Review Summary: "...intense and doesn't really get drowned out by the low moments."
They say that you can be kicked down, but there's no reason you can't get back up; it's always a diligent effort to prove yourself to everyone that you've got some tenacity and boldness and fight 'em 'til you can't!
So as an example to that I suppose it's time to move on from trite comments and take a gander at the upbeat and heavy band Anthrax and their 2011 effort; Woship Music, if you don't like robust and intrepid-sounding vocals thrown into the mixture of thrashing guitar riffs and pounding drums than I don't know why you got this far first of all - but you won't like this one!
Throughout the album Joey Belladonna is the vocalist and one of the main stars of the show; his lionhearted vocals compliment every other aspect so nicely - especially the instrumentation!
Speaking of that chemistry, in my personal opinion it gives the album a vintage early-era feel for the time it was released, that just tells me that they knew what they were doing with this.
Energetic is how I'd describe the mixture of melodic and powerful vocals that Joey has, and after much consideration I believe that they are at their best on tracks such as "The Devil You Know", "Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't", "I'm Alive", "The Giant", "Crawl" - pretty much most of the damn tracks! The melody is just so catchy.
Speaking of catchy, this is a rather easy playful listen for the subgenre that it's in - some may consider that a positive, a negative, or a mixture of both.
I'm staggering somewhere in the middle, I like the project's memorable, headbanging tunes such as the lead single and especially "The Giant", "Crawl", and "The Constant" - a lot of these songs just have such a seamless kick to them!
Let's be honest, athough it doesn't stand the test of time as a monumental work of art - there's still substance and talent strewn throughout Worship Music in things such as the lyrics and arrangement, I'm not going to dock much points for something that can still be easily respected as nice memorable tunes.
The production never really managed to lose my attention; the bass is great, the guitars are badass, and the drums are adrenaline-filling - Charlie Benante is responsible and he did a damn fine job here.
The lyrics say something most of the time, though not outstandingly poetic - I can get by them.
Sometimes they give off a certain rebellious nature that is kind of vapid but for the most part they're not bad;
"An unexploded ordnance,
Variate the deviance,
A Glasgow kiss or a Molotov,
I'm about to blow it all,
Countless, broken by the horror,
A hero's end is still the end.
My kind won't be seen again."
This album has replayability down pat for me, and I'll definitely return to a good amount of songs here. Though I can't really say the same for "Revolution Screams/New Noise", it wasn't something I'd write home about - as well as the short instrumentals like the intro track, and the "Hymn" tracks as they don't contribute much in my opinion.
This is a well put together album, the vocals and the energy are definitely the highlights and the selling points of this entire thing, it's definitely something you'd rock out to in the car. It's intense and doesn't really get drowned out by the low moments enough for me to pass on it. Anthrax's "Worship Music" may not be something to worship, but it's definitely something to enjoy.
Favourites:
The vocals, the production, the energy, some of the lyrics, and damn near every track
Least Favourites:
"Worship (Intro)", "Hymn 1", "Hymn 2", and "Revolution Screams/ New Noise"
AWARDS:
Daddy's Little Girl: Crawl
The Son I Never Wanted: Revolution Screams / New Noise
