Belladonna

It's been a quarter century since vocalist Joey Belladonna, previously in Anthrax, released his debut solo album. He was acrimoniously dismissed from the ranks of that legendary thrash metal band in 1992 and this was his backlash.

Surprisingly, Belladonna didn't get some famous musicians to back him, but a bunch of guys that only played on this album in their musical "career". Well, the instrumental performances are basic, non-flashy, but adequate and.. Hmm, in tempo! This was Joye's show, I presume. Come on, Bruce Dickinson on his solos with Roy Z, for example! Now there's "a slight" difference to the quality of performances here... No amazing, unique playing like Charlie Benante's drums or Frank Bello's bass guitar, or tightness and speed of Scott Ian's riff-hand, then... Plus, while the sound is heavy and every instrument is well heard, they sound somewhat lifeless. Maybe guys here did their best, maybe the creation process was fast, hard to tell.

We got the worst out first. Well, not all, because here's next, and the final, deficiency: The lyrics. Mr. Belladonna was clearly exorcizing his demons, which were his old band mates and his firing from Anthrax, and getting back the strength to face all the crap the world throws at one. Joye sounds Joye; he does not sound like an angry gremlin, but those melody lines he sings are close to 'State of Euphoria' era (1988) Anthrax. Scott Ian wrote that he wasn't getting angry enough a voice out of Joey on 1990 album 'Persistence of Time', and now after hearing this, maybe Joey just couldn't sound more pissed off. I personally dig Joey's vocals. He doesn't remind me about anyone else, to tell the truth. He can hit notes, but his voice isn't robust, but high-pitched yet he was not a helium-breather. Generally, his work just isn't very polished.

The music is dumbed down US heavy metal with lots of groove, and of course coated with thrash metal. The music isn't very fast at its fastest, but mainly mid-paced. The rhythm guitar tone is meaty, and metallic bass guitar slapping reminds me of old thrash metal albums. The drums are snappy. It is rather easy to compare this to some simplified 1990s albums from Flotsam And Jetsam and Vicious Rumors, together with some Armored Saint stuff. And maybe Xentrix's miss titled 'Scourge' (1996). However, remember that the insrumentalists here were just workers, not in their own band. While Darin Scott, the guitarist here, wrote something with Mr. Belladonna, the majority was written together with Anthrax's ex-guitarist Dan Spitz's guitar technician Paul Crook! Okay, Joey didn't burn all the bridges behind him...

Some non-distorted guitar on 'Down & out' are at times eerie, and cozy. That song is the most twisting one together with 'Taken by Force', which features some real thrashing. And while that's not saying much, there's no progressive stuff, but straight, headbangable and pretty driving songs here. This sounds North American, not Accept or anything like that. There are moments of laid-back rocking every now and then. This contains many riffs ranging from okay to good, but I cannot go further and call anything here "classic". So, overall it is a good achievement and not a forced dud. With some serious cut and pasting in song-writing and fewer songs, this could have been so much more.

I wonder how this would sound like without Mr. Belladonna. Still, I really do not want to know. He's the thing here. These songs do not stick very well, but while listening to the album, it's all pretty much okay. Just do not expect any 'I Am the Law' or 'Madhouse' to be found here...

(Originally written for ArchaicMetallurgy.com)

While it's certainly obvious that Belladonna is not a direct continuation of Anthrax, this record is probably the closest thing to a Persistence of Time followup we'll ever hear. Yes, this is considerably better than most material that Anthrax released throughout their career. To be honest, I've always considered them to be the weakest link of the (caution - antiquated group definition coming up) big four because of their rather bland riff-writing, unremarkable soloing and mostly annoying vocal chops; be it the early, cluttered and boyish delivery of the juvenile Joey Belladonna or the later sellout-tactics-decision Mr. “they hired me to sing on a grunge album” John Bush. Surprisingly, both vocalists had reached their peak either after the dismissal from Scott Ian & hombres or prior to joining said group. I'm not old enough to give you any appropriate insight regarding the drama surrounding Belladonna's firing in the early 90s though, so let's leave it at that. In fact John Bush massively delivered on Armored Saint's Symbol of Salvation, and Joey left a mark in this reviewer's ears with his sublime performance on the album carrying his very name.

