Among The Living - Anthrax

...future albums.

AMONG THE LIVING, signalled Anthrax's departure from being an underground cult metal band on an independent label, to semi-mainstream metal, newly signed with ISLAND RECORDS.
And whilst the slightly politically incorrect lyrics of the former album's classic 'Madhouse' were not carried on with this release, the band, to it's credit, maintained it's integrity by producing an album of exactly what they wanted to ...
.../> This album features it all - Speed and thrashing guitars on "Imitation of life" and "Caught in a mosh", combined with socially aware and political comment, on tracks like, "Indians", "Skeletons in the Closet", and "One World"

Not to be known as an 'un-fun' band though, their humour shows through with the 2000AD inspired "I AM THE LAW", (which along with Indians, were released ... more

When Anthrax made this album in the mid to late 1980's, it's easy to forget just how little thrash metal had already been made.

We had Slayer, Megadeth, Voivod, Nuclear Assault, and Metallica - and of course Anthrax - though it was still a fairly new genre in music.

Anthrax's first album, the lacklustre and totally generic 'FISTFULL OF METAL' offered very little new from the usual American metal of the day. The subsequent album 'SPREADING THE DISEASE' however, with it's line-up change and new vocalist, showed an originality, speed, and indeed humour, in metal songwriting that promised so much, especially for future albums.

AMONG THE LIVING, signalled Anthrax's departure from being an underground cult metal band on an independent label, to semi-mainstream metal, newly signed with ISLAND RECORDS.
And whilst the slightly politically incorrect lyrics of the former album's classic 'Madhouse' were not carried on with this release, the band, to it's credit, maintained it's integrity by producing an album of exactly what they wanted to do - not what a major label dictated.

This album features it all - Speed and thrashing guitars on "Imitation of life" and "Caught in a mosh", combined with socially aware and political comment, on tracks like, "Indians", "Skeletons in the Closet", and "One World"

Not to be known as an 'un-fun' band though, their humour shows through with the 2000AD inspired "I AM THE LAW", (which along with Indians, were released as singles).

The title track, is also inspired by the classic Steven King book 'THE STAND".

If there's anything bad about this record, is that the production sounds a little weak. Frank Bello's bass sounds twangy and quiet, and can barely be heard in parts of the record where he isn't playing solo.

I kind of can't help wishing that this album had been produced by Rick Rubin (of Slayer's Reign in Blood fame) - if only to bring out the tightness and technical merit of the songs.

An important album in the scheme of things, and maybe perhaps a swansong for Anthrax, who showed so much promise - perhaps peaked just a bit too early. Yes, Anthrax made many more records after this, but only this, and SPREADING THE DISEASE, are what you'd call 'MUST HAVE' albums that made a real mark on the history of metal.

 

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