REVIEW: Anthrax, Volume 8 The Threat Is Real (Ignition)
- Sean Eric McGill
I began my review of Anthrax's last album, Stomp 442, with these words:
"By conventional wisdom, 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."
Well, it's now 1998, and Anthrax still hasn't bowed out. Instead, they've come out with Volume 8 The Threat Is Real, easily the most diverse and challenging album of their now fifteen year career. In fact, if you didn't have the album cover sitting there in front of you, there are quite a few songs on Volume 8 which you wouldn't even recognize as being Anthrax.
"Toast to the Extras", complete with a country twang, is the most obvious case of the band trying something different than they have on previous albums, but that's not to say that the whole album is like that. For those of you who remember Anthrax as the kind of band that could peel the paint off walls, there's plenty here for you. Tracks like "Born again Idiot", "Inside Out" and "Killing Box" are among the most brutal the band has released since the early 80's.
Still a four-piece, the band - like on their previous release - uses a couple of guests to add to their sound, most notably on this release Dimebag Darrel and Phil Anselmo from Pantera. Also, touring guitarist Paul Crook is featured heavily on the album (not to mention he engineered and co-produced the album) alongside the remaining lineup of John Bush, Scott Ian, Frank Bello and Charlie Benante.
Written, produced, and recorded by the band at their own studio between their departure from Elektra Records and signing with Tommy Boy imprint Ignition Records, Volume 8 is full of honest, aggressive songs. It is easily the perfect catalyst for Anthrax as they approach the second half of their second decade as a band.
And when you step back and take a look at the big picture, that's probably the biggest compliment you could pay the album and the band. Fifteen years into a career; they're still writing relevant songs and not hanging on to the success of the past. There are a lot of bands that came out fifteen years ago who don't even exist anymore, not to mention the bands that are out today that won't even be blips on the musical radar a decade and a half from now. But for reasons ranging from their personalities to (most importantly) the sheer quality of their music, Anthrax has made it where few others have. Volume 8 is nothing less than one of the best albums of the year, and easily the best of their career.
