Volume 8 - The Threat Is Real

Anthrax’s thematically titled eighth installment is easily their most experimental effort to date. Volume 8: The Threat Is Real contrasts Stomp 442’s aggro attitude with a more melodic approach but rather than circling back to a previous style, it opts for a kitchen sink delivery that’s ultimately a tug-o-war between alt-rock and nu metal. It reflects the band’s long-running desire to flow with the times but they’ve never looked this out of touch before.

It doesn’t help that while the musicianship is still pretty solid, the band dynamic noticeably feels less unified than the last couple efforts. The guitars aren’t quite as bottom-heavy as they’ve been, largely opting for a mix of lingering rhythmic patterns and punky chugs given a brighter tone that they seem to have stuck with to this day. It is nice to see the drums returning to a more prominent position with an array of creative patterns even when they aren’t at the dexterous speeds of old.

Alas, I can’t help but feel that history might be repeating itself as the vocals seem to get pushed in a corner. Bush’s performance is as commanding as ever but he seems to be locked in a perpetual holler that makes him come off more one-dimensional than before. It’s a solid anchor for the varying moods at hand but the monotony makes it seem like the band was running out of ways to truly utilize his talents. If not the periodic bursts of ill-fitting distortion, I’d almost wonder if Joey could’ve done some of this stuff better…

But for all these weird considerations, the oddest thing is that the songwriting generally isn’t that interesting. Thankfully they put their best foot forward with the anthemic “Crush,” but even that just feels like a “Random Acts of Senseless Violence” rewrite. Other would-be highlights come with their caveats as the shrieky pre-chorus makes the soft/heavy shifts on “Inside Out” feel too overbearing while the Use Your Illusion-style acoustics on “Toast to the Extras” and “Harms Way” can border on a little too cutesy. You can really feel the weight of having to sort through fifteen tracks as songs like “Born Again Idiot” just feel flimsy while the S.O.D.-castoffs “604” and “Cupajoe” feel superfluous even if they wrap up in about thirty seconds.

The subtle diminishing returns that Anthrax experienced through the nineties were at their most obvious on Volume 8. While the playing is still solid and none of the songs are outright terrible, one can feel a disconnect. The variety could give it some underdog appeal but there were more compelling midlife crisis records at the time. As much as I’ve been intrigued by the idea of John Bush touring on a setlist comprised of songs from his Anthrax era, I just can’t imagine anything from this making tbe cut.

Well, first off, Phil and Dime featuring on this album: a great addition here! Even if the listener wasn't aware of such fact, he/she could clearly spot the PanterA touch in this record: those down-tuned heavy-ass grimy screechy guitars (carrying a high dosage of gain on that amp), mixed up with those trash can-like drums —plastic-thin bass drum, low-end snare tone, and okay toms— with a low-toned bass guitar underneath it and hardcore-styled vocals on top (production-wise, it sounds like Far Beyond Driven). Do not get me wrong though, it actually sounds freaking good! Crank Volume 8 up on a nice pair of speakers and you'll have some fun ( I usually have fun when I put this record on the player. Plus, the lyrics are quite catchy as well).

But yes, it is a nu metal-ish groove type of album. A subgenre that usually sucks for the most part due to the lack of ideas and creativity, bearing dumbed down staccato lyrics, monotone riffs, that pretty much tries to sound "tuff" and heavy for the sake of sounding tough and heavy. Groovy music isn't my cup of tea. However, the thing that distinguishes this record from the chugging trend going on at the time is that Anthrax has good riffage—really, Scott Ian can deliver very decently! That dude can shred, fast pick, perform nice chord progression and he's had beefy guitar tones all Anthrax's lifetime—combined with Charlie's top-notch drumming, and their musical ideas just rendered a nice-flowing groovy record. I mean, it's a speed/thrash band trying to groove and they succeeded at it. Speed and thrash metal are intrinsically full of amazing song structures and ideas. These guys plainly attempted a trendy style going on in the '90s bearing their great ideas (even though they added that chug-chug style on top, it still sounds good). All of those nu-metal '90s bands, on the other hand, are just groovy nu-metal spewing groovy nu-metal.

