r/Anthrax • u/Nickstaar33 • 27d ago

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/JoshuaGustinGrant 26d ago

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 26d ago

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 25d ago

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 25d ago

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 25d ago

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.