Belladonna is – in most cases – not a product of its time. It was released in 1995 and I'm struggling to think of a thrashier album this side of Kreator's Cause for Conflict by any major or even minor player around this time. Of course we are still talking about the post-apocalyptic wastelands of traditional metal here, so this album's material is quite a far-cry from late 80s progressive thrashing or anything resembling the apex phase of the subgenre, but this is a well-performed mix of slightly restrained, compact late thrash battering, classic heavy metal and a pinch of modern alternative rocking. Oh dear, I can hear you guys wailing already, NO! – just a pinch, a drop, maybe 5 to 10% of alternative influence, nothing that makes your balls shrink to the size of raisins. But it's there.

The whole affair is basically carried by Joey's voice, which might sound bad at first because a metal album should be driven by riffs and yet it works because he delivers many memorable lines (“Power Trip!”) seemingly with ease. Don't get me wrong, there is solid metal playing below his distinctive singing, but it wouldn't be all that memorable or even be heard of, if the scrap hadn't been welded together by a splendid vocalist giving his all atop a 2nd-rate thrash foundation. Solos are sparse as well, but when they appear, they are again basically extending or backing Joey's vocal range. No air-guitar-inducing licks or a multitude of shredding here, no wacky Slayer-isms either.

No disrespect here, but that's basically what it is: a decent, if unspectacular backing band providing a more traditional (for the time) backbone for a singer who finally got the freedom to do whatever the hell he wanted. So If you were ever curious to hear how versatile and imposing Joey Belladonna could be in his heyday without the shackles of a major band holding him back - look no further. It goes without saying that this is also interesting for those treasure-hunters who are into scavenging the wastelands of 1990s metal for worthy material, because Belladonna feels like finding a six-pack of cold beer amidst the ruins of a post-nuclear hellhole.

Highlights: Power Trip, Down and Out, R.I.P

originally written for http://antichristmagazine.com

It's weird, after the release of the awesome Worship Music, to look back at what Joey Belladonna was releasing during his exile as the vocalist of Anthrax. He was never really a fan of heavy metal or punk like the rest of Anthrax, preferring bands like Journey and Rush. So I guess any attempt at thrash or metal on this album is a way of giving to the Anthrax crowd, rather than something Joey would do naturally by himself. I would've been happy with a hard rock album, quite honestly. Instead, Belladonna is a confusing mix of power, thrash and heavy metal, none of which really works.

If any songs were to be recommended, I guess they would have to be 'Blunt Man' and 'Two Faced'. 'Blunt Man' is probably the most straight forward track, structurally speaking, on the album, which instantly makes it one of the more enjoyable. There's also some neat drumming, with some double bass pedalling. It is, in part, an attempt at emulating songs like 'H8 Red' from Persistence of Time Anthrax. 'Two Faced' is probably the best in terms of memorable lyrics and vocals:

'You're two faced like a bad penny!
I know what you're doing,
You lie to me like you lie to so many,
Deceit in your mind, it's always brewing!'

It might plod along a bit without definition between verse and chorus, but it's definately the one song you should listen to (if you absolutely MUST listen to anything off this album).

Most of the problems with the album boil down to two aspects: 1) Joey trying too hard to be Joey, and 2) These aren't the most exciting compositions known to man, and some of them are just strange. On what seems like every song, there's a long, held 'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah' or something similar ('Powertrip', 'Rob You Blind', 'Perfection' and 'Down and Out' to name a few...), as you would expect with this vocalist. However, crossing over with the second aspect, none of them are really very exciting or impessive and sometimes just clash with the rest of the song. Often times, just to make sure his vocals 'shine', a song will just go off in a completely weird direction ('Powertrip', 'Rob You Blind' especially). Ultimately, the general standard of songwriting is either pretty average, or it feels like a bunch of not-too-bright ideas bolted together to sound... progressive? Songs like 'Injun' seem to go from section from section without ever feeling 'whole'.

The absolute worst aspect of the album is the guitar tone: too muddy for power or thrash metal, leaving the instrument unsuitably relegated to the background. Any riff with potential is held back, really hurting the album's enjoyability. The guitar riffs in 'Nothing to Hide', 'Injun' and 'Mixed Emotions' would probably give people a reason to listen the band. Instead, the washing machine tone robs them of appeal. In fact, besides maybe Joey's vocals, the whole album feels more like a demo, or as though the recording hadn't reached post-production. The drums are quite powerful but sound dull and the bass has a really fast attack more suitable for funk than anything present on the album. Listening to 'Taken By Force', which I guess sounds a bit like Black Sabbath, it is marred by bass pops and clicks (most obviously in the intro).

There is a sad bitterness to the album (all of which is clearly aimed towards the rest of Anthrax) that really prevents me from being able to recommend it. It's almost, almost funny how negative these songs sound: 'Powertrip', 'Rob You Blind', 'Two Faced', 'Down and Out', 'R.I.P.', 'Nothing To Hide'. Joey clearly wasn't experiencing any 'Mixed Emotions' here! (Sorry). It could have at least been an uplifting and fun romp through a tired metal theme or two. Instead, it's a depressing album that makes me extra glad the band took Joey back eventually. Oh, but there is one bit of praise I can give it: it isn't Spells of Fear.

Remember that sappy commercial from the 80s with the Native American guy walking through a trash covered yard weeping for the desecration of his land? Remember the guy actually being some Italian guy that was dressed up like an Indian? Well, this isn’t that commercial, but one has to wonder if Joey Belladonna’s return to the world of metal a few years after being wrongfully booted by Anthrax didn’t borrow some ideas from it, right down to an Italian guy (technically half, as Belladonna does have aboriginal ancestry) being in traditional native attire on the cover. This album, simply titled “Belladonna”, is all but a total blast from the past, in direct contradiction to all the pretentious modernizing of sound going on amidst the rest of the Big 4 membership.

While obviously thrash metal had all but become a four letter word in the mid-90s, where everything was either post-grunge or groovy Pantera worship, Belladonna represents that small but sizable minority of older generation of metal heads who got the memo and proceeded to tear it to shreds. This is a full out throwback to when Anthrax still played real music, albeit a throwback to recent history where the thrash style had become a bit more restrained and mid-tempo (the early 90s), but still cooked a hell of a lot more than the rubbish that came in with John Bush both during and after “Sound Of White Noise”. Had Nirvana not came in and helped usher in a musical recession in the early 90s, this album would probably have been a logical successor to “Persistence Of Time”.

It is important to note that while this is a solid album, it is not quite in the same league as what passed for thrash back in the glory days of the mid 80s. In fact, the melodic content put forth in Joey’s voice on here and the general tenor of the guitar work is more along the lines of a thrashing flirtation with late 80s USPM. The guitar work is largely conformed to the same minimalist style that Scott Ian put forth when Belladonna still shared the stage with him, and the lead work channels a similarly restrained and melodic character of Dan Spitz, though not quite as well. In fact, apart from a much more restrained drum presence that isn’t really in line with anything Charlie Benante has done, this is basically an Anthrax album with 3 different people handling the instruments.

There are plenty of memorable moments to grab on to here, and a few songs that can measure up to the standards set by Anthrax. The first 3 songs, in particular, really brings home that formulaic yet highly satisfying display of crunchy riff work and sing along chorus work that typified the most commercially accessible of the Big 4. “Nothing To Hide” and “Injun” also mix it up a bit with some really solid guitar lines, though they actually show Joey using an out-of-character low range vocal style that actually sounds a little like John Bush, oddly enough. There’s also a slew of half-ballads littered on this album with flowing clean guitar lines that bring in a slight Testament flavor to an otherwise straight up riff fest with a restrained tempo. There isn’t really a bad song on here, but largely things tend to run together a bit in a sort of 2-dimensional fashion, which is sufficient given that this music tends to be more vocally oriented and hook driven.

Some like to argue that Joey got the last laugh with regards to the question of 90s Anthrax. I’d add that he not only got the last laugh, but also one loud and obnoxious enough to make Dan Spitz wish he'd quit the band before “Sound Of White Noise” and Scott Ian and the rest of them regret not resisting the commercial forces that turned their genre to shit almost overnight. This is not the greatest thing to ever come out of the genre, but for 1995 this is among the better things to get put out that was in any way tied to the 80s thrash metal scene, even outclassing a number of Overkill’s less thrashing works. This is a criminally underrated album that anyone with the slightest iota of loyalty to Anthrax’s true era should buy just on general principle.

Originally submitted to (www.metal-observer.com) on July 20, 2011.

I know it doesn’t look like it, but that strange looking Indian on this album’s cover is Joey Belladonna. And in case you too have discovered his solo album sitting somewhat dejectedly in your local music store’s used bin and written it off as some sort of potential disaster (see: Nuno), let me assure you, it’s definitely a metal album. Having been unceremoniously discarded from the mighty Anthrax in order that they might make an utter farce of themselves, Joey decided to give the whole ‘heavy metal band’ thing another shot. Belladonna, the first album released by his solo band, is no classic, but considering the various musical horrors that his old band would release upon the world in his absence, it’s good enough to say that Joey got the last laugh after their parting.

Now I hate to compare this to Belladonna-era Anthrax (as Joey is the only member from the band performing here), but his eponymous solo debut sounds like where Anthrax might have gone after Persistence of Time in some alternate universe where Belladonna was still in the band. Where as with John Bush fronting the band, Anthrax went toward a sort of amorphous, groovy-nu-metal/rock abomination, this album doesn’t completely abandon the 80’s aesthetic. What we get instead is 90’s thrash, or as some might call it, “half-thrash” or “whiffle-thrash.” Yes, this is what would happen if Anthrax had combined Testament’s “The Ritual” with Exodus’ “Force of Habit” instead of Nirvana’s “Nevermind” and Pantera’s “Far Beyond Driven.”

Now whiffle-thrash isn’t exactly an enticing prospect, I understand, but considering the alternatives (you know, what Anthrax was doing around the time of this release…), it seems that Joey’s little project obtains the upper hand. Most songs resemble the mid-paced or slower works from Anthrax’s later Belladonna-era (SoE, PoT) as well as the aforementioned Exodus album. Expect simple, hook-oriented riffs that occasionally batter the listener like a real thrash album might, but never overtake the vocals. The bass is punchy and the drums fit pretty well with the riffs, but nobody is really showing off here except for Joey, and only for the occasional scream. His voice is actually quite decent on here: no worse than his later Anthrax work and often better, as he gets a chance to tap his melodic reserve a bit more often. Indeed, melodic NWOBHM-friendly passages creep into the songs quite often and help to give some of the blander tracks a bit more character. Only one really concentrates on this (“Down & Out’); the others (excepting “Taken by Force,” which sounds like a lost Alice in Chains track) are fairly uniform to the sound established on the first few tunes.

The only persistent problem on the album is the production. While the drums and bass have a crisp, clear sound appropriate to their decade, the guitars try to imitate an 80’s sound and thus sound a bit weaker than they might have otherwise (especially the solos…no impact whatsoever). There’s also something about the way the vocals were recorded that bugs me from time to time, but my lack of audio engineering experience prevents me from pinpointing exactly what that is. Too dry perhaps?

But though the production is the only real ‘problem,’ the album is still a 90’s thrash album, meaning that there’s about 1,000 thrash albums from the 80’s you should get first, including all of Anthrax’s albums prior to John Bush joining the band. However, this Belladonna album is still markedly better than anything Anthrax has released since they kicked Joey out, so big fans of his work with them should consider getting this; at the very least, it offers closure for one of thrash’s most well-known vocalists and makes for a good listen on occasion.