing and angular riff that changes from verse to verse, through the refrain and bridge, and comes back again. Yeah, Slayer actually crafts and writes songs. Check the little skittering vamp that leads into "Jihad," where Lombardo just shimmers his hi-hat before the band begins to enter and twist and turn looking for a place to create a new rhythmic thrash that's the most insane deconstruction of four/four time on tape. The indictment of "holy war" is possible only through the telling of the narrative from a Jihadist's point of view. The blazing, low-tuned heaviness of "Consfearacy" turns the entire principle of patriotism's blind ideals into an evil joke. Araya's voice is mixed way up this time, every utterance is understandable, thanks to producer and mixer Josh Abraham and label boss Rick Rubin. This scathing rejection of religion as the cause for world conflict is best characterized in "Cult." The low-tuned, two-string vamp that slithers into the foreground creates a tension as Lombardo's cymbals call the band into the riff that opens the tune. It's slow, meaty, unrelenting in its tautness. When Araya's voice comes in, the whole track is off the rails and stays there: "Oppression is the holy war/In God I distrust...Is war and greed the Master's plan? The Bible's where it all began/Its propaganda sells despair/And spreads the virus everywhere/Religion Is hate/Religion Is fear/Religion is war...." Whether you agree with Slayer's anti-religion militancy is one thing, but their view that it underscores this war and so many preceding it has to be taken with some seriousness. And musically, they are in a league of their own. Christ Illusion creates an interesting dilemma for people of faith who like heavy metal: the stance against war here is unreproachable, but can one hang with the conflicting point of view that faith in a god is responsible for it? Given the defined presence of the vocals, one cannot simply listen to the voice as another instrument, as in much of heavy metal. One has to deal with the music and the words this time out, and yes, they're printed in the lyric booklet. Christ Illusion is an antiwar record that asks people to think for themselves. At one point Araya makes his choice, "six six six," but even that's in reaction, an irony. Christ Illusion is brilliant, stomping, scorched-earth thrash metal at its best. Lyrically, it may offend people, but getting the listener to think and make choices is what this music is all about. An anti-Christian/anti-Islam/anti-theocratic, antiwar album, Christ Illusion is essential for anyone interested in the genre.

2009-10-24T19:21:00.001-07:00

God Hates Us All

Incredibly brutal, God Hates Us All is Slayer's most effective album since Seasons in the Abyss (1990), thanks in large part to Matt Hyde's raw production and a handful of killer songs. The previous few Slayer albums — Divine Intervention (1994), Undisputed Attitude (1996), and Diabolus in Musica (1998) — were relatively disappointing, at least for anyone familiar with the band's defining triptych of Reign in Blood (1986), South of Heaven (1988), and Seasons in the Abyss (1990). While God Hates Us All isn't on a par with those classics, without much argument one could call it a return to form for Slayer. A couple "War Ensemble"-style thrashers, "Disciple" and "New Death," get the album off to vicious start; "Payback" concludes the album likewise. On the other hand, "Bloodline" is a slower-paced, evocative song in the style of "Reign in Blood" and "South of Heaven," including a melodic chorus. These are the highlights of God Hates Us All, and while there are some passable songs sequenced throughout the 13-track album, it's solid and well-balanced overall. Especially since it arrived after a long absence, God Hates Us All should be a relief for long-time Slayer fans who were afraid the band had fallen off during the '90s, and it well may surprise newcomers unfamiliar with the band's prime recordings from the mid- to late '80s.

2009-10-24T19:20:00.001-07:00

Diabolus in Musica

By 1998, it seems that Slayer has fully explored the possible variations on their signature style; they've had all the influence and impact they're going to, which means that in order to keep their fans' reverence and critics' respect, it's much more advisable for new Slayer material to offer competent retrenchments rather than experimentation with current trends. And they do indeed follow the former approach on Diabolus in Musica (Latin for "the devil in music"), an album that will certainly please fans while offering little that hasn't been heard before. If Divine Intervention tried (perhaps too hard) to re-create the full-on rush of the classic Reign in Blood, then Diabolus in Musica employs more of the in-between feel of Seasons in the Abyss, albeit with a thicker-sounding production and slightly more emphasis on texture than the formerly almighty riff. It may lack some of the spark and vitality of their 1980s recordings, but it's nothing to be ashamed of either. Even if their liner art keeps getting more and more graphic, the music is still the same old Slayer, and that's pretty much what sellout-wary diehards want to hear.

2009-10-24T19:18:00.001-07:00

Divine Intervention

The rock & roll landscape changed dramatically between Seasons in the Abyss in 1990 and Divine Intervention in 1994. With the rise of alternative rock, many metal and hard rock bands that had been enormously successful at the dawn of the '90s were struggling by the middle of the decade. Instead of doing something calculated like emulating Nirvana or Pearl Jam — or for that matter, Nine Inch Nails or Ministry — Slayer wisely refused to sound like anyone but Slayer. Tom Araya and co. responded to the new environment simply by striving to be the heaviest metal band they possibly could. Less accessible than Seasons but equally riveting, Divine Intervention marked drummer Paul Bostaph's studio debut with the band. Bostaph proved to be a positive, energizing influence on Slayer, which sounds better than ever on such dark triumphs as "Killing Fields," "Serenity in Murder," and "Circle of Beliefs." Characteristically grim and morbid, Slayer focus on the violently repressive nature of governments and the lengths to which they will go to wield power. And true to form, Slayer's music is as disturbing as their lyrics.

2009-10-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

Seasons in the Abyss

After staking out new territory with the underrated South of Heaven, Slayer brought back some of the pounding speed of Reign in Blood for their third major-label album, Seasons in the Abyss. Essentially, Seasons fuses its two predecessors, periodically kicking up the mid-tempo grooves of South of Heaven with manic bursts of aggression. "War Ensemble" and the title track each represented opposite sides of the coin, and they both earned Slayer their heaviest MTV airplay to date. In fact, Seasons in the Abyss is probably their most accessible album, displaying the full range of their abilities all in one place, with sharp, clean production. Since the band is refining rather than progressing or experimenting, Seasons doesn't have quite the freshness of its predecessors, but aside from that drawback, it's strong almost all the way from top to bottom (with perhaps one or two exceptions). Lyrically, the band rarely turns to demonic visions of the afterlife anymore, preferring instead to find tangible horror in real life — war, murder, human weakness. There's even full-fledged social criticism, which should convince any doubters that Slayer aren't trying to promote the subjects they sing about. Like Metallica's Master of Puppets or Megadeth's Peace Sells...but Who's Buying, Seasons in the Abyss paints Reagan-era America as a cesspool of corruption and cruelty, and the music is as devilishly effective as ever.

