Anthrax - Volume 8: The Threat Is Real
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Free Music Notes for Volume 8: The Threat Is Real
Free Music Review: Solid but not spectacular
Hit: 3 Stars
I've been an Anthrax fan ever since I picked up "Sound of White Noise" over ten years ago. I became interested in this album after I heard "Crush" and "Inside Out" on their first greatest hits compilation, and for the most part I was pleased with it. I know that this album is one of their most overlooked, but there are some real gems here. "Inside Out" is a great metal song, and songs like "Hog Tied", "Big Fat", "Killing Box" and "Born Again Idiot" are good, straight ahead rockers which fit in well with the overall tone of the album. "Stealing From a Thief" is one of my favorite tracks, as it immediately pulls you in with an awesome riff. "Harm's Way" is another song that really grew on me with its hooks and choruses, as well as the passion that the band seemed to put into it. "Toast to the Extras" and "Pieces" feel very out of place, but I can understand that the band wanted to try a few different things, and I can't fault them for that. I feel that Anthrax has already embedded themselves as among metal's best, so to experiment with a different sound here and there is no big deal. Throughout the album, singer John Bush (who I believe remains one of the most underrated vocalists in metal today) is able to perfectly adjust his tone to match the mood of each song. The lack of guitar solos is also a little bit of a bummer.
Overall, this a good, solid metal album that most Anthrax fans will enjoy. I recommend it, especially the remastered edition, which includes a great cover of Radiohead's "The Bends".
Free Music Review: Anthrax's lowest point
Hit: 1 Stars
the album starts weak with the boring & simple song "Crush" which is followed by "Catharsis", maybe the best song on the album but not that good compared to other bands. "Inside Out" is next and sounds like Anthrax try to be KORN, a lame boring & cheesy song. P&V is simply unlistenable, bad rhythm, bad riff, annoying vocals, 604 is good but short, "A Toast To The Extras" is definitely the worst song of Anthrax's career, after trying to attract popfans they even tried to attract country-fans with this cheesy song. do they even know which fan-base they wanna have? "Born Again Idiot" is unlistenable, they forced themselves to write a thrash-song and it is really bad, the drums sound like someone is swabing the deck, unbelievable annoying vocals from John Bush. "Killing Box" is lame, boring & cheesy like most other songs on this cd. "Harms Way" is ok but not that good, slow, boring & ok-melody, "Hog Tied" is one of their Pantera-wannabe songs, it has nice groove, melody and a listenable chorus, "Big Fat" is slow, boring & cheesy, "Cupajoe" is short but sweet like S.O.D., "Alpha Male" is cheesy, boring & unmelodic, "Stealing From A Thief", another one of their Pantera-wannabe songs is cheesy, slow, boring, unmelodic and could be used instead of sleeping pills like 80% of the songs on this album. Volume 8 is definitely the lowest point of Anthrax's career!Free Music Review: Anthrax?
Hit: 4 Stars
I have been an Anthrax fan since the early eighties. I still can't figure out how Metallica has always been more popular. Anthrax, with John Bush on vocals, is in my opinion what metal is all about. Anthrax never falls into that cookie cutter thrash riffing, or lyrics about some science-fiction fantasy that you can't relate to. No, Anthrax have been and will always be a bunch of regular guys, putting out some of the best sounding, never taking themselves too serious, metal out there. I find Metallica more one-dimentional than Anthrax. Volume 8, in my opinion, along with Stomp 442 (I know many may disagree), are Anthrax and metals finest moments...Enjoy!Free Music Review: Real kick a**
Hit: 4 Stars
The threat is real, and it kicks a**.
Overall just a good, solid metal album.
Free Music Review: Another Monster Anthrax Album
Hit: 4 Stars
Originally released in 1998, Volume 8: the Threat Is Real was the third album of "the Bush era". I was always aware of Anthrax growing up, but aside from their goofball "I'm the Man" single, the band never really made much of an impact on me until they replaced vocalist Joey Belladonna with Armored Saint's John Bush. Bush's energetic and intense yet still melodic vocal style just seemed like such a better fit for Anthrax's brand of thrash, and I still view that lineup's debut - 1993's Sound of White Noise - as the best Anthrax album ever.
Volume 8 is the band's first album since being unceremoniously dumped by their record company. Some have argued that the previous two Anthrax albums (1993's Sound of White Noise and 1995's Stomp 442) were mediocre efforts, causing the label to kick the band loose. Anyone can listen to either of those albums and come away unimpressed needs to have their heads examined! Volume 8 is another high-octane performance by the new and improved Anthrax, and picks up right where Stomp 442 left off. It is undeniably a metal album, albeit a more diverse one than previous efforts. You certainly wouldn't have found a country-esque song like "Toast to the Extras" on Among the Living! Guest appearances by Pantera's Phil Anselmo and Dimebag Darrell reinforce Volume 8's metal credentials
Anthrax is a band that gets smarter and more creative with each release, yet still manages to maintain their "metal thrashing mad" aggression. Volume 8 may seem a bit uneven at times, but with so many tracks there are bound to be a few "off" moments. Still, the fact remains that an average Anthrax song is still going to be better than many other bands' best efforts.
The 2003 reissue of Volume 8 features three bonus tracks, four if you count the fact that the previously hidden (and incredibly powerful) song "Pieces" is now a separate track. In addition to a new studio track called "Giving the Horns", the band gives us another pair of diverse covers - Radiohead's "the Bends" and DRI's "Snap/I'd Rather Be Sleeping". When it comes to cover songs, Anthrax never ceases to amaze me with their unorthodox choices. How many other metal bands will cover both Iron Maiden and Radiohead? If you're one of the faithful who bought Volume 8 the first time around, you may want to consider replacing your old version.