anthrax worship music

Released: 12 September 2011 Label: Nuclear Blast

The Anthrax singer saga has been a soap opera in its own right, provoking more ifs, buts and maybes than the average Eastenders omnibus, but kitchen sink drama aside, the bottom line is always the music and with Joey Belladonna back at the vocal helm, we can at last concentrate on what really matters. And happily, it’s worth concentrating on.

Truth be told, first track proper Earth On Hell isn’t the most instant of openers and it’s not until the gigantic The Devil You Know kicks into gear that the band hits their stride. From then on though, there’s no looking back as the New York legends stomp and stamp their way through an album that is better than anyone dared hope for and possibly, one of the best in a glittering career.

Both Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t and I’m Alive follow the aforementioned The Devil You Know in outstanding fashion; the former being a mature take on the young, hungry Anthrax of Spreading the Disease and the latter unleashing a huge, swinging groove that would have been unimaginable for a band like Anthrax a while back and yet retains everything they have grown to represent.

The newfound maturity continues with the Dio / Sabbath-inspired mid-tempo march of the epic In the End and the band isn’t shy in displaying its influences on Judas Priest which although not too similar to the Brum bangers in sound, nonetheless indicates the classic vibe captured with great success on this album.

For all the talk of maturity, don’t be fooled into thinking Worship Music is anything other than a whole lot of fun. The classic metal riffs, towering rhythms and commanding vocals will have you grinning like a slightly deranged metal maniac, but Anthrax has stepped up a level here and delivered an album that not only competes with the other members of the big four, but with pretty much any damn metal band on the planet.

Worship music. Worship Anthrax.

by Marcus Jervis