2009-10-24T19:16:00.001-07:00

South of Heaven

When it comes to death metal, no band is more convincing than Slayer. For other bands, focusing on death, Satanism, the supernatural, and the occult became a cliché; but Slayer's controversial reflections on evil always came across as honest and heartfelt. The group's sincerity is the thing that makes South of Heaven so disturbing and powerful -- when the influential thrashers rip into such morbid fare as "Spill the Blood," "Mandatory Suicide," and "Ghosts of War," they are frighteningly convincing. With their fourth album, Slayer began to slow their tempos without sacrificing an iota of heaviness or incorporating any pop elements. South of Heaven would be Slayer's last album for Def Jam. When Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons (brother of Joseph "Run" Simmons of Run-D.M.C.) parted company, Slayer went to Rubin's new company Def American, while LL Cool J, Slick Rick, and other rappers recorded for Simmons at Def Jam.

2009-10-24T19:15:00.002-07:00

Reign in Blood

Widely considered the pinnacle of speed metal, Reign in Blood is Slayer's undisputed masterpiece, a brief (under half an hour) but relentless onslaught that instantly obliterates anything in its path and clears out just as quickly. Producer Rick Rubin gives the band a clear, punchy sound for the first time in its career, and they largely discard the extended pieces of Hell Awaits in favor of lean assaults somewhat reminiscent of hardcore punk (though distinctly metallic and much more technically demanding). Reign in Blood opens and closes with slightly longer tracks (the classics "Angel of Death" and "Raining Blood") whose slower riffs offer most of the album's few hints of melody. Sandwiched in between are eight short (all under three minutes), lightning-fast bursts of aggression that change tempo or feel without warning, producing a disjointed, barely controlled effect. The album is actually more precise than it sounds, and not without a sense of groove, but even in the brief slowdowns, the intensity never lets up. There may not be much variation, but it's a unified vision, and a horrific one at that. The riffs are built on atonal chromaticism that sounds as sickening as the graphic violence depicted in many of the lyrics, and Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman's demented soloing often mimics the screams of the songs' victims. It's monstrously, terrifyingly evocative, in a way that transcends Reign in Blood's metal origins. The album almost single-handedly inspired the entire death metal genre (at least on the American side of the Atlantic), and unlike many of its imitators, it never crosses the line into self-parodic overkill. Reign in Blood was a stone-cold classic upon its release, and it hasn't lost an ounce of its power today.

2009-10-24T19:15:00.001-07:00

Hell Awaits

When it was released in 1985, Slayer's second full album, Hell Awaits, seemed to many a nearly impenetrable cacophony of sound. However, it proved to be incredibly ahead of its time instead, and has since been confirmed as a mandatory item in the band's remarkable discography. Why? Well, despite its many memorable tunes, the songwriting on Slayer's 1983 debut, Show No Mercy, was firmly entrenched in blues-based punk/metal, and it wasn't until the following year's more excessive Haunting the Chapel EP that the band began adding the unusual arrangements, varying tempos, and dissonant nuances that paved the way to a wholly distinctive sound all their own. These experiments (rooted in the at once ingenious and ingenuous innovations of Venom's early work) were fleshed out even further on Hell Awaits; starting with the terrifying title track, continuing through the mesmerizing "At Dawn They Sleep," and arguably pushed over the limit of reason by the corrosive "Hardening of the Arteries." Here, the listener is introduced to a far more technical, almost progressive, side of Slayer -- a side never heard before and rarely since, for that matter. Meanwhile, comparatively straightforward thrashers like "Kill Again" and "Necrophiliac" made it plain that the group's love of pure speed remained intact, even if here, their sharp-edged riffs were often buried in overwhelming distortion. And perhaps most crucial of all, the musical backdrops unleashed by all the above (as well as equally worthy entries "Praise of Death" and "Crypts of Eternity") actually managed to inflict a true sense of horror and fear on par with their lyrics -- therefore marking Hell Awaits as the first album unmistakable as coming from anyone else but Slayer. True, it was ultimately eclipsed by its peerless successor, Reign in Blood (still largely considered the greatest thrash metal album ever recorded), as an irresistible force, but one could still make a confident point that Hell Awaits' uniquely daunting compositions arguably proved just as influential to future extreme metal acts.

2009-10-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

Show No Mercy

Released at the forefront of the early-'80s thrash movement, Show No Mercy proved to be only a small step toward Slayer's domination of the extreme metal scene, basically amounting to a cleaned-up version of black metal stalwarts Venom. Everything about this album, from the production to the musicianship, is amateurish compared to later releases, but in the same way Metallica was on their own debut, Kill 'Em All. Despite the band's shortcomings, a number of future classics are present on this album, including concert favorites "The Antichrist," "Die by the Sword," and "Black Magic." Show No Mercy remains a solid, if inessential, part of the Slayer legacy. [The 1987 reissue includes three tracks from the Haunting the Chapel EP, though those have since been omitted in favor of both records being independently re-released.] (With all reviews, remember to take them with a grain of salt, because not all of them are spot on in all aspects and this review is proof of that.)

2009-10-24T19:00:00.001-07:00

Endgame

The release of 2009's Endgame brings with it a startling realization: if first-generation thrash metal fans had been polled about which of the genre's "Big Four" -- Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth -- would prove to be the most resilient and consistently prolific over the next quarter century, the only sure-fire consensus would probably have been "well, anyone but Megadeth!" And yet, 12 studio albums and 150-plus songs later -- more than any of the other three have managed -- that's exactly what's come to pass. It hasn't been easy, and it's rarely been pretty along the way, but despite a few weak efforts, mostly self-inflicted controversy, and no end to verbal diarrhea, none of those other platinum-busting thrash titans have been as productive as Dave Mustaine's bunch -- all of which stands as a testament to the man's stubborn drive to prolong Megadeth's career against all odds, including drug abuse, his unfulfilled vengeance against Metallica, and even a religious reawakening! Of course, one shouldn't overlook the fact that Megadeth have always been a band in name only, thus allowing their leader to cope with voices of dissent by simply showing them the door. The "group" was also broken up for a short spell in the early 2000s while Mustaine recovered from nerve damage to his hands, after which he struggled with inspiration, creative direction, and a never-ending parade of henchmen before finally recovering much of that old Megadeth "mojo" (sonically, lyrically, and even where the cover art was concerned) on 2007's effective return to form, United Abominations. Best of all, this momentum carries on into Mustaine and company's second release for Roadrunner, Endgame, whose title apparently refers to "coming full circle" rather than any sort of goodbye, and finds the latest iteration of Megadeth -- debuting new guitarist Chris Broderick(ex-Nevermore, Jag Panzer) -- working primarily within their technical thrash comfort zone (think Peace Sells through Rust in Peace), with only a few latter-day elements and rare experimental diversions.

