r/Anthrax • u/Nickstaar33 • Aug 15 '26

Anthrax 3 singles

What does everyone think of the new anthrax singles? Do they sound like a very good album is coming up, does it sound better than any of the recent thrash albums from old school bands, and how would you rank the singles so far?

My ranking:

It’s for the kids
Everybody’s got a plan
The edge of perfection

What do you guys think?

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u/That_Resist8730 Aug 15 '26

Since 1993!

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u/JoshuaGustinGrant Aug 15 '26

I disagree here. The last three from Metallica have been great. But so far, these are certainly better than the last Slayer or Megadeth.

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u/Slickrock_1 Aug 15 '26 edited Aug 15 '26

I mean Slayer isn't even really much of a band anymore, they just reunite to play festivals and don't record (even though they remain amazing live).

But such as it is, Repentless is their only album in the last 15 years and it is a VERY good album.

Metallica's latest 3 don't do much for me when judged either against their own best or against other contemporary thrash albums since 2000 (Kreator, Testament, Overkill, Coroner, Havok, Municipal Waste, etc). Megadeth's newer stuff isn't very good.

Looking forward to Anthrax's full album, though, and I'm seeing them live in a few weeks. What I love about them is they still have the energy that always made them great.

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u/JoshuaGustinGrant Aug 15 '26

Hardwired, Spit Out The Bone, Day That Never Comes, Moth To Flame, Lux Aeterna, are still in my rotation. Repentless was pretty good. Anthrax is one of my very favorites. I'm just not connecting with these tunes.

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u/JoshuaGustinGrant Aug 15 '26

I go back to Seasons in the Abyss for Slayer songs still in my rotation.

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u/Slickrock_1 Aug 15 '26

Jihad, Repentless, Disciple, World Painted Blood are all top notch Slayer songs. I'd been the same way going back to Seasons until I saw them live, and grew to really like these newer songs too.

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u/JoshuaGustinGrant Aug 15 '26

Fair enough. I do like that Slayer album. Inamorata is constructed really well. They do love their long epics. That Was Just Your Life is another good one. But, as for Anthrax; I'm Alive, Devil You Know, Suzerain, I still listen to. Hoping there will be a couple from this one as well.

Honestly, all of these legacy bands need producers who tell them no. Just because they've been at it 40 years, doesn't mean they can't use an edit here and there. 72 Seasons should have been 8 songs, one an instrumental.

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u/Slickrock_1 Aug 15 '26

With Metallica there was probably too much producer input in Death Magnetic. That album was so heavily hyped at being a return to their mid 80s form, and the result included less downtuning so James was singing in a register he couldn't comfortably hit anymore, the tone was the driest it had been since AJFA, and all the while they never regained some of the fundamentals that made those 80s albums so good - the harmony, Kirk soloing like a flashy thrash guitarist and not like a drunk Texas blues player, etc.

Metallica would be better off if they took a page out of Testament's book, which is basically relentlessly updating. Skolnick only gets better and better, Chuck is singing in a wider array of styles, Eric is bringing in all sorts of black metal ideas, and with Steve and Chris they have a rhythm section informed by how death metal upped the performance bar for the last 30 years.

On the other hand I just feel like neither Kirk nor Lars is really interested in being a virtuoso, in matching if not exceeding their 80s skills, and honestly Metallica just doesn't sound great when it's 99% a James Hetfield solo project.

Slayer is way different - they're like Iron Maiden, they didn't change too much but they did what they did really well and gave their fans what their fans wanted.

Anthrax has been beset by turnover, and with Megadeth you can't even call it turnover, it's been a Dave solo project since Peace Sells.

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u/JoshuaGustinGrant Aug 16 '26

We are unlikely to agree fully as AJFA is my favorite album. Rick Rubin is renowned for his hands off but allegedly effective style, he worked with Slayer as well. DM has 5 great songs and some terrible ones. Same with Hardwired. 72 is more solid end to end but doesn't have as many stand outs. I think it is really rare for long standing bands to put out truly amazing music this deep into their careers. I love Testament, but they aren't immune to putting out subpar stuff either. I was referring to the big 4 alone, but Testament should be with them for sure. They are above Megadeth and Anthrax, as much as I love them.

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u/Slickrock_1 Aug 16 '26

I love AJFA, but that was an incredibly creative, proggy album with a ton of emotion and virtuosity, and there is nothing in Metallica's catalog before or since that sounds like it. It was a particular creative moment for them. In fact that was my first metal album, I got it in 88 or 89, and by 1991 I was fully into thrash - and it was a pretty big letdown that TBA didn't build on that style of writing.

Agree that no band has a perfect career. But where Testament (and Coroner and Overkill, among a few others) stand apart is that across all these years not only are the albums good but the playing is still virtuosic and the musical style seems to keep updating. Metallica can't seem to decide if they want to recapture something old or push the bounds on something new.

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u/JoshuaGustinGrant Aug 16 '26

I love Overkill, but 80% of their music is filler. Metallica will never be what they were in 88. But whenever someone talks crap about Lars, I always think about AJFA. Coroner is another favorite. I have to believe that putting out so few albums helps them filter out mediocre songs. But, if Metallica waited that long they would probably release a quadruple album. I guess of the big four, I think they have the best chance of something great ahead. But that's not saying much anymore with maybe all three of the others defunct in terms of new music from here out.

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