Anthrax "The Greater of Two Evils" (Sanctuary)
By Tim Den
Monday. Dec 06, 12:39 PM
Third-degree burns hot.

Anthrax fans were abuzz with suggestions the moment this thing was announced: The Greater of Two Evils tackles the Belladonna-era material via “live in the studio” recording sessions (attended by select fans), with song selection voted on by their faithful followers through the band’s official website. Okay, so they ignored the likes of “Antisocial” and “Got the Time” (which were covers anyway), but our dream of hearing John Bush deliver Anthrax classics had finally come true.

And what a job Anthrax 2004 does, ripping with mad ferocity and insane momentum as they revisit what most consider their heyday. The production is absolutely CRUSHING and the performances are over the top brutal and adrenalized, leaving this writer wondering why they don’t always record “live” (some of the vocals were overdubbed later, but whatever). No joke, the band sounds like it’s on a rampage to obliterate the world. Not even on We’ve Come For You All or the recently released live DVD Music of Mass Destruction do they sound this urgent. Fucking Christ.

Bush, no doubt the star of the project, steals the show with his best performance since Armored Saint’s Symbol of Salvation, which once again proves my point: all those years of monotonously yelling over Helmet riffs (cought Stomp 442 cough Volume 8… cough) wasted his voice. Hear it over Anthrax’s “melodic material” and you’d surely agree. His delivery of “A.I.R.” puts the original to shame. An expressive and naturally melodic growler like Bush deserves thrash’s sneaky hooks and room-for-croon: The Greater of Two Evils shows just what he’s capable of when given the right context (fucking sweet ass backups by rhythm guitarist Scott Ian and [now departed] bassist Frank Bello, too).

Okay, so the downtuning of the songs (Bush’s voice is a few registers lower than Bellodonna’s, after all) kinda bothers me from time to time, especially when it’s done to staples like “Caught in a Mosh.” Hearing the song in anything but E standard just feels… wrong. Thankfully sometimes it works though, like on stompers such as “Keep it in the Family.” The rumble of the verses resonates with the lower tuning and overpowers my complaints with heaviness. Niiiiice.

Other songs benefit from changes of a different kind, especially “Efilnekufesin (N.F.L).” With a new beginning, a slowed down middle, a blastbeat last verse, and a reprise of “Time” toward the end, it fucking shatters the jaw with pit-worthy mayhem. Similarly with “Deathrider”: the new “breakdown” verses really compliment the speedy choruses (not all adjustments were good, though: “Medusa” and “Belly of the Beast” both get new intros that lack imagination).

Alright, and I just have to mention my disappoint at some of the track choices, since I myself voted for the underdogs numerous times only to see the usual suspects end up on this thing. Come on, don’t people want to hear what the band doesn’t usually play? How many times can you hear “Caught in a Mosh?” For god sakes, most of the stuff here’s already available on Music of Mass Destruction, so why pick it again? I would’ve gladly traded the entire a-side of Among the Living (90% of which is present) and “Panic” for “Schism” or “In My World” or (my favorite Anthrax song of all time) “Blood.”

Aaaahhh okay, got that geek rant out of me: on to the main point. The Greater of Two Evils just might be the sickest, most balls-out, “we don’t give a FUCK” Anthrax album ever. It pushes every single member’s ability to the limit and comes up with a hyper rush of metal ecstasy. Motherfucking blast it and LIVE IT.
www.anthrax.com
www.sanctuaryrecords.com

Tim Den

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