As such, deceptively simple guitar-shredding master classes like "This Day We Fight!," "1,320" (surprisingly, written about "funny car" racing), and first single "Headcrusher" are cut from the same bloody cloth as "Wake Up Dead" and "Set the World Afire," while politicized rants such as "44 Minutes," "Bite the Hand That Feeds," and the title cut recall old stalwarts like "Peace Sells" and "Holy Wars." And for those who enjoyed Megadeth's early-'90s shift away from incessant thrashing toward the more "civilized" (but pre-sellout) Countdown to Extinction and Youthanasia albums, there are more methodical and melodically sweetened cuts like "Bodies Left Behind," "How the Story Ends," and "The Right to Go Insane." Indeed, the only song here that breaks entirely from vintage Megadeth templates is the elaborately named "The Hardest Part of Letting Go...Sealed with a Kiss," which surely owes its orchestrated string backdrops to the European metal perspective afforded by producer Andy Sneap, and tells a "love story" about entombing one's beloved behind a brick wall à la Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado. This one anomaly notwithstanding, however, Endgame is arguably the least commercially concerned Megadeth album since Rust in Peace some 20 years earlier, and by touching on so many of the favored songwriting styles of those early years, it should not only give their typically opinionated fan base very little to kvetch and moan about, but also throw new fuel upon the flames of Megadeth's unlikely longevity.

2009-10-24T18:59:00.003-07:00

United Abominations

Megadeth have been through a lot of lineup upheaval circa the early 21st century, with longtime leader Dave Mustaine being the only familiar face left in attendance. But Megadeth's crunchy, venomous thrash has remained intact, as heard throughout their 2007 release, United Abominations (their first for the Roadrunner label). While many thrash-metal bands take the easy way out lyrically -- by detailing their encounters with Señor Beelzebub -- Mustaine has never shied away from voicing his opinion about politics and the state of the world. And as evidenced by such biting tracks as "Washington Is Next!," "Gears of War," "Amerikhastan," and the title track, Mustaine remains as outspoken as ever about what he's been seeing on CNN for the past few years. Musically, Megadeth were never afraid to show off their prog-worthy chops, and the 2007 lineup (which sees Mustaine joined by bassist James LoMenzo and the sibling tandem of Glen Drover and Shawn Drover on guitar and drums) appears custom-made for tackling "tricky bits" -- including the album-opening "Sleepwalker." Elsewhere, a re-recording of "A Tout le Monde" -- as a duet between Mustaine and Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia -- has "radio/MTV airplay" written all over it. They may have lost the plot for a period (remember 1999's Risk?), but with United Abominations, Mustaine and company certainly sound reborn. [The 2007 Roadrunner edition includes one bonus track.]

2009-10-24T18:59:00.001-07:00

The System Has Failed

The System Has Failed marks a return from the dead for Megadeth -- and quite a glorious return, it must be said. When bandleader Dave Mustaine was diagnosed in early 2002 with radial neuropathy -- strained nerves in his left arm and hand -- the snarling guitar shredder was forced to disband his once groundbreaking group after nearly two decades of activity. Granted, it wasn't that big of a loss at the time, chiefly so because Megadeth had long passed its prime. The band's key recordings date back to the speed metal era, from 1986 (the year of Peace Sells, Reign in Blood, and Master of Puppets) to 1992 (the year Megadeth, like Metallica a year earlier, made a distinct, more commercial shift, releasing Countdown to Extinction -- to the dismay of many longtime fans). Following Countdown, Megadeth struggled. The band continued to release albums, but they weren't well received and, very sadly, one of metal's once preeminent acts became a bitter has-been. So after Mustaine's injury, the disbanding of Megadeth didn't seem all that unfortunate at the time -- it seemed overdue, some would argue. Then in 2004, shortly after an exemplary reissue campaign, Mustaine resurrected Megadeth for The System Has Failed. And frankly, the band hasn't sounded this vital since Countdown to Extinction, if not Rust in Peace (to risk overstating just how much of a return to glory this album is). Mustaine is joined on guitar by Chris Poland, the very talented guitarist whom he'd fired after the masterful Peace Sells album back in the day. It's a surprise return, and no doubt a very exciting one for fans of Peace Sells (note the shred-fest "Kick the Chair" in particular). That re-pairing of Mustaine and Poland alone makes The System Has Failed worthwhile, but there are also the songs themselves. Put simply, they're ferocious! No, this isn't a good old-fashioned thrash album, but you can tell Mustaine is going for that vibe, especially on songs like "Back in the Day," one in particular that should give dyed-in-the-wool headbangers a giddy sense of déjà vu. The System Has Failed is actually more of a synthesis, taking the reckless abandon of pre-Countdown Megadeth and infusing it with the melodic songwriting of latter-day diamonds in the rough like "Symphony of Destruction" and "A Tout le Monde." Add to this some especially thoughtful lyrics (archly political, nakedly personal, and shamelessly mature), and you have the recipe for an excellent, damn near perfect Megadeth album, up there with Peace Sells, Rust in Peace, and Countdown -- as unlikely as that may seem. Regardless of where The System Has Failed ranks alongside Megadeth's other standout albums, however, it most certainly blows away practically every other aboveground metal album of 2004. No joke. This is the sort of latter-day masterpiece Metallica struggled in vain for a decade-plus to record to no avail.

2009-10-24T18:58:00.003-07:00

The World Needs a Hero

After leaving Capitol and losing longtime guitarist Marty Friedman, Megadeth felt that a retooling was in order. Risk had been the culmination of their move toward commercial accessibility, so much so that the album engendered a backlash among fans. So, they attempted to craft a more metallic record with The World Needs a Hero, going so far as to resurrect early-years mascot Vic Rattlehead for a gory cover that just screams heavy metal. And The World Needs a Hero does indeed prove to be the band's heaviest offering in quite some time, certainly much more so than Risk. In fact, fans who just want to hear the group play straight-up metal will probably find this their best album since Rust in Peace or Countdown to Extinction — and Dave Mustaine tries to conjure memories of both. "Return to Hangar" is a sequel to Rust's prog-thrash classic "Hangar 18"; the new lyrics are in the same meter, but recited over a much simpler riff (shades of Metallica's "Unforgiven II," anyone?). Album closer "When" nicks riffs from Metallica's "Am I Evil?" cover; meanwhile, "Dread and the Fugitive Mind" (which first appeared on Capitol Punishment) has a growly recitation and stop-start riff straight out of "Sweating Bullets." These tracks point up the album's biggest problem: too much of the material feels like rehashed Megadeth Lite. Most cuts are taken at medium-to-slow tempos, and Mustaine's production is still pretty radio-friendly, which means that the group never quite kicks up the fury or flash of past glories. As a result, the aggression Mustaine tries to whip up for his trademark lyrical melodramas often sounds forced, especially on the banal breakup drama "1000 Times Goodbye." The World Needs a Hero is as professional as one would expect, but the album as a whole never quite catches fire, leaving it feeling too much like Megadeth-by-numbers; one can't help but wonder if the group has many ideas left.

