{"id":11048,"date":"2013-03-19T00:00:16","date_gmt":"2013-03-19T00:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=11048"},"modified":"2013-06-01T12:49:59","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T12:49:59","slug":"ep-review-anthrax-anthems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/ep-review-anthrax-anthems\/","title":{"rendered":"ANTHRAX – Anthems (2013) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANTHRAX
Anthems EP<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nNuclear Blast (2013)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Anthrax is a band that needs no introduction. These titans of thrash were one of the most influential metal bands of the 80s. The 90s saw a change in line-up and a heavier style that alienated some fans and gained others. After several years of relative obscurity following the release of 2003\u2019s We\u2019ve Come For You All<\/em> Anthrax returned in a big way in 2011 with the Grammy nominated Worship Music<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rarely does a band drop off the radar for so long and come back even stronger than before. Riding high on the tide of a career reborn, Anthrax give us Anthems<\/em>, an EP of cover songs from a surprising range of influential rock bands.<\/p>\n

Anthems<\/em> isn\u2019t what I expected from an Anthrax covers release. Generally, when a band releases a collection of cover songs, you get a little bit of their own attitude thrown in, but the songs on Anthems<\/em> are perfect covers. How perfect? The fun kicks off very appropriately with the Rush classic, \u2018Anthem\u2019. Every aspect of the Rush recording of this song is in place. Joey Belladonna even does a pretty acceptable imitation of Geddy Lee\u2019s vocal style. Every bit of reverb, every note, every nuance is perfect.<\/p>\n

The same can be said for the other songs. AC\/DC\u2019s \u2018TNT\u2019 has the same gang vocal \u201cOi!\u201d<\/em>, and Joey Belladonna nearly pegs Bon Scott\u2019s unique voice. Possibly the only thing that separates these songs from the original versions is the updated production. <\/p>\n

So should you run screaming from Anthems<\/em> because it doesn\u2019t offer anything new? No. Anthrax have chosen landmark songs to present to a new generation of fans, and it\u2019s quality material. Many of these are songs that shaped metal as it is known today. While many don\u2019t think of Cheap Trick or Journey when we consider metal, many metal bands were influenced by the hard rock sounds these pioneered. Anthrax version of Cheap Trick\u2019s \u2018Big Eyes\u2019 is spectacularly fun, and listen to the opening riff of \u2018Keep On Runnin\u2019\u2019 and try to deny that more than a few metal bands haven\u2019t ripped off Journey guitarist Neil Schon\u2019s style.<\/p>\n

What this album does give is a new appreciation for what Anthrax is capable of. While I don\u2019t really think of vocal harmonies when I think about the thrash masters (okay, maybe on \u2018Bare\u2019 or \u2018In The End\u2019) the melodies on Anthems<\/em> are superb. Their version of Boston\u2019s \u2018Smokin\u2019\u2019 has the rich vocal harmonies of the original, something I wasn\u2019t aware Anthrax was capable of. <\/p>\n

The sole low point on Anthems<\/em> is Thin Lizzy\u2019s \u2018Jailbreak\u2019. This song was always a bit hokey, but Belladonna\u2019s attempt at capturing Phil Lynott\u2019s vocal tone becomes absurd toward the middle of the song.<\/p>\n

Aside from this, the other five songs covered on this release are incredible, and we\u2019re also treated to the Worship Music<\/em> version of \u2018Crawl\u2019 plus a special remix. These add a bit of the crunch and intensity Anthrax fans love. It\u2019s a fitting song to add to this collection as it has more of a rock vibe than a metal howl compared to much of the Anthrax catalogue. The remix is heavy on orchestration, while remaining crunchy on the chorus. It\u2019s a more ethereal take, and works well in the context of this EP. See, Anthrax goes so far as to even cover themselves! All in all, Anthems<\/em> is an interesting diversion while fans wait for the next album. <\/p>\n

Jim McDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ANTHRAXAnthems EP Nuclear Blast (2013)Rating: 8\/10 Anthrax is a band that needs no introduction. These titans of thrash were one of the most influential metal bands of the 80s. The 90s saw a change in line-up and a heavier style that alienated some fans and gained others. After several years of relative obscurity following the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anthrax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11048"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11872,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11048\/revisions\/11872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}