Released: 1993
Tracks: Potters Field; Only; Room For One More; Packaged Rebellion; Hy Pro Glo; Invisible; 1000 Points of Hate; Black Lodge; C11 H17 N2 O2 S Na; Burst; This is Not an Exit
Best track: in no order: Potters Field-Only-Room For One More-Packaged Rebellion-This is Not an Exit
Track to skip: none!
A couple of firsts for this one: first on a new label (Elektra), first with new singer John Bush and the first proper Anthrax album where they break out from being “just” a thrash band. The album is still definitely metal, but the band is no longer limited to just playing thrash. The album rocks like a mother, and it’s seriously heavy, but they actually grew out of the thrash stuff. Because honestly, I think with Persistence of Time (and really also Among the Living especially) Anthrax took Thrash Metal as far as it could go. I’m very happy that in this album they truly re-emerge as a new and better band. Of course part of the thing that makes this sound like a new band is the addition of vocalist John Bush. Formerly the vocalist for Armored Saint (who very few people outside of serious metalheads have ever heard), Bush came in and brought a completely fresh sound to Anthrax. I am so immensely happy that they didn’t replace Joey Belladonna with another metal guy who was trying to be like Steve Perry (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Bush has a wonderful lower-register voice; more ‘rock’, more powerful, more in tune with the music. Yeah, I completely think Bush is a better vocalist for Anthrax than Belladonna was. And I’m not knocking Joey here, because I became a fan of the band when he was still firmly in the band and I think he’s great on the albums he did. It’s just that Bush is a better vocalist for Anthrax. Also, his sense of really being inside the music is due to his songwriting collaborations. On most of the songs on previous albums, the sole writers were drummer Charlie Benante & guitarist Scott Ian. On this, the songs are credited to Benante, Ian & Bush with bassist Frank Bello helping on Invisible & Burst.
Oh, this album just ROCKS! I’m on the last track, This is Not an Exit, and rarely did the band ever just kick this much ass. The sound and production on this album are just immense. Producer Dave Jerden did such a fantastic job on here. The sound is heavy and thick, but not sludgy. Everything is crystal clear. And relentless. The only breather on the album is the surprise hit single, Black Lodge. I think the lyrics are about something to do with the old TV show Twin Peaks, but I have no idea. I never saw it. It’s a good song, pretty chill, and as far as I remember the first “slow” song the band ever wrote. I’m not counting NFB from Attack of the Killer B’s since that was a joke song. It’s a bold experiment for such a heavy band and it really paid off. I mean, it was a hit single (lots of play on MTV), but it wasn’t a sell-out track. Besides the heaviness of this album, the music itself is a lot more melodic than on previous Anthrax albums. So yeah, it’s heavy and it’s melodic. A great combination.
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite track since this album is solid all the way through. Not a bad song on here. I love them all for different reasons. Usually I gravitate to Room For One More or Packaged Rebellion, but today I was just totally loving Potters Field, Only and, yeah, This is Not an Exit. I don’t know, I can’t pick. It’s one of those songs! So, by far, this is the best Anthrax album that I’ve heard. I’m really sorry to say that I haven’t bought anything released after this, something I’ve wanted to fix for a long time. From what I’ve heard, this is Anthrax at their best. I love that quote at the end of the album: “Be dangerous & unpredictable…and make a lot of noise”. Definitely not to be missed.
Rating: 95
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