Nevertheless, I grasp everyone's rant on this album: it lacks a direction. It's a bit random. I mean, Crush is a thrashy/groovy track with unique drumming; Cupajoe and 604 are punk-ish; Toast to the Extras and Harms Away are country; Catharsis is a happy rocky song; Born Again Idiot is a groovy punk(having quite funny lyrics, I might add); Killing Box is a groovy track with a happy chorus (bearing a resemblance to Sugar Ray). So, yes, what is this record again? A hardcore country groovy album? A groovy punk-ish country record? Go figure. It definitely gets lost halfway through. It so isn't what you'd hear from old Anthrax, but NOT a throwaway! The structured riffs are there, the fat bass is there, the drum fills are there. The ideas are all scattered around there, you just need to grasp them and put them together. It flows nicely one way or another. Even though I'm not fond of country music, I still like their country attempts, simply because it's Anthrax. These fellows have a musical essence that sounds pleasing. Really nice ideas. Passionate musicians. The creativity they've put on most of their songs is deserving of awe (and headbanging). Again, it's their ESSENCE. It's the way Charlie delivers super-fast double bass and drum fills. It's the way Scott progresses on power chords while fast picking or down picking. It's how Frankie completes their songs—I mostly mentioned these 3 members because they're undoubtedly the heart of the band— these guys can deliver good fucking metal (that doesn't mean I enjoy ALL of their material. No. Persistence of Time is meh— quite an odd record— albeit the majority of their full-lengths are tight).

Anthrax, Sodom, and Overkill (definitely Overkill) are the only bands that I can think of succeeding at grooving their asses off. They sound metal (even having the groovy feel to it, they're still not boring). Even with a lack of direction here, it showcases what these guys are capable of without completely losing their way. A huge Anthrax fan —such as myself— shouldn't avoid this release. It is an acquired taste but it grows on you.

PS: Cupajoe is like revisiting S.O.D.'s Speak English or Die album.

Anthrax was a band in flux in 1998. Three years had passed since they released Stomp 442, which flopped with both consumers and critics, and they lost their record deal with Elektra. A previously stellar career was suddenly hitting some serious personal and professional potholes.

And the road wasn't any smoother with Volume 8.

To be clear, Volume 8 is a better album than Stomp 442. Well, actually, that's a bit misleading—Volume 8 has better songs than Stomp 442, but it's a far less cohesive album. At least Stomp 442 had an identity and consistent tone. Volume 8 feels more like a compilation than a studio release, a confused and unfocused effort that frankly reflects the state of the band at the time.

The album gets off to a much better start than its predecessor. "Crush" is one of the best songs of the Bush Era, and especially coming after Stomp 442, its faster pace and melodic chorus are a welcome change. A big single, "Catharsis," is up next, and it's the kind of song that divides metal fans. You'll either love its simplicity and hooks or you'll vomit thrash purity all over the place, but for better or worse, it's another one of the better songs from the Bush Era.

So far, so decent, right? Well, this is where Volume 8 decides to have a schizophrenic breakdown.

The next song, "Inside Out," is one of the grooviest groove songs any thrash band ever grooved in the 1990s. A vulgar display of Pantera worship from a band that really, really wanted to be Pantera at the time. But with the next three tracks, Volume 8 goes from uninspired groove metal to awkwardly out-of-context S.O.D. thrash to a goddamn country rock song, complete with a harmonica and a fake country accent from John Bush.

I'm not making this up. I swear, this is actually, literally what's on the album.

I have no fucking idea what they were thinking. Any momentum Volume 8 might've had with its earlier tracks is completely killed by the album's identity crisis. It seems like Anthrax wanted to shift their sound after Stomp 442's poor reception, but they couldn't decide which direction to go. It comes across as a jumbled mess of ideas, like Scott Ian wrote a bunch of different genres on a dartboard, blindfolded himself and just started throwing.

Things continue in an unmemorable and generic fashion until Volume 8 comes to an unmemorable and generic close. More groove, more radio rock, more S.O.D. bursts, more confusion from a great band that shouldn't have to try so hard.

These days, Anthrax are putting out some of the best material of their career, but in 1998, these talented dudes were in a creative rut. And frankly, it was largely of their own making—the perceived obligation to shift their sound in the Bush Era resulted in a stylistic aimlessness. In that way, this album's cover is perfectly fitting. If Charlie and Scott shook a Magic 8-Ball and played whatever the hell it said, they would've gotten a more cohesive record than Volume 8.

Songs to check out: Crush, Catharsis, 604

The circus of trends that is Anthrax's John Bush-fronted era continues with this waste of plastic. On the one hand they do actually manage to write a few promising if flawed tracks and even a genuinely good song, which is a massive step up from Stomp 442 which had two pretty decent songs surrounded by garbage. On the other hand this album is more stylistically confused than anything else in their catalogue; while this does lead to a bit more variation it throws off any semblance of consistency and flow as they jump between a style they can pull off and other styles that they can't.

