Anthrax -- 'We've Come For You All' [classic review]

Anthrax
"We've Come For You All"
(Sanctuary Records)


"The reality is that when it is going to be 5 years, one or two months don't make any difference in that point because there is already five years. Our point was to make the best record that we can ever possibly make, to make it sound amazing, to make the best record that Anthrax has ever done and released and has state of mind and that's why it took a little bit longer."

-- Anthrax vocalist John Bush

You can really tell Anthrax took its time with this one.

All the heavy handed genre staples are stripped away, yet still there in a subtle manner. Instead, "We've Come..." offers up a heavy helping of metal, tempered with the rock-ish sound John Bush brought to the band.

"Safe Home" may have been the lead off single (and perhaps the "strongest" track on the album), but it was hardly indicative of what "We've Come..." offers. There's a depth of sick double-bass drumming and bass trade-offs throughout the disc (courtesy of drummer Charlie Benate and bassist Frank Bello), but an even sicker offering of riffs from newcomer Rob Caggiano. With Scott Ian anchoring the production, each song permeates a slick thrash rhythm but is tempered with a slower "metallic" approach. The metal isn't too extreme, but it's still a solid kick in the gut.

From the anthem "What Doesn't Die" (which spirals to a head at break-neck speed toward its finale) to the seething "Refuse to Be Denied" and chugging "Nobody Knows Anything," Anthrax is tight and spot-on. Bush growls and emotes his way through each song while the rest of the pack jams away as a tight unit. Even a surprise appearance by the late Dimebag Darrell is downplayed due to the overwhelming wave of metal Anthrax serves up. In the end, the band manages to put together one of 2003's best: a tight metal juggernaut with a host of influences, genres and talent on display.

"We've Come For You All" was the perfect album for the culmination of what Anthrax has become. It might not fill the void thrash fans might have wanted. But, much like Machine Head with "Through the Ashes of Empires," Anthrax saw a solid return to (its new) form with this release. The album is full, vibrant, aggressive to the core and features few weak moments. In short, it is everything fans who loved the Bush-era stuff wanted in an album.

If the band decides to not work with Bush again in the future, this album acts as a perfect bookend to the experiment: there was the explosive opening with "The Sound of White Noise" and the equally impressive "We've Come For You All." In between, there was some good and bad, but nothing can dim the effect of the new and older classics.

Burn the Priest -- Self-titled [review]

Burn the Priest
Burn the Priest
(Epic Records)


Lamb of God has steadily pushed its way to the front of the line when it comes to modern American heavy metal. With last year's "Ashes of the Wake," the band's first effort on a major label, Lamb of God proved it was a force to be reckoned.

Of course, this news was nothing new to the band's long-time fans that had pounded fists to 2003's "As the Palaces Burn," or the group's debut, 2000's "New American Gospel."

But until now, this five man wrecking crew's first outing, under the moniker Burn the Priest, was a little known and hard-to-find gem in the Lamb of God war chest.

No longer... the album has been remixed and remastered for the band's legions of fans.

"Burn the Priest" is far more raw than the quintet's more recent material. The sludgy, thrash-meets-death metal musical framework is still readily apparent; it's front man Randy Blythe that stands out here. As much as the band seems to channel an intense version of Pantera, on "Burn the Priest" Blythe sounds more like Phil Anselmo (Pantera lead singer) fronting Superjoint Ritual on its first release. That is to say the vocal delivery sounds far more strained and guttural than simply intense. Track after track, Blythe tears through lyrics that seem more of an afterthought given the sick guitar riffs and intense (double-bass) drumming accompanying him.

Lamb of God fans will recognize tracks like the album's opener, "Bloodletting," as it has remained a staple of the band's live act. Other songs like "Chronic Auditory Hallucination" and "Salvation" unfold at a breakneck pace as it seemed clear the band was content with going in, kicking ass and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

"Lame" is a bludgeoning masterpiece, while "Dimera" is pure brutality. The vocals switch from an ungodly howl to a scream with abandon, and every breakdown sounds like it was crafted to start a near-riot in any mosh pit.

It's clear from "Burn the Priest," which was originally independently released in 1999, that Lamb of God had a strong future in the metal industry (through I doubt anyone could foresee just how great the band was to become).

While there's some filler at times, overall this is pretty solid metal release, albeit a little more "extreme" than the material the band releases nowadays. Any Lamb of God fan will be happy to add this to their collection. Other metal fans could be just as happy, provided you aren't looking for any melodic bridges -- this is metal that fans of thrash and death will love.