Review Summary: A very commendable step forward
Despite the changes that have taken place in three years time, Anthrax didn’t become a completely different band overnight. There are enough commonalities that link Sound of White Noise to Persistence of Time as the mood is still dark and plenty of songs still go fast even with the grungy overcast and slight Pantera-isms. It’s probably a stretch to say but I can still imagine Belladonna singing on some of these just as easily as Bush on some of his.
Speaking of which, Armored Saint’s John Bush certainly makes a strong first impression as the new guy. Once courted as a potential lead singer in Metallica’s early days and counting Layne Staley as one of his most prominent acolytes, his signature mid-range yarl comes with a sharper bite than his predecessor while still maintaining a careful ear for melodic hooks. He’s a natural fit for the album’s contemporary style without playing up a character and seeing the band accommodate a lower-pitched singer is enough to make one wonder what if Maiden had tuned down for Blaze Bayley…
And like the lead singers switches of albums past, the other musicians’ performances have adjusted accordingly. Of course, that might be more informed by the trends of the time, most notably with Dirt producer Dave Jerden at the helm. The sound is noticeably muddier than before with the rhythm section often getting caught up in it while the guitars have a crispy yet almost wooden tone. The performances are still top notch as always though I can’t help but feel they don’t have as much personality behind them.
I must also admit that the album is more or less anchored by two songs, but they also happen to be among Anthrax’s absolute best of any era. “Only” is the most unashamed grunge-metal marriage with busy rhythms riding along a catchy mid-tempo groove and infectious vocal lines that feel a step removed from Eddie Vedder in the best way. “Room For One More” is a hard-hitting anthem that features their classic style given a Pantera twist with hook after hook structuring and the most venomous lyrics since “Imitation of Life.”
Fortunately, the other songs have enough going on to keep the filler ratio from falling into State of Euphoria territory. Some of the faster tracks can admittedly run together but “Packaged Rebellion” and “Invisible” put in some particularly memorable executions. “Black Lodge” is also a cool outlier unlike anything the band had done before, dipping into more atmospheric territory somewhere between “This Love” and one of Nirvana’s murkier numbers complemented by the Twin Peaks-inspired lyrics.
Sound of White Noise isn’t quite the big burst forward that Spreading the Disease had been but it’s certainly a commendable step forward. Anthrax seemed to weather the changing climate better than most of their peers, smoothly integrating those grunge and groove influences as well as getting in a new vocalist that better fit what they were going for. It might’ve benefitted from a clearer production job and a couple trimmed songs, but it’s held up well with time and easy to see why so many folks gravitated to it more.