2009-10-24T18:58:00.001-07:00

Risk

In many ways, Megadeth's career trajectory has run parallel to Metallica's; both bands started out as speed-metal outfits, then broadened into technically adept progressive thrash, and in the early '90s, streamlined and slowed down their songs for mass-market acceptance. While that mainstreaming process was initially viewed as both commercially and artistically successful, it also meant that neither band represented heavy metal's cutting edge any longer. As MTV combined its appetite for new trends with decreased music programming, Megadeth found themselves unable to rely on it or a cultish underground fan base to promote their music. So, they began to concentrate on a medium that had all but ignored them during the '80s: album-rock radio. Certainly, radio had become more willing to accept their music as time passed, and Megadeth cultivated that more conservative audience with polished production and reduced fury. And that's what they continued to do with 1999's Risk. To their credit, Megadeth never went as far as trying to reshape their sound around AOR's rampant '70s worship, so even if their music lost a good deal of its danger and excitement, it has aged gracefully (something that can't always be said of Metallica's '90s output). Risk is not much of a departure from its two predecessors; more reflective, melodic, and conventional than the Megadeth of old, it delivers a well-played set of hard rock tunes suitable for metal and AOR fans alike. Some of those tunes are catchier than others, and they're enough to carry the album if you're a fan of this style. Even if the album's title is a misnomer, it's startling to see Megadeth still around — and still successful.

2009-10-24T18:56:00.000-07:00

Cryptic Writings

With Youthanasia, Dave Mustaine began moving Megadeth away from its thrash roots, incorporating synthesizers into their sound and writing subtle, textured songs. Cryptic Writings continues this evolution, which unfortunately reads better than it plays. Megadeth doesn't quite have the skill or imagination to craft such ambitious material; they sound better playing thrash, which they only occasionally do on Cryptic Writings. Essentially, the band sounds tired and listless instead of reflective, especially since the production is so slick. It's admirable that the group is attempting to move forward, but the music simply doesn't resonate.

2009-10-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hidden Treasures

Culled from various soundtracks and tribute albums, and featuring a new cover of the Sex Pistols' "Problems," Hidden Treasures may have a number of rare tracks, but it doesn't have many first-rate songs, with only "99 Ways to Die" making much of an impression. (Some of what is said may be true, but Megadeth never fails to please in one regard or another.)

2009-10-24T18:54:00.003-07:00

Youthanasia

Megadeth's follow-up to the hit Countdown to Extinction lacks the focus of its predecessor, but Youthanasia makes up the difference with more accessible, radio-friendly production and tighter riffs. Unfortunately, they have abandoned some of the more experimental, progressive elements in their music, but those are hardly missed in the jackhammer riffs of tracks like "Train of Consequences."

2009-10-24T18:54:00.001-07:00

Countdown to Extinction

Megadeth guns for arena thrash success and gets it on Countdown to Extinction. Following the lead of 1991's Metallica, Megadeth trades in their lengthy, progressive compositions for streamlined, tightly written and played songs more conducive to radio and MTV airplay. Cries of "sellout" seem pointless when the results are artistically (as well as commercially) successful; songs like the mega-hit "Symphony of Destruction," "Skin O' My Teeth," "Foreclosure of a Dream," and "Sweating Bullets" are among the band's best.

2009-10-24T18:53:00.001-07:00

Rust in Peace

A sobered-up Mustaine returns with yet another lineup, this one featuring ex-Cacophony guitar virtuoso Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza, for what is easily Megadeth's strongest musical effort. As Metallica was then doing, Mustaine accentuates the progressive tendencies of his compositions, producing rhythmically complex, technically challenging thrash suites that he and Friedman burn through with impeccable execution and jaw-dropping skill. Thanks to Mustaine's focus on the music rather than his sometimes clumsy lyrics, Rust in Peace arguably holds up better than any other Megadeth release, even for listeners who think they've outgrown heavy metal. While the whole album is consistently impressive, the obvious highlight is the epic, Eastern-tinged "Hangar 18."

2009-10-24T18:52:00.003-07:00

So Far, So Good...So What!

A largely uninspired effort recorded with a new guitarist and drummer, So Far, So Good...So What! lacks the conceptual unity and musical bite of Peace Sells, which helps push much of its lyrical material into the realm of self-parody, as Mustaine rants about the PMRC, the apocalypse, ex-girlfriends, and other people he is angry with, while hinting at the depth of his substance abuse problem with "502," a paean to driving drunk. The album wants to sound threatening but mostly comes off as forced and somewhat juvenile; typical is the embarrassing cover of "Anarchy in the U.K.," which is played in Megadeth's tightly controlled riffing style and without the looseness of the original, making it sound stilted and stiff — and Mustaine doesn't even get the lyrics right. This one is for diehards only. (This review is rather critical and in my opinion utterly wrong about it being for "diehards only". It is a grand predecessor for what is to come, that being Rust in Peace. Many Technical elements are being stirred up in this release, but it comes with a much darker and evil presence. So take most of this with a grain of salt too, unless your opinion is with the reviewer already).

2009-10-24T18:52:00.001-07:00

Peace Sells...But Who's Buying

Arguably Megadeth's strongest effort and a classic of early thrash, Peace Sells combines a punkish political awareness with a dark, threatening, typically heavy metal worldview, preoccupied with evil, the occult, and the like. The anthemic title track and "Wake Up Dead" are the two major standouts, and there is also a cover of Willie Dixon's "I Ain't Superstitious," which takes on an air of supernaturally induced paranoia in the album's context. The lines between hell and earth are blurred throughout the album, and the crashing, complex music backs up Mustaine's apocalyptic vision of life as damnation — his limited vocal style is used to great effect, growling and snarling in a barely intelligible fashion under all the complicated guitar work. Vital, necessary thrash.

2009-10-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good

After his exit from Metallica, Dave Mustaine regrouped with his own band on this debut album, accentuating his own chaotic, driving rhythm guitar work and careening, lightning-fast solos. The music here is as raw as Megadeth gets, and that can be both good and bad — Megadeth's later precise, complex riffing and composition aren't completely developed, but the music is performed with a great deal of energy, while Mustaine's vocals (never his strong point) are amateurish at best. Highlights include a retooled version of Nancy Sinatra's "Boots" and "Mechanix," a Mustaine composition written with Metallica, which turned into the latter's "The Four Horsemen."

2009-10-24T16:59:00.002-07:00

Death Magnetic

Call Death Magnetic Kirk Hammett's revenge. Famously browbeaten into accepting Lars Ulrich and producers Bob Rock's dictum that guitar solos were "dated" and thereby verboten for 2003's St. Anger — a fraught recording chronicled on the 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster — Metallica's lead guitarist dominates this 2008 sequel, playing with an euphoric fury not heard in years, if not decades. This aesthetic shift isn't because Hammett suddenly rules the band: powerless to add solos to St. Anger, he couldn't reinstate them without the blessing of Ulrich and James Hetfield, the politburo of Metallica. The duo suffered some combination of shame and humility in the wake of the muddled St. Anger and Monster, convincing these two unmovable forces to change direction. They ditched longtime producer Rock — who'd helmed every album since 1991's breakthrough blockbuster Metallica — in favor of Rick Rubin, patron saint of all veteran rockers looking to reconnect with their early spark. Rubin may be the go-to producer for wayward superstars but as the producer of Slayer, he's also rooted in thrash, so he understands the core of Metallica's greatness and gently steers them back to basics on Death Magnetic.

