Review Summary: Anthrax strikes gold with the first in a steady stream of classic albums.
There are two very important things about Spreading the Disease, the splendid 1985 sophomore effort by New York thrash metallers Anthrax. Both of these things will be explained in greater detail, but I feel it important to mention them now. The first is that this album features the classic lineup of the band for the first time on a full LP, with stellar new additions Joey Belladonna and Frank Bello. The former new member is an integral part of this album's sound, and a big contributor to the second very important thing about this album. Namely, that it's an immense improvement over Fistful of Metal in every area, from production (which is no longer way too quiet and features thick guitars, a heavier drum sound, and thumping bass, although vocals are a bit quiet at times), to the performers themselves, and most importantly to each individual song. Notably, the quality of music on here is much more consistent than on Fistful of Metal, which had some great tracks, but also some more forgettable numbers. Sure, I have favorites from this album, but there aren't any songs that I dislike on here.
This is also where Anthrax began to play songs more reminiscent of the style they're most known for, namely straight up thrash metal. Melodic songwriting is top notch here, with some more "classic" metal sounding tracks on here, and songs like S.S.C./Stand Or Fall sporting an almost jolly sound. That being said, one can definitely see the development of a heavier sound here, with many songs bringing forth more speed, aggression, and straight up thrashy riffage to the table than any song on their debut.
A great example of these new musical developments would be the musically and lyrically awesome opener, A.I.R. This song (whose title, by the way, I've heard either stands for Adolescents in Revolt or Adolescents in Red) is played at a faster tempo than anything off of their first album, features an aggressive main riff (as well as some pretty heavy leads), a cool breakdown halfway through, and showcases Joey's impressive vocals.
Yeah, I should mention the new personnel here. Although the EP Armed and Dangerous (This album features that song, sans intro) featured this lineup, this was the first full length Anthrax record with Joey Belladonna on vocals and Frank Bello on bass guitar. Frank is a fantastic bassist, and unlike Dan Lilker on Fistful of Metal, you can actually hear him here! It's Joey that really shines, though. Joey Belladonna is simply an AWESOME vocalist, no two ways about it! He certainly sounds a good deal less violent than Neil Turbin, but still manages to fit the quick and aggressive sound of Anthrax circa this decade without the need for gruffness or roughness. He sounds more melodic on this album than on their thrash metal masterpiece Among the Living, which is fine, because this album overall is more melodic and still displays more NWOBHM characteristics and "classic" metal songwriting.
But back to the songs themselves. Lone Justice is a ton of fun, about half the speed of A.I.R. and boasting badass lyrics inspired possibly by a Clint Eastwood western flick or The Gunslinger by Stephen King. The latter would definitely make sense, as King novels are a common lyrical topic with this group. This song features some gang vocals, which would go on to be rather prominent in Among the Living. Madhouse comes next. This midpaced number is notable for being the first music video released by Anthrax, although it was banned by MTV for being "degrading to the mentally ill." Strange choice in my opinion, because this is probably the least memorable song on here. At least the chorus is pretty cool. (
"It's a madhouse!") Other notable things about this one include the whacky intro and some neat doubled vocals.
S.S.C./Stand Or Fall is another fast song. This one actually sounds pretty fun and happy to my ears, and features both a cool acoustic intro and a really catchy part close to 3 minutes in. Nice chorus, too, featuring the return of the gang vocals which would later become more important. The Enemy feels like an epic, ambitious number, to me at least. At first, it's a pretty good slow song with galloping riffs and lyrics about Adolf Hitler. But then they speed up, and I really dig the vocal melody during that part. Another cool chorus to be found here, and another appearance of gang vocals. They speed back up with an absolutely
shredding thrash number, Aftershock. Apocalyptic lyrics, heavy chugging riffage, even more shouted gang vocals, menacing solos, and some choice wails from the one and only Joey Belladonna, this intense ripper has it all. Probably my favorite song off the album.
In total contrast to the previous song, Armed and Dangerous features a soft acoustic guitar opening (The original EP version features a neato synth fade-in) and some nice melodic riffs before speeding up and kicking fully into gear. It's probably a lesser song, though. The next track, Medusa, is another slower number. This one's catchy as hell with an awesomely memorable chorus and riffs. (
"Medusaaaaaa!") The solo is really awesome.
Don't let those last two slower numbers fool you, because Gung-Ho is full-on ballsy thrash! The fastest overall song on the album, it opens with a fast, pounding freaking awesome
RIFF that heads straight into a fast double bass attack from the exceptionally talented Charlie Benante. The opening to Gung-Ho is what I think of when I think thrash metal. This song overall is pure thrash, with mean and violent lyrics and consistently fast drumming overall. See what I meant when I mentioned that this was more aggressive than Fistful of Metal? But suddenly, just after the three minute mark, the song appears to reach a loud conclusion before breaking into an interesting military march. Immediately following this, the song breaks out into an interesting chanting midpaced riff before getting faster and faster as the chanting devolves into manic shouting and screaming paired with squealing guitars until suddenly disappearing. Definitely a violent and awesome closer to the Thrax's monumental second effort.
What else can I say about Spreading the Disease? It's a totally fantastic metal album from beginning to end. Some songs on here definitely channel their NWOBHM influence. But frenzied, scorching thrashers like Aftershock and especially frenetic grand finale Gung-Ho point towards a new direction in their sound. Anthrax would go on to release even greater works. However, this is the album that kickstarted their ascent into the holy thrash quadrilogy that is the Big Four. Spreading the Disease is a classic, a vast improvement over Fistful of Metal, and a consistently superb Anthrax album that's definitely worth 43 minutes and 40 seconds of your time. 4.5/5, if only because Madhouse and Armed and Dangerous don't really do it for me as well as the rest of the album. (I still consider the album consistent, though, because both of those songs are still pretty good.)
RECOMMENDED TRACKS/BEST OF:
A.I.R.
S.S.C./Stand Or Fall
Aftershock
Medusa
Gung-Ho
