David Halbe 
Sustainability should be attained musically not entertaining dependency on what can be achieved lyrically.
The musical influence of the band Anthrax is simply undeniable. An undisputed member of ‘The Big Four’, the group was pinnacle to the thrash movement of the ‘80s and a staple of the underground music scene until the arrival of death metal in the early ‘90s.
In my mind, Anthrax remained relevant (with Joey Beladonna) until 1990’s Persistence Of Time.
The band experienced a short burst back into the limelight (with John Bush) with Sound of White Noise in 1993.
After that I’ve considered Anthrax nothing more than a nostalgia act, a band that you go to see live just to hear them play the ‘old songs’. I don’t hate them. They’re just not relevant musically anymore. I understand the need to progress but Anthrax as a groove metal act just doesn’t fit.
“It’s For The Kids” is a great example of this. A performance offering with some ‘Madhouse’ style theatrics thrown in. We see a lot of patients thrashing around in strait jackets. The track starts off strong, but when the group starts to slow down, I wish they’d just stay down.
The chorus is pitiful and doesn’t fit the musical prowess of Beladonna at all. On top of that, I think the use of swear words in this track is completely unnecessary. Sustainability should be attained musically not entertaining dependency on what can be achieved lyrically.
The guitar solo, nearly three minutes in, is really the only saving grace of this track. Jon Donais manages to give up a couple seconds of Anthrax when they still mattered.
Anthrax really needs to listen to fellow New York residents, Overkill. Ironically, Overkill (established 1980) has been around even longer than Anthrax (established 1981). They also switched from thrash metal to groove yet still managed to remain relevant. Why is that? Because Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth writes solid songs and the rest of band retains enough new blood to keep their music sounding fresh.
Just looking at the Youtube comments of “It’s For The Kids” makes me nauseous. Old farts like me are either reminiscing about seeing Anthrax in the past or trying to re-assure themselves that the band still has it.
It’s been ten years since Anthrax released an album (For All Kings – 2016) and we’re not kids anymore. Hopefully, the new album, Cursum Perficio due September 18th via Nuclear Blast Records, will prove me wrong.
Maybe the once mighty Anthrax does still have it. We shall see. \m/
ANTHRAX is:
- Scott Ian – Guitars
- Charlie Benante – Drums
- Frank Bello – Bass
- Joey Belladonna – Vocals
- Jon Donais – Guitars