Of course, Metallica's basics are pretty complex: intertwined guitar riffs, frenetic solos, and thunderous double-bass drums stitched together as intricate seven-minute suites. Metallica slowly weaned themselves away from labyrinthine metal during the '90s, tempering their intensity, straightening out riffs, spending nearly as much time exploring detours as driving the main road, all the while losing sight of their identity. This culminated in the confused St. Anger, a transparent and botched attempt at returning to their roots, crippled by the chaos surrounding the departure of bassist Jason Newsted. With all their problems sorted out in public — including replacing Newsted with Robert Trujillo, who acquiesces to the Metallica custom of being buried far, far in the mix — the group embraces every gnarled, ugly thing they eschewed in the years since "Metallica." Death Magnetic bounces the band back to the days before Bob Rock, roughly sounding as if it could come after ...And Justice for All. Such a deliberate revival of the glory days can be tricky, as it could make a group seem stuck in the past — or, just as badly, they can get essential elements wrong — but Death Magnetic is a resounding success because they hunker down and embrace their core strengths, recognizing that their greatest asset is that nobody else makes noise in the same way as they do.

That's the pleasure of Death Magnetic: hearing Metallica sound like Metallica again. Individual songs and, especially, Hetfield's lyrics — less the confessional ballast of St. Anger, more a traditional blend of angst and terror — are secondary to how the band sounds, how they spit, snarl, and surge, how they seem alive. Metallica isn't replicating moves they made in the '80s, they're reinvigorated by the spirit of their early years, adding shading they've learned in the '90s, whether it's the symphonic tension of "The Unforgiven III" or threading curdled blues licks through the thrash. Listening to the band play, it's hard not to thrill at Metallica's mastery of aggression and escalation. There is no denying that the band is older and settled, no longer fueled by the hunger and testosterone that made their '80s albums so gripping, but on Death Magnetic older doesn't mean less potent. Metallica is still vitally violent and on this terrific album — a de facto comeback, even if they never really went away — they're finally acting like they enjoy being a great rock band.

2009-10-24T16:59:00.001-07:00

St. Anger

Metallica's first new material in over five years arrived after a flurry of non-musical activity that included a much-publicized spat over Internet file sharing, the departure of bassist Jason Newsted, and a lengthy stay in rehab for James Hetfield that suspended the recording of a new album indefinitely. Hetfield returned to the fold in late 2001. Still without a bass player, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and their newly sober frontman recruited longtime producer Bob Rock to man Newsted's spot, and creation of the album commenced in May 2002. St. Anger arrived a year later as a punishing, unflinching document of internal struggle -- taking listeners inside the bruised yet vital body of Metallica, but ultimately revealing the alternately torturous and defiant demons that wrestle inside Hetfield's brain. St. Anger is an immediate record. Written largely in the first person, it never warns of impending doom, doesn't struggle with claustrophobia, and has care neither for religion's safety nor its hypocrisy. (The religious symbolism of its title and artwork seems only to function as a metaphorical device.) Lacking the heavy metal baggage of these past themes, Metallica is left to ponder only itself and its singer's psychosis, and delivers its diagnosis on slabs of speed metal informed with years of innovation and texture. The record exists as it ends. As the lockstep thrash of the eight-plus minute "All Within My Hands" tumbles toward its final gasp, Hetfield is explicit in his aims. "I will only let you breathe my air that you receive," he seethes. "Then we'll see if I let you love me." Ulrich's drums sputter in fits and starts, but the guitars are already dying, shutting down as Hetfield stabs at the microphone. "Kill kill kill kill kill," he screams, and you have to check the wall for a splatter radius. It's a brutal, ugly end to an album that switches on like a bare light bulb in an underground cave. It blasts each corner with harsh, unfiltered light for 75 minutes, until the bulb is shattered with a combat boot, leaving disquieting after-images exploding on the backs of your eyelids.

"Frantic" is driven forth by a snare drum that just may be made of iron, Hammett and Hetfield's guitars eschewing separate parts in favor of a roaring tag-team approach. A hint of the band's mid-'90s nod to alternative drifts in during a bridge, but it's quickly swallowed alive by the song's muscular groove, never to be heard from again. "St. Anger," the single, marks the first appearance of a vocal technique that lurks in the shadows throughout the album. As Hetfield groans, "I feel my world shake/It's hard to see clear," he seems manipulated by an unseen force, flickering like bad reception. It's unsettling, and startlingly effective. Hetfield's psyche is on trial throughout, and though he often expresses confusion and anger over his struggle ("Some Kind of Monster" and especially "Dirty Window," in which he becomes both judge and jury), the mechanistic rhythms of the band seem to give him strength. "Shoot Me Again" -- another seven-minute epic -- becomes Hetfield's sneering answer to himself. It lurches into gear, juxtaposing a deceptively soothing verse with a dirty guitar line that explodes in the song's titular money shot. The resonating cymbal cracks during its stops and starts are particularly satisfying, as you can imagine the members of Metallica facing each other in a circle, jamming the song's jagged melody down the throat of a solitary microphone. (The image comes to life in St. Anger's bonus DVD edition, which captures Hetfield, Hammett, Ulrich, and new bassist Robert Trujillo in their headquarters compound, shredding through each song on the album in its entirety.) St. Anger isn't a comeback, and it's not a throwback. The album is exactly what Metallica needed to make at this point in its career, after clawing its way to the top of the metal scrap heap, reeducating a generation of bands, and popularizing its genre beyond anyone's expectations. St. Anger looks inward with a hard eye, and while it finds some grinning demons in that pit, it also unearths some of the sickest grooves of Metallica's 20-plus-year lifespan.

2009-10-24T16:56:00.000-07:00

Garage Inc.

For many years, Metallica's 1987 EP Garage Days Re-Revisited was the most sought-after item in their catalog; it was constantly bootlegged in the '90s, and often supplemented by a host of covers Metallica had released on singles and compilations throughout the years. By 1998, the band had understandably grown frustrated with this situation and decided to confront the problem head-on by reissuing all these rarities. Savvy businessmen that they are, they also realized they needed to give hardcore fans who already owned all the covers a reason to purchase the new set — hence, the expansion of the Garage Days EP to the double-disc blowout Garage, Inc. The second disc's rarities are balanced by the first disc's new covers, the bulk of which were recorded following the Reload tour. It shouldn't come as a surprise that these covers recall the blooze 'n' boogie heavy rock of the Loads, but what is a surprise is that Metallica seems to have found their footing in this style through other people's songs. Whether it's Bob Seger, Blue Öyster Cult, Thin Lizzy, Nick Cave, or the all-star jam on Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Tuesday's Gone," the band effortlessly makes the songs seem like their own, through a bizarre mix of respect and ballsy irreverence. Sure, it may not be nearly as raw as early Metallica, but it is a better listen than either of the Load records. And if raw is what you want, the equally diverse disc two provides all the thrills you could hope for. At one time, it might have seemed a little odd that Metallica would cover Budgie, Diamond Head, the Misfits, and Queen, but if Garage, Inc. proves anything, it's that the group's musical instincts, risks, and sense of humor have made them the greatest metal band of the '80s and '90s.

