Less Thrash, More Heavy. Still Great.
The Big Four of Thrash Metal will always be one of the most unique fixtures across the entire music spectrum. The fact that each have all survived for as long as they have is impressive in itself, but the constant reach within the group to try new things and expand their sound has been the key which, whilst not always being the greatest move, has kept everyone still as interested as they are. Out of this group, Anthrax have always been the band who have been able to get away with a bit more. When the band released Worship Music in 2011, it was perhaps the finest album from any of the Big Four bands for quite some time, excluding perhaps Megadeth’s Endgame. On that album the band allowed the Thrash element to still run through the core of the music, but the approach became slightly different. There were slower, heavier and at times more melodic tracks than you might expect from them. The simple fact is, Anthrax seem to have understood more than any of the other members of the Big Four the current state of the heavy scene, not to suggest they pandered to trends, at all in fact, but their understanding of what fans want and desire from Anthrax in 2016 exceeds the thought process of their counterparts.
Much like on the previous record, For All Kings is less Thrash Metal, and more Heavy. Scott Ian’s consistent ability to write interesting and catchy riffs is what keeps you hooked throughout. Opening track, You Gotta Believe, after the very Game Of Thrones style intro Impaled, is a six minute barrage of Thrash induced Heaviness and sits as one of the real stand out moments on the album. This moves on to Monster At The End - a track the band have been showing off live in recent times; with its catchy melodies allowing Joey Belladonna to stamp his authority on proceedings. But this along with the title track and Breathing Lightning actually presents a bit of a disappointing lull after such an explosive opening. As you begin to worry that this album is starting to wane and go a bit downhill, a bizarre minute long interlude plays out and you think all your deepest fears surrounding what could go wrong on an Anthrax album are beginning to surface. That is until Suzerain smashes through the speakers like an earthquake.
This track, alongside the absolutely manic Evil Twin, triggers a sense of relief as you quickly begin to realise that this is a very strong Anthrax album ruined slightly by the generic sounding weaker moments scattered around the middle. Much like Slayer, the band have cast aside being solely Thrash, because let’s face it they’re not getting any younger, and in the most part it has really paid off. Listen to the slow chugging and heavy as fuck Defend Avenge and try not to bop your head around, difficult right? But whilst the band do lean towards this style more and more with each album, they still have moments which blast through you with such ferocity on the Thrash side of things you’ll be forced in to several joyous repeat listens.
Considering they’re technically the smallest of the Big Four, they’re definitely the ones producing the better albums at the moment.