Time Signature
Headbang 'til you can't...
Genre: melodic thrash metal
Zombies and thrash metal!!!!!!
That's f*cking awesome!
Not only that, this is Anthrax sort of finding their old musical self. I know that a lot of people who are a bit younger than me prefer the alternative metal Bush era Anthrax, and, truth be told, I originally got into Anthrax when they released "Sound of White Noise", but eventually I started going back and explored their older releases, and I ended up preferring the Belladonna-fronted melodic thrashing Anthrax to the Bush-fronted grooving Anthrax (I still love "White Noise" though).
So, to me, this new track which is more akin to the Anthrax of the 80s than the Anthrax of the 90s obviously clicked with me right away. Most of the riffage is solid and crushing just like the Scott Ian riffage on albums like "Among the Living", "State of Euphoria" and "Persistence of Time". Combined with this thrashy riffage is an extremely melodic four-chord chorus accompanied by melodic guitar leads - the guitar solo is also extremely melodic and has a nice 80s quality to it.
I am aware that some people might cringe at the though of Joey Belladonna fronting Anthrax once again, but I like what he did with them in the 80s, and I like what he is doing on this track. He does not hit the same high notes as in the olden days, but his voice is still very powerful and his use of vibrato and other singing techniques contributes very positively to the music.
It really seems to me that Anthrax have gone back to their 80s melodic thrash metal style and taken the comic-book lightheartedness which, combined with crushing riffage and melody, made Anthrax really special back then, and they've successfully applied these element in this song.
If the rest of their upcoming album sounds like this song, I will certainly buy it - no questions asked.