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ANTHRAX ‘The Greater Of Two Evils’ (Nuclear Blast) (2004)
It was earlier this year, and during my Interview with Charlie Benante (drums), that I first got informed of the band’s intention in creating an album with re-recorded tracks from the Turbin/Belladonna era.
This statement came even before the release of the live CD/DVD "Music Of Mass Destruction" in the European market, and I have to admit that at this specific point, I didn’t quite understand the purpose of another Anthrax release in such a short period of time.
Well, it seems that the idea of such a "collection" was first brought up months ago. The band’s official website was "bombarded" by tons of e-mails from their fans, who were asking them to re-record some of their all time classics, with the current line up. Having finished the tour for the promotion of the "Music of Mass Destruction" album, the band entered "Avatar" studios in New York City, and over the course of two days re-recorded fourteen classic songs, some of which are "Indians", "Madhouse" and "Metal Thrashing Mad".
The band have also managed to get in touch with Shepard Fairey, an artist that is better known for his work in Andre The Giant-inspired OBEY graphics, and decided to use his services for the creation of the album cover. Today, almost a month before the album’s official release, I received the promo from Nuclear Blast. After a couple of deep breaths and some Aikido breathing exercises, I placed the CD in my player, sat on my very comfortable couch and pushed the ‘play’ button’...
Before I say anything else, I think that it’s only fair to mention that Anthrax are one of those bands that are responsible for my "Metal" upbringing. Albums like "Spreading the Disease" and "Among the Living" hold a proud position in my record collection, so I was more than intrigued to see what is the band’s perception of these songs is, fifteen years after they were originally released.
First song of this album is "Deathrider", from the band’s debut album "Fistful Of Metal" (1984). This is the only song in this collection whose vocals were originally recorded by Neil Turbin. Turbin may not have been the most exceptional vocalist, but his voice, together with the unique guitar sound of the guitar duet Ian/Spitz made "Deathrider" an instant classic. I have listened quite carefully to the "new" approach that’s presented in "The Greater of Two Evils", and even though the sound is far better and the band is more technically skilled, the feeling is no longer there. Even though I am a huge John Bush fan (his great contribution to Metal music with Armored Saint is beyond criticism), I feel obliged to say that he failed to "blend" with the spirit of the song.
I continued listening to the album, and to songs like "Caught in a Mosh", "A.I.R", "I am The Law" and "Be All End All", but during this seventy-three minute trip, even though I enjoyed the environment in the Anthrax "restaurant", I found the food - exceptionally - was cold!
If the only purpose of this release is to "educate" and "inform" the new Anthrax fans of the band’s quite rich tradition, that’s perfectly fine. It would actually be a good idea for them to hit the road, and strictly perform these specific songs - something like a best off tour. I have to say though that listening to Scott Ian saying that the songs of this collection "have evolved after years of playing them live to where he wish they were when he first recorded them" is something that not only I fail to understand, but that I also totally criticise.
I am the proud owner of most of the recordings of this band, but if I had not been given this promo, I don’t think that I would have bothered buying this specific release. Maybe it’s because I cannot picture John Bush singing "Indians" with a bunch of feathers on his head!
Review by John Stefanis
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