Unlike the two albums before it there are actually 3 styles of music at work here: groove metal that draws very heavily from Pantera, a return to the heavy, muddy alternative rock that was present in spades on Stomp and Sound of White Noise and a few unfunny joke songs along the way. The first of these is by far the strongest - it isn't clear who's writing the riffs this time round (Charlie did so on the last album) but whoever did can write much stronger material than what was present on that release. The riffs and solos still aren't good but they're at least functional, and still far above the dregs of the genre, i.e. Machine Head. Dimebag once again plays lead on a couple of songs here ('Inside Out' and 'Born Again Idiot'), and puts on a good show as ever. As for the rock songs, the guitar tone helps them along a little but songs like 'Catharsis' or 'Piss'n'Vinegar' are made up of shallow and redundant chord strums and sloppy, dime-a-dozen grunge/alternative rock riffs that go nowhere. The songs are so generic and dull that they go in one ear and out the other and are completely unmemorable. The novelty songs are either short groovy throwaways like '604' that try to shoot for S.O.D.'s Speak English or Die but fall well short of even Bigger than the Devil or sappy, insincere acoustic nonsense like Anthrax's own 'Mama Said' in 'Toast to the Extras'. There's nothing else to be said about these songs as they have no musical substance or humour to them at all. The closing acoustic ballad 'Pieces' is about Frank Bello's dead brother and thus isn't really a novelty, and whilst there is some poignancy to the track it's still an overly long, flat and dull song that is a largely weak ending to the album.

There are also some general flaws of the album that need to be addressed: the first of which is John Bush's vocal performance. Admittedly he sounds less douche-y and more tuneful than on the last two albums, and doesn't try quite as hard to sound tough. That said he still sounds bad; most of his vocal melodies are flat and awkward and put the brakes on any momentum the instruments might generate. He still can't carry a tune all that well and his attempts at aggression are still weak. I think the real problem though is that like before he has no memorable identity of his own, and prefers to be a third-rate imitation of more popular rock and metal vocalists. On the less aggressive tracks for example he still comes across like a poor man's Scott Weiland, while on the more aggressive tracks he sounds like a bad rock singer trying to do metal.

The second general flaw is that the songwriting is lacklustre - as ever, the band has a tendency to repeat riffs too much and nothing in the way of a bridge or contrasting section is attempted as a general rule. Riffs are run into the ground and in doing so songs with a lot of promise like the aptly-titled 'Crush' have their momentum run into the ground. The less than stellar tracks such as 'Catharsis' or 'Toast to the Extras' are even harder hit as they never had any good ideas to begin with, so their bad ideas get repeated ad infinitum. This is a bigger problem than it may seem; it turns this hour long, 15 track album into a tedious slog that becomes unbearably dull and uninteresting as it wears on and on. Only the aforementioned 'Inside Out' really manages not to overstay its welcome: the vocals are tolerable if unremarkable, it doesn't repeat itself too much as it cycles between some solid groove riffs and dark acoustic work, and has a good solo from Dimebag to boot.

Had they stuck to the groove metal or even alternative rock styles and wrote about 8 songs instead of 15 this could have simply been below average or kind of bad as opposed to really awful and tiresome. This thing is too long and too inconsistent to ever get going in any sense, and the lazy writing further compounds that. As ever, don't bother seeking this out; if you want the only good thing about it go and download 'Inside Out' and let the rest rot, along with nearly everything else Anthrax was doing around this time. It would make more sense to listen to Pantera instead.

In the interest of full disclosure, let me explain why I'm reviewing this album. To be honest, I have never really listened to Anthrax all that much; I don't know why, but as far as the "Big 4" thrash bands are concerned, I always found Anthrax the least interesting. I remember hearing "Bring the Noise" in the 90s and being kind of unimpressed: it didn't strike me as very good metal or rap. However, today I decided to fill in some of the gaps in my "thrash education," and give Anthrax a listen. I figured I could start with Among the Living, widely acknowledged to be one of their classic albums. Instead, I decided on a whim to go in a different direction, and listen to one of their most reviled albums. And I'm glad I did, because I am actually enjoying the hell out of this record!

