Released: 1985
Tracks: Armed and Dangerous; Raise Hell; God Save the Queen; Metal Thrashing Mad; Panic; Soldiers of Metal; Howling Furies
Best track: Armed and Dangerous
Track to skip: God Save the Queen
Before releasing a full studio album with new singer Joey Belladonna, the band decided to put out this little 7 song EP. Previews of some upcoming tracks, some live, some rare stuff. The best way to compare the band is to say they were (at this time) the NY version of Metallica. Except for Cliff Burton, Anthrax were better musicians than Metallica. But once Metallica got to their second album, they lapped Anthrax a few times in the songwriting area. This album does remind me a lot of Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All, just a bit tamer. The title track has a huge Iron Maiden influence and is the most ‘complete’ and well-written song.
This thing’s pretty short, but it gives a good indication of what Anthrax was about. Dan Spitz’s guitar style is very present here and he was actually one of the better guitarists in Thrash/Speed Metal in the 80’s. I don’t know why they decided to do a version of God Save the Queen. They are way too talented to be the Sex Pistols; they just play their instruments too well. Joey’s fake British snarl sounds SO bad on this. This track is very embarrassing to listen to. Soldiers & Howling Furies are actually early stuff and feature Neil Turbin on vocals (I never noticed before). He’s not bad, but Belladonna’s a better vocalist. Even with all the bad lyrics on this thing, it’s OK to hear on occasion, but not mandatory listening or anything. If you’re a serious Anthrax fan you’ll like it, otherwise just stick to one of their main albums (like State of Euphoria, Persistence or White Noise).
Rating: 57
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