The first album from Anthrax, this album is not so different than the other Anthrax albums, even here the band had a skilled vocalist named Neil Turbin and they were also a five man crew. Anthrax had a few problems at the beginning but as they moved on they finally got a chance to record a demo which paved the way to a bigger success. This album contains energy and lot of skills, both instrumentally and vocally, there are lots of shredding riffs, skilled guitar solos and great drumming but unfortunately Lilker"s bass does not get much attention. Many people have said that Anthrax"s first album sounds like a Metallica clone and you can hear it too.
QUICK FACTS
" Bass player Danny Lilker left the band to create Nuclear Assault, a band that plays even faster thrash metal.
" The band got their name from a deadly virus called Anthrax which one band member found in a book in biology class
Neil Turbin " vocals
Scott Ian " lead guitars
Dan Spitz " rhythm guitars
Danny Lilker " bass
Charlie Benante " drums
TRACK INFORMATION
Deathrider (3:10)
A fast song, the riffs are fast and so are the drums. Neil"s vocals is not the best, they are some times quite annoying though. The song slows down a bit in the choruses and the solos are good. I can"t describe the song better than this and you would probably just listen to this song once or twice before you get tired of it. 3/5
I"m Eighteen (4:02)
This is a cover from the well-known Alice Cooper, it's a mellow song, great main riff that sounds "uplifting" and the lyrics is about that you can do anything when you are eighteen basically. Good vocals and catchy riffs, definitely one of the best songs on this album. 5/5
Subjagator (4:40)
A catchy song with fast and heavy riffing and great soloing, the vocals is also great. There are many solos in this song and most of the sounds great, but the song repeats itself which makes it boring after a while. 4/5
Howling Furies (3:50)
Weird intro that sounds like an engine starting up or something, the song is not a high speed song but it is one of the most melodic songs. There are great double solos included and the riffs are solid and catchy. 4.5/5
Death From Above (5:06)
Starts with solos and fast drumming, but the vocals is some of the worst on this album. The solos are played more than once in this song but the riffs is good. Back to the vocals, you just want to turn of your stereo when you hear these vocals. Neil starts to sing high pitched tunes at the end and they are getting higher and higher but later stops to finish the song. 3.5/5
Across The River (1:26)
An instrumental song, not much to mention here except that the song sounds happy. The solos are good but you don"t to listen to them many times. The song is not catchy in any way but I will still rate it. 2.5/5
Metal Thrashing Mad (2:40)
This was the first song I ever heard from Anthrax and I got hooked right away. This is a non-stop rock song, it is fast and catchy and the vocals are great and strong in this song. Great tempo and good variation in the song and the best song of the album, the only bad thing is the end but I guess that"s just me. 5/5
Panic (4:00)
A high speed song with fast guitars and drums, one of the fastest songs of the album and it sounds like the other songs when it comes to the song structure. Good solos which is a bit different from the other solos, reminds you of Iron Maiden actually. 4/5
Soldiers Of Metal (2:57)
Another fast song but this one is quite enjoyable, the riffs are catchy and fast but the vocals do not do any great work here. Solos are once more worth some credit and so does the rest of the song. 4/5
Anthrax (3:26)
This song is one of the heaviest songs especially at the beginning. The song is catchy and the chorus is superb, the verse is more happy-sounding. A great song if you want to head bang a little while. 5/5
Finally done, as you can see I don"t have much track information and I tried to describe as good as possible. In general a great and solid album from Anthrax, I would recommend this album to metal heads and of course Anthrax fans. If you like thrash metal from the 80"s like Megadeth, Metallica, Testament and Overkill etc you have to get this album.
PROS
" Catchy riffs
" Plenty of solos
" Plenty of songs
" Great vocals, they are really unique because very few thrash bands has this kind of vocals
CONS
" The vocals can be annoying in a few songs
" Some songs almost sounds familiar to other songs
RECOMMENDED SONGS
- Anthrax
- Metal Thrashing Mad
- I"m Eighteen
- Howling Furies
Overall album rating will be: 4/5
Death From Above is my favourite song on the album