2009-10-24T16:55:00.001-07:00

Reload

Metallica recorded so much material for Load — their first album in five years — that they had to leave many songs unfinished, otherwise they would have missed their deadline. During the supporting tour for Load, they continued to work on the unfinished material, as well as write new songs, and they soon had enough material for a new album, Reload. The title suggests that Reload simply is a retread of its predecessor, and in many ways that's correct — there's still too much bone-headed, heavy Southern rock for it to be anything other than the sequel to Load — but there's enough left curves to make it a better record. Marianne Faithfull's backing vocals on "The Memory Remains" complement the weird, uneasy melody, and "Where the Wild Things Are" has an eerie menace that Metallica never achieved on Load. There are also a couple of ballads and country-rockers that don't work quite so well (it's never a good idea to have an explicit sequel, as on "The Unforgiven II"), and that, along with a few plodding Metallica-by-numbers, is what keeps Reload from being a full success. Still, the towering closer, "Fixxxer," along with handful of cuts that successfully push the outer edges of Metallica's sound, make the record worthwhile.

2009-10-24T16:53:00.002-07:00

Load

Delivered five years after their eponymous "black" album in 1991, Load captures Metallica settling into an uneasy period of maturation. Under the guidance of producer Bob Rock, Metallica have streamlined their sound, cutting away most of the twisting, unpredictable time signatures and the mind-numbingly fast riffs. What's left is polished -- and disappointingly straightforward -- heavy metal. Metallica's attempts at expanding their sonic palette have made them seem more conventional than they ever have before. They add in Southern boogie rock, country-rock, and power ballads to their bag of tricks, which make them sound like '70s arena rock holdovers. Metallica's idea of opening up their sound is to concentrate on relentless mid-tempo boogie -- over half the album is dedicated to songs that are meant to groove, but they simply don't swing. Metallica sound tight, but with the material they've written, they should sound loose. That becomes apparent as the songs drag out over the album's nearly 80-minute running time -- there are only so many times that a band can work the same tempo exactly the same way before it becomes tedious. It isn't surprising to hear Metallica get stodgier and more conservative as they get older, but it is nonetheless depressing.

2009-10-24T16:53:00.001-07:00

Metallica [The Black Album]

After the muddled production and ultracomplicated song structures of ...And Justice for All, Metallica decided that they had taken the progressive elements of their music as far as they could and that a simplification and streamlining of their sound was in order. While the assessment made sense from a musical standpoint, it also presented an opportunity to commercialize their music, and Metallica accomplishes both goals. The best songs are more melodic and immediate, the crushing, stripped-down grooves of "Enter Sandman," "Sad but True," and "Wherever I May Roam" sticking to traditional structures and using the same main riffs throughout; the crisp, professional production by Bob Rock adds to their accessibility. "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters" avoid the slash-and-burn guitar riffs that had always punctuated the band's ballads; the latter is a full-fledged love song complete with string section, which works much better than might be imagined. The song- and riff-writing slips here and there, a rare occurrence for Metallica, which some longtime fans interpreted as filler next to a batch of singles calculated for commercial success. The objections were often more to the idea that Metallica was doing anything explicitly commercial, but millions more disagreed. In fact, the band's popularity exploded so much that most of their back catalog found mainstream acceptance in its own right, while other progressively inclined speed metal bands copied the move toward simplification. In retrospect, Metallica is a good, but not quite great, album, one whose best moments deservedly captured the heavy metal crown, but whose approach also foreshadowed a creative decline.

2009-10-24T16:52:00.000-07:00

...And Justice for All

The most immediately noticeable aspect of ...And Justice for All isn't Metallica's still-growing compositional sophistication or the apocalyptic lyrical portrait of a society in decay. It's the weird, bone-dry production. The guitars buzz thinly, the drums click more than pound, and Jason Newsted's bass is nearly inaudible. It's a shame that the cold, flat sound obscures some of the sonic details, because ...And Justice for All is Metallica's most complex, ambitious work; every song is an expanded suite, with only two of the nine tracks clocking in at under six minutes. It takes a while to sink in, but given time, ...And Justice for All reveals some of Metallica's best material. It also reveals the band's determination to pull out all the compositional stops, throwing in extra sections, odd-numbered time signatures, and dense webs of guitar arpeggios and harmonized leads. At times, it seems like they're doing it simply because they can; parts of the album lack direction and probably should have been trimmed for momentum's sake. Pacing-wise, the album again loosely follows the blueprint of Ride the Lightning, though not as closely as Master of Puppets. This time around, the fourth song — once again a ballad with a thrashy chorus and outro — gave the band one of the unlikeliest Top 40 singles in history; "One" was an instant metal classic, based on Dalton Trumbo's antiwar novel Johnny Got His Gun and climaxing with a pulverizing machine-gun imitation. As a whole, opinions on ...And Justice for All remain somewhat divided: some think it's a slightly flawed masterpiece and the pinnacle of Metallica's progressive years; others see it as bloated and overambitious. Either interpretation can be readily supported, but the band had clearly taken this direction as far as it could. The difficulty of reproducing these songs in concert eventually convinced Metallica that it was time for an overhaul.

2009-10-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

Master of Puppets

Even though Master of Puppets didn't take as gigantic a leap forward as Ride the Lightning, it was the band's greatest achievement, hailed as a masterpiece by critics far outside heavy metal's core audience. It was also a substantial hit, reaching the Top 30 and selling three million copies despite absolutely nonexistent airplay. Instead of a radical reinvention, Master of Puppets is a refinement of past innovations. In fact, it's possible to compare Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets song for song and note striking similarities between corresponding track positions on each record (although Lightning's closing instrumental has been bumped up to next-to-last in Master's running order). That hint of conservatism is really the only conceivable flaw here. Though it isn't as startling as Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets feels more unified, both thematically and musically. Everything about it feels blown up to epic proportions (indeed, the songs are much longer on average), and the band feels more in control of its direction. You'd never know it by the lyrics, though -- in one way or another, nearly every song on Master of Puppets deals with the fear of powerlessness. Sometimes they're about hypocritical authority (military and religious leaders), sometimes primal, uncontrollable human urges (drugs, insanity, rage), and, in true H.P. Lovecraft fashion, sometimes monsters. Yet by bookending the album with two slices of thrash mayhem ("Battery" and "Damage, Inc."), the band reigns triumphant through sheer force -- of sound, of will, of malice. The arrangements are thick and muscular, and the material varies enough in texture and tempo to hold interest through all its twists and turns. Some critics have called Master of Puppets the best heavy metal album ever recorded; if it isn't, it certainly comes close.

2009-10-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

Ride the Lightning

Kill 'Em All may have revitalized heavy metal's underground, but Ride the Lightning was even more stunning, exhibiting staggering musical growth and boldly charting new directions that would affect heavy metal for years to come. Incredibly ambitious for a one-year-later sophomore effort, Ride the Lightning finds Metallica aggressively expanding their compositional technique and range of expression. Every track tries something new, and every musical experiment succeeds mightily. The lyrics push into new territory as well — more personal, more socially conscious, less metal posturing. But the true heart of Ride the Lightning lies in its rich musical imagination. There are extended, progressive epics; tight, concise groove-rockers; thrashers that blow anything on Kill 'Em All out of the water, both in their urgency and the barest hints of melody that have been added to the choruses. Some innovations are flourishes that add important bits of color, like the lilting, pseudo-classical intro to the furious "Fight Fire with Fire," or the harmonized leads that pop up on several tracks. Others are major reinventions of Metallica's sound, like the nine-minute, album-closing instrumental "The Call of Ktulu," or the haunting suicide lament "Fade to Black." The latter is an all-time metal classic; it begins as an acoustic-driven, minor-key ballad, then gets slashed open by electric guitars playing a wordless chorus, and ends in a wrenching guitar solo over a thrashy yet lyrical rhythm figure. Basically, in a nutshell, Metallica sounded like they could do anything. Heavy metal hadn't seen this kind of ambition since Judas Priest's late-'70s classics, and Ride the Lightning effectively rewrote the rule book for a generation of thrashers. If Kill 'Em All was the manifesto, Ride the Lightning was the revolution itself.

2009-10-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

Kill 'Em All

The true birth of thrash. On Kill 'Em All, Metallica fuses the intricate riffing of New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Diamond Head with the velocity of Motörhead and hardcore punk. James Hetfield's highly technical rhythm guitar style drives most of the album, setting new standards of power, precision, and stamina. But really, the rest of the band is just as dexterous, playing with tightly controlled fury even at the most ridiculously fast tempos. There are already several extended, multi-sectioned compositions foreshadowing the band's later progressive epics, though these are driven by adrenaline, not texture. A few tributes to heavy metal itself are a bit dated lyrically; like Diamond Head, the band's biggest influence, Kill 'Em All's most effective tone is one of supernatural malevolence — as pure sound, the record is already straight from the pits of hell. Ex-member Dave Mustaine co-wrote four of the original ten tracks, but the material all sounds of a piece. And actually, anyone who worked backward through the band's catalog might not fully appreciate the impact of Kill 'Em All when it first appeared — unlike later releases, there simply isn't much musical variation (apart from a lyrical bass solo from Cliff Burton). The band's musical ambition also grew rapidly, so today, Kill 'Em All sounds more like the foundation for greater things to come. But that doesn't take anything away from how fresh it sounded upon first release, and time hasn't dulled the giddy rush of excitement in these performances. Frightening, awe-inspiring, and absolutely relentless, Kill 'Em All is pure destructive power, executed with jaw-dropping levels of scientific precision. [An Elektra reissue added the cover songs "Blitzkrieg" and "Am I Evil?" from the European Creeping Death EP, which were later deleted and included on Garage, Inc.]

2009-08-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

We've Come for You All

The cover art of Anthrax's We've Come for You All depicts the band gripping a circle of hands, as a beam of light shines on them from behind. It can be taken two ways. Vocalist John Bush, drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Frank Bello, rhythm guitarist Scott Ian, and new lead guitarist Rob Caggiano might be pulling their fans onto an imaginary stage, to join them in the limelight. But those fans might also be pulling them back from the depths of label-derived acrimony that has plagued Anthrax in the years since Stomp 442, the band's last proper LP release. Since then, metal in all its forms rose to the top of the charts, and hybrids of rap-rock and nu-metal -- genres built on what Anthrax helped create -- came to dominate heavy alternative. With new personnel, a new label (Sanctuary), and the survival of a PR firestorm in the wake of the anthrax scare, all the pieces were in place for a comeback. Instead, Anthrax seems to have designed the pile-driving thrash and carefree rock forays of We've Come for You All to say one thing: We never left. While Anthrax famously kick-started the rap-metal genre with its Public Enemy collaboration on "Bring the Noise," it largely sidesteps the sound on We've Come for You All, opting instead for a volatile mix of thrash and conventional metal, anchored by the gruff vocals of Bush. After a brief intro, "What Doesn't Die" drops, with Bush sounding positively furious as he screams "You cannot kill what doesn't die." As the band cranks out a vintage thrash rhythm, Caggiano introduces himself with the first of many blistering solos. And if you're a fan of the double bass drum pedals, Benante's double-time outro is like a clinic for metal drumming. E-Town Concrete's Anthony Martini's animalistic roar begins the seething "Refuse to be Denied," which continues the album's theme of resolve. While the record does nod to modern production techniques (courtesy of Caggiano's Scrap 60 collective) and expands melodically, the instrumentation and rage that have always been Anthrax's hallmarks are for the most part present and accounted for, undiluted by forays into marginalized, corporatized active rock that might have sold some records, but wouldn't have won over any real fans.

Unfortunately, the band chose "Safe at Home" -- one of the album's weakest tracks -- as We've Come for You All's single. Bearing a striking resemblance to Metallica's "Sad But True," the song opts for a pleading chorus that is the record's only straightforward nod to the anthemic post-grunge that has taken over metal in recent years. This misstep aside, We've Come for You All is a typical thrash metal album, in an age where such a thing no longer exists. The introspective acoustic guitar duet of "Anyplace But Here" gives way to a muscular Scott Ian riff that gives way to an effective nod to East Coast hardcore during the chorus. Though a bombastic overture slows things down ("There's ways to kill a giant"? Come on...), the song recovers with another screed from Caggiano. Though Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell stops by for the strutting '70s rock groove of "Cadillac Rock Box," the album features a more unlikely guest star on "Taking the Music Back." As Bush gives the lyrical finger to the record industry, Roger Daltrey appears to duet with him on the chorus and add a few trademark growls of his own. After another brief interlude, We've Come for You All makes its final descent with "Think About an End" and the closing title track. Once again, Bush's vocals present the band as a survivor, a unit that has always been supported by itself and its fans. At the same time, "Think" seems to lash out at Christianity. But it's strange. The song name-checks Rage Against the Machine in its chorus, uses the phrase "killing in the name" in its lyrics, and even bears a resemblance to the hard-hitting grooves of Rage's early material. It's unclear whether this reflects a positive or negative relationship between the two groups. Nevertheless, the song's meaty, churning groove slides right into the final title track. "W.C.F.Y.A."'s lyrics revel in heavy metal cliché ("The wrecking ball is here/Your chest contains no treasure"; "Patience starts to bleed/Increasing enmity/It's time to let the bullets fly"). But what is this band but a heavy metal survivor? If anyone can rely on the genre's boilerplate, it's Anthrax. A particularly nice touch is the fadeout on the song's final, titular words, as if they're still coming, for you, out there somewhere in the night. The band is sure to win back, win over, and alienate individual parts of its audience with We've Come for You All. But it's effectively reestablished itself not by embracing the recent homogenization of heavy music, but by grafting its more marketable elements onto its tried and true thrash.

2009-08-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

Volume 8: The Threat Is Real

Ignored by all but diehards, Stomp 442 found Anthrax in creative freefall, shackled to ideas that had ceased to be interesting years ago. Apparently, the band realized they were in dire straits -- that's the only explanation for the ambitious cavalcade of sounds on Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, the follow-up to Stomp 442. Coming on the heels of Anthrax's blandest effort, the whirling array of styles on Volume 8 is welcome, but it also hides the fact that the group hasn't exactly bounced back from a songwriting slump that first reared its head on Sound of White Noise. Sheer energy and attitude go a long way, however, and for a while the album is genuinely engaging. The speed metal has actual bite, and the departures, from the heavy percussion of the opener, "Crush," through the country stomp "Toast" to the unlisted acoustic closer, "Pieces," are nearly all successful. The problem is, the entire thing adds up to less than the sum of its parts. At first, the revitalized and newly creative Anthrax is enthralling, but soon it becomes apparent that all of the change is on the surface -- beneath the stylistic games, there aren't many memorable songs. Still, the surfaces are quite appealing, suggesting that Volume 8 is a transitional album that will lead Anthrax into new, uncharted territory.

2009-08-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

Stomp 442

Anthrax continued their downward spiral with Stomp 442, a generic collection of speed metal bombast. Previously, the band had been able to save their weakest material by the sheer force of their personality, but by the time they recorded Stomp 442, they had lost a number of their key members. Instead of recharging the band, the new members make Anthrax seem somewhat unsure of where to go next -- they pull out their old bag of tricks, but none of their blistering riffs, thundering drums, or hip-hop experiments carry any excitement any more. A handful of tracks suggest that the band could save itself, but Stomp 442 is a disheartening experience for the band's dedicated followers. (Why this is true in many regards, it is not necessarily a bad album once given a chance.)

2009-08-27T20:01:00.001-07:00

Sound of White Noise

Anthrax replaced longstanding vocalist Joey Belladonna with John Bush (of Armored Saint) and released the surprisingly melodic and predictably pummeling Sound of White Noise. Producer Dave Jerden, who had worked with Bush on the last Armored Saint disc as well as releases for Alice in Chains and Jane's Addiction, helped Anthrax channel its energy into the shape of the post-Seattle metal sound. This ostracized some fans and attracted others, but the change is incidental; the music is relentless, like a brigade of tanks, and chances are you'll be too busy running for your life to worry who's at the wheel. Sound of White Noise cudgels the listener like nothing since Among the Living; Charlie Benante's drums are everywhere they want to be, a hailstorm of thundering blows backed up by Frank Bello's basslines. The guitars of Dan Spitz and Scott Ian forsake their usual showmanship for a sludgier attack that's downright brutal, although some will miss the solos that were often the highlights of their earlier work. And many enjoy the vocals of Bush; he has a lower-register voice than Belladonna, and the result is menacing, premeditated, and sinister. When he sings on "Hy Pro Glo" that "I'll beat you into overload," you know he and the band will carry it through. There are so many good songs on Sound of White Noise that no two fans seem to agree on their favorites. "Only" is the obvious choice, "Invisible" and "Room for One More" are hard to argue with, "Hy Pro Glo" and "1000 Points of Hate" are too hot to contain, and even the cooled-down "Black Lodge" has its admirers. The infusion of melody into their metal gives the material a lot more personality than their last effort, Persistence of Time, though the lyrics are just as dark. True, Sound of White Noise isn't a peerless, groundbreaking album like Among the Living or I'm the Man, but it does return them to the esteemed state of metal masters (alongside Metallica and Megadeth) that is their birthright.

2009-08-27T20:00:00.001-07:00

Persistence of Time

Persistence of Time rivals Among the Living as Anthrax's best album and might even be a clear-cut favorite if some of the songs had been trimmed a bit. The more cartoonish side of the band is missing here, trimmed in favor of a dark, uncompromising examination of society's dirty underbelly -- nearly every song rails against hatred and prejudice, but without an excess of optimism. The standout track is, once again, a cover -- Joe Jackson's "Got the Time" -- but the rest of the album is strong enough to hold its own. This is the album for those who want Anthrax's serious side without any of the pop culture references and tributes; others might miss those elements, particularly since there has always been a sort of clumsiness to some of the more intellectual lyrics. However, Persistence of Time is their most lyrically consistent album, and the music simply rages.

2009-08-27T19:58:00.002-07:00

State of Euphoria

The proper follow-up to Among the Living was somewhat disappointing in its inconsistency. While there are some good moments -- "Be All, End All" is one of the band's most melodic moments, and several other tracks catch fire -- the best thing here is a cover of Trust's "Antisocial," and it doesn't bode well when covers outshine original material. The lyrics continue the self-consciously intellectual, PC approach begun on Among the Living, but about half of the album is surprisingly dull. (True, but depends on ones own preference. I personal love this album as a whole.)

2009-08-27T19:58:00.001-07:00

Among the Living

Generally considered the band's best album, Among the Living broadened the scope of Anthrax's subject matter with socially conscious lyrics addressing prejudice, violence, drug abuse ("Efilnikufesin [N.F.L.]," a rip on John Belushi), and the hollowness of the music business, as well as a politically correct ode to the "Indians." However, the band refuses to take itself too seriously, also recording tributes to Stephen King and Judge Dredd. Musically, the band delivers a powerful, aggressive roar driven by impossibly fast riffing and the changing tempos and collectively shouted vocals of hardcore, especially on the classic "Caught in a Mosh." The brutal rhythm guitar work of Scott Ian and the explosive drumming of Charlie Benante relentlessly push the songs along while still maintaining a solid groove, and more than make up for some lyrical awkwardness. Among the Living remains arguably Anthrax's foremost achievement.

2009-08-27T19:57:00.001-07:00

Spreading the Disease

Anthrax's first album with vocalist Joey Belladonna is a huge leap forward, featuring strongly rhythmic, pounding riffs and vocals that alternate between hardcore-type shouting and surprising amounts of melody. Two tracks left over from the Dan Lilker days are here as well. The traditional metal lyrical fare is more original, while also introducing a penchant for paying tribute to favorite fictional characters and pop culture artifacts ("Lone Justice" and "Medusa" are prime examples). One of Anthrax's best efforts.

2009-08-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

Fistful of Metal

Anthrax's lineup had not yet solidified when they recorded their debut album, and neither had their style. Fans of the group's peak-period material are likely to find Fistful of Metal off-putting, as the band sounds more like a Judas Priest knockoff with rather silly, stereotypical heavy metal lyrics than the thrash innovators they would become. Bassist Dan Lilker, who subsequently left to form Nuclear Assault, is present for this album, while vocalist Joey Belladonna is not. (This album suffers from many problems, but one thing it doesn't lack is aggression. And, that is all a band at this point in time needed to start with.)