Originally Posted by jackhammer

Anthrax were always a band that didn't quite fit into the equation regarding Thrash metal's 'Big 4'. Their first album 'Fistful of Metal' was a fairly average album that lacked focus. A change in lead singer with Joey Belladonna gave the band a much wider range in sound with his melodious vocals at odds with the more raw vocals of Metallica and Testament etc but the crunchy guitar sound of Scott Ian that was influenced more by Hardcore Punk than Metal gave the band a much more original dynamic than many bands around at the time.

Their second album Spreading The Disease arguably has better songs than Among The Living but the tone swayed from Speed Metal to straight up Heavy Metal and it took the album Among the Living to really give the band their own identity.

An album that generally focused more on speed bursts and guitar riffs that borrowed from the economy of Punk more than the sometimes convoluted traditional metal sound gives us an album with a much more clearer, unfussy sound along with shout out choruses and lyrics that step away from the usual trappings of metal. Judge Dredd and comics were more what the band wanted to sing about instead of the usual metal cliches.

Listening back to this album has also enforced my opinion that they were (unwittingly) influential in introducing the infamous 'breakdowns' that many Metal bands in the 90' and 00's readily adopted, even though those bands didn't understand the Hardcore punk homages that Anthrax were alluding to and instead adopted them as part and parcel of a new Metal sound that seemed to disregard the roots of Thrash Metal.

Of the 'Big 4' bands and albums that shaped metal for years to come in 86/87, Among The Living (despite the vocals) is an album that pays homage to alternate roots and because of this, still sounds fresh and original.


The obligatory breakdown that is widespread now was a revelation in 1987. 3.28 is where it's at for one of the finest breakdowns ever.