I know, Volume 8-The Threat Is Real is not really thrash, strictly speaking. It's certainly not 80s thrash, and you know what? That's okay with me. 80s thrash is gone, and it's never coming back. Metallica isn't that young group of metalheads that recorded Ride the Lightning, and even the mighty Slayer aren't what they once were. And Megadeth hasn't really been great ever since Mustaine gave up on heroin...

So let's look at Volume 8 for what it IS, instead of what it is not. And what it is, as far as I'm concerned, is a very solid record with some varied musical influences that come from well outside the world of thrash. "Crush," the opening track, with its tom-heavy drum sound grabbed my interest right away. There was a headlong momentum to the track that brought a smile to my face. It's really too bad that Anthrax would eventually part ways with John Bush, because his robust voice really brings a lot of depth to the band's sound that is missing from the records that feature Belladonna.

I mentioned the drums above, and I'd like to spend a little more time on that subject. Even though I like Scott Ian, and I think he's an energetic guitarist with a lot of spunk, I don't think he's a great guitarist. Charlie Benante, though, really impresses me. He's not a one trick pony, like a lot of metal drummers. He can lay down a mellow groove (as he does on much of "Inside Out") or he can let it rip with thundering, up-tempo assaults (I think "604" is a good, albeit brief example).

Volume 8 is not perfect, of course. "Toast to the Extras" is an incredibly lame, Aerosmith-flavored country rock track that is just silly. Even Metallica has mostly avoided sounding this twangy! And "Cupajoe" is a complete waste of time. Mercifully brief, it's sounds like one of those tongue twisters that theatre majors do to warm up their voices (as Jack Black does in the movie School of Rock: "Lips, teeth, tip of the tongue"). No doubt, many thrash fans hate the Poison-ish ballad "Pieces." But c'mon, bassist Frankie Bello had just lost his brother, who was shot dead in New York. I am impressed by a musician who can turn pain into heartfelt music, even if that music falls outside of their usual purview. The big difference between something like "Pieces" is as great as the difference between losing a beloved family member and losing a stripper/girlfriend to another rock star. (Which was reportedly the inspiration for Poison's "Every Rose Has its Thorn.")

Volume 8-The Threat Is Real is not going to be to every metal fan's liking. That much is obvious from reading many of the reviews of the record, here and elsewhere. But I try to judge every album on its own merits, as much as possible. And I found the album to be an enjoyable listen. Not a metal classic, but worth my time.

This album is Anthrax's own 'Load'. Man (or should I say Not Man), this is a broad take on modern metal and rock. And yes, country music too, just what Metallica did two years earlier. So, no thrash metal mentioned yet, but hey, you won't find it here anyways. I understand if a band stagnates and wants to do something different, but for fuck's sake, this is not-so-few steps over that border, that changing the band's name would have been a must, not just "in order".

'Crush' is like a Kiss song played with almost constant multilayered tom drum beats and modern downtuned guitars. It is far from crushing, because downtuned isn't a synonym of "heavy". 'Catharsis' is the band's most mainstream song ever together with last album's 'Nothing', but if it works, then it works! A fine, hellishly rolling good song, if you don't wait for thrash metal, which you shouldn't be doing at all. Nu-yet-good 'Inside Out' goes a bit too Fugazi at times, but John Bush's catchy vocal lines keep it over the surface. 'Piss n Vinegar' is a stomping rocker, similar to those that 1998's 'Stomp 442' was filled with. '604' is a "funny" fastie, in S.O.D. way, but... And then it comes; the fucking country song 'Toast to the Extras'. It has a true redneck vibe to it, but this is a fucking Anthrax song?! Man... I mean Not Man.... 'Born Again Idiot' is a Pantera style piece, and definitely the harshest of the album's songs. But harsh isn't a synonym of "good". Hey, it is the half-way point now, and what the hell is going on on this album? Exactly.

'Killing Box' is like Anthrax going Primus or something, but in a totally torpid way. 'Harms Way', a slow rocker, gets the album rolling after a long period. Or does it really? Nope, as 'Hog Tied', with Kiss riff played in nu-style, does its best to drop the level of quality again. And it does, with a big thank to the use of guitar talk box, reminding me of Richie Sambora. Thanks for that, heh. With 'Big Fat', the album goes to Corrosion Of Conformity style stuff and really rocking again. 'Cupajoe', another S.O.D. thingy, cuts the flow before it has even started. 'Alpha Male' is a bland rocker, followed by another slower song, 'Stealing from a Thief', which is another good slow song on the album! Not Man, there's something weird here, right? I mean slow songs work better than the majority of faster pieces. Anyways there is a hidden bonus track, which is extremely soft. The songwriting is bloody broad, but partly so bloody boring. I would have waited something like these songs on Anthrax's mini-albums or b-sides.

