By conventional logic, Anthrax shouldn't be in existence. After more than a decade at the top of the metal pack, the future didn't seem to bode well for the band. They were, after all, a heavy metal act - not grunge, and as so many of the top acts of the eighties fell to the wayside during the first part of this decade, Anthrax seemed to be set up to suffer the same fate.
Then, in 1993, the band released The Sound of White Noise. Produced by Dave Jerden (Jane's Addiction) and featuring the debut of John Bush (formerly of Armored Saint - the epitome of eighties heavy metal) on lead vocals, The Sound of White Noise showed a new and leaner Anthrax. Bush's arrival brought out a more lyrical part of the band. No more was there just the screaming vocals of former frontman Joey Belladonna, backed only by the occasional shout from his fellow bandmates. Now, there was actually a melody apparent in some of the songs.
The band's switch from Island Records to Elektra proved to be a good move as well. Advance promotion on the album lead to platinum sales and a Grammy nomination was awarded to the band for their efforts. Now, two years later, Anthrax has returned with different producers (The Butcher Brothers) and less one member (former lead guitarist Dan Spitz left the band following the tour). The result, Stomp 442, is as good of an album as The Sound of White Noise, and is as good as any hard rock record to come out this decade.
The loss of Spitz at guitar doesn't hurt the band's overall sound. Dimebag Darryl from Pantera and band friend Paul Cook come in to lend their help to various tracks, and drummer Charlie Benante comes out from behind his set to contribute some licks. Benante, who writes all of the music on the album (with Bush and guitarist Scott Ian providing the lyrics), shows himself to be a guitarist who can hold his own in the group. The combination of the three different guitarists gives the album an interesting sound that keeps the listener on their toes for the length of the listen.
And as The Sound of White Noise featured "Black Lodge," a melodic tune co-written by Twin Peaks' composer Angelo Badalamenti, Stomp 442 features a slower track, as well - albeit a little less quirky. "Bare" shows what I hesitantly call the "kinder, gentler side of Anthrax," with its melodic backing vocals and guitar work. It also features Bush getting to do something he almost never got to do with Armored Saint and only rarely gets to do with Anthrax, which is actually sing.
Bush is certainly one of the most talented vocalists in rock, but he is as much a performer as he is a singer. His vocal style is more of the "all-body" approach to rock vocals - Bush acts out each song as he sings it. On songs like "Random Acts of Senseless Violence" and "King Size," you can feel the eagerness with which Bush approaches the music, and the same goes for the rest of the group.
Overall, it's hard to find a better band pound-for-pound than Anthrax. Stomp 442 is one of the best albums of the year, and one which should change the genre of heavy rock from being the last remaining dinosaur of the eighties into a viable force in the nineties.
