Music

[Review] Anthrax ‘Worship Music’

Published

13 years ago

September 12, 2011

Eight years. It’s been eight years since Anthrax have released a studio album. Think about that for a second. The last time they released a studio album was in 2003. That was the year that Freddy Vs. Jason, Final Destination 2, Underworld, and The Texas Chainsaw remake came out. Now that the length of time has sunk in, you can understand why Worship Music holds such high expectations for fans. The question is, “Did this length of time work for or against Anthrax?” Well dear readers, check after the jump for your answer!

After lulling you into a sense of false security with Worship (Intro), the album dives into Earth On Hell. Immediately I was slammed with fast-paced guitar riffing, blasting drums and Joey Belladonna’s soaring vocals. It’s a great introduction of what you can expect from the rest of the album. Anthrax is back and they’re using every trick in the book to get you hooked.

The production of the album is so solid, it’s as though a wall of badass metal has pinned you down in your seat and pummels you endlessly. The guitars are sharp and in your face while the bass is seated neatly in the foundation popping out here and there to remind you of it’s ferocity, like a lion stalking its prey. Benante’s drumming is sneakily clever. He pulls off little things here and there to remind you just how interesting his skills are. Belladonna’s vocals are quite possibly the final masterful touch, the glue that binds everything together. With just the right amount of rasp added to his nearly operatic range, I couldn’t help but find myself wanting to sing and chant along, especially on In The End.

From the zombie inspired Fight ‘Em Til You Can’t to “call and response” fueled The Giant to the thrilling conclusion Revolution Screams, this album is well worth eight years of waiting.

The Final Word: Worship Music is 54 minutes of blistering old school thrash metal riffs. Raise your hands to the sky Anthrax fans, you’ve got one hell of an album here.

Related Topics:Album Review anthrax Metal review Worship Music

JonathanBarkan

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

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Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

2 weeks ago

April 9, 2024

John Squires

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…