During the album, there's a lot of various instruments used, that feel more like curiosities: Theremin, blues harp and slide guitar. But then again, this is more of a rock album than a metal album. Pantera's Dimebag Darrell and Phil Anselmo make appearances on a couple of songs, but also these are more like curiosities. Sound-wise this is on heavy and organic side, but the downtuned guitars have never been my favorite thing, and they aren't particularly heavy either. The band aren't on their best here, not even close. The rhythm section is the element that works the best here. Actually there's quite big chunks of groove on some of the songs. And so work John Bush's vocals, I've always liked his characteristic and a bit harsh voice. The cover art is a small part of astonishing painting printed on the opening lyrics sheet. The lyrics are very streetwise.

When picking out the truly good songs, I can count them with one hand's fingers. So, there's EP's worth of good music on this album. Surely, it is all listenable, but just scarcely so at times. In my opinion, this is the worst Anthrax album ever, but only their second bad one (the predecessor, 'Stomp 442', was plagued by the same problem; just a few goodies). This just does not feel like it was Anthrax. The album's name proved to be ill-boding.

(originally written for ArchaicMetallurgy.com in 2009)

Second half of the nineties. The era when thrash was truly dead and even death metal became a bland and generic imitation of itself. The second half of the nineties, when power metal was starting to make a comeback but the scene was dominated by the upcoming gothic metal scene with tarts in dresses, Gothenburg hippies and of course the third wave of black metal. All in all, the most boring era ever within the metal scene.

Either thrash bands were gone during these days or they were releasing mediocre albums with modern influences just to stay alive for a while. Anthrax were no exception. The band had killed themselves and their credibility when they released Stomp442 in 1995. Now fortunately this implied that anything new they’d release afterwards, would be better no matter what. And so it was! Volume 8 is a nice little album. Far from classic, but a nice groovy album nonetheless if you’d be able to forget the name Anthrax being on the cover.

Now I know many people claim Anthrax’ best Bush-era songs would be Room For One More, Potters Field or What Doesn’t Die, but each and everyone keeps forgetting Crush. The opening song on this album probably is their heaviest non-thrash song with John Bush up until now (2009 that is). And apart from that it features a massive main riff, catchy rhythm and excellent chorus. With a song like this I do not care this is not a classic speed or thrash metal album. This is the kind of quality heavy post-thrash song Anthrax used on half the Sound Of White Noise album and maybe even better at that.

Another big difference with Stomp442 is the fact that Volume 8 sounds more laid back, more at ease. Not just the performance but the production as well. Stomp442 was overly organised and too straight forward. Volume 8 is not. The band tries different stuff like the country song 'Toast to the Extras' which actually is great with John Bush on vocals. The groove-metal songs on the album have gotten more space to breathe and are, as said, played more laid back and less neurotic that before. Best songs, apart from the earlier mentioned masterpiece Crush, are 'Catharsis', 'Inside Out', 'Born Again Idiot' and 'Killing Box'.

The two SOD-ish joke songs ‘604’ and ‘Cupajoe’ are funny but nowhere as good as any real SOD joke and they obviously don’t fit a regular Anthrax album that well. But it’s good to hear the band having fun again and doing whatever they want, shaking off the chains which earlier forced them to make Stomp442. And that attitude and atmosphere is exactly what makes this album decent.

Even though this album will never be in anyone’s list of favourite/best Anthrax albums, it’s good to hear the band we’re slowly getting human again after the forced and neurotic 1995 debacle. Volume 8 is a laid back album from the hibernation-era, revealing a band at least having fun with each other again. And that was more than enough for me.

This is one of those albums that is just difficult to fully wrap yourself around. It isn’t really good by any standard of an entire album, but individually there are snippets of pretty good embodiments of groove metal as first espoused by Pantera. To be fully forthcoming, I don’t like this style of metal as a whole because of its tedious nature, but there are naturally some exceptions here and there. “Volume 8 – The Threat Is Real” puts off some pleasing musical vibes from time to time, but ultimately fails as a whole due to a complete utter lack of direction and a really jaded duality of comedy and seriousness. What manifests as a result are 3 completely unrelated approaches to songwriting, all of which clash with each other.

The first of these 3 directions, also being the strongest, is the Pantera inspired groove metal that dominates the most musically serious songