ANTHRAX - The Greater Of Two Evils

ANTHRAX
The Greater Of Two Evils
Sanctuary Records - 2005
5/10




Someone really should have advised Ian against making this record to begin with. It comes off as a marketing ploy as opposed to a genuine effort. When you look at a decision to spruce up the old bangers and throw them onto an album with a picture of Satan on its cover, it seems dubious the band has any original ideas left anymore.

Anthrax can continue to kid themselves, but John Bush is certainly no Joey Belladonna. Here, Anthrax takes a career full of great songs and turns at least one half of them into a mediocre snooze-fest. Bush’s boring vocals take away from the originals much of the time and the exciting feelings contained in those recordings is certainly missing.

Following repeated listening, it strikes the listener that this record could have been thought through a great deal more before it was released. But this type of meddling gives an impression much like George Lucas altering the original Star Wars in order to make Greedo shoot first. Although it is possible to clean up some tones or fix an off beat, when you add parts into the picture that weren't there before you inevitably alter the feeling and sense of those pieces forever. The perspectives of old fans will change.

This record will no doubt get the folks who preferred Joey Belladonna pretty fired up. Instead, this should be titled 'How to piss off about 40% of your fan base'. Anthrax is a cool enough band that they should give up the gimmickry and thrash out some solid records with some original ideas. ‘Keep It In The Family’ is not really something that we need to hear again in the first place. But hey, they remade them and we can't go back and change that.

A shred of redeeming value might beheld with fans such as myself who already happened to own every single other album by the band. I guess there’s always room for one more Anthrax record on the shelf.


ERIN FOX © 2005 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED