Drummer Charlie Benante SLAYS, the riffs KILL, and singer (really,
singer applies to this man) Joey Belladonna pierces through the carnage of both while also maintaing a surprising amount of melody.
From the riffs to the lyrics, all the songs are insanely catchy, and the high-energy backing vocals provided by Scott Ian [rhythm] and Frank Bello [bass] complement the buzz saw riffs while contrasting sharply with the melodic tendencies of Belladonna. This is no better illustrated than on "Caught in a Mosh," when Belladonna sings:
Quote:
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Talking to you is like clapping with one hand
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Followed immediately by the Ian and Bello shouting
Quote:
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WHAT IS IT? CAUGHT IN A MOSH
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... as the riffs play behind them.
With regards to the riffs, they vary between a Venom album played at 2x speed, to straight up, downpicked, downtuned, extreme metal riffs at other times. "One World"'s riffs give King and Hanneman a run for their money. My favorite parts on the album are the rare points when Benante comes in with the double bass while the riffs play--forming a totally overwhelming wall of sound ("Among the Living").
I can see the album appealing to a wide variety of thrash listeners, as the band brings the melody, and the heavy, in mostly equally measures on most songs. The songwriting in general is fantastic, slowing down at times, and opening up full up for thrash speed at other times. There's not many guitar solos--this is a Belladonna show through and through. There is one exception, which is the medley "A.D.I./Horror of it All" with an extensive section of instrumental thrash goodness playing for the first part.
Not many complaints with this, though, the mixing could use some work, as the bass needs to be much louder on a few tracks. It's very noticeable when you go from listening to "Caught in a Most" to "Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)" or "Skeletons in the Closet" with the latter two sounding comparatively hollow. Also, as much as I like how sings Joey over how he sung on the last album, he could tone down the operatic voice a little bit on some tracks.
Favorite Tracks:
- “A.D.I.”
- "Caught in a Mosh"
- "Imitation of Life" <<<< stone-cold thrash classic.
Overall: 5/5
Final Thoughts: The middle part of the CD is a tad weak, but that's not saying much, because there's not a single bad or skippable song on this album.
Among the Living is far,
far, superior to
Spreading the Disease and
Fistful of Metal. One the top thrash albums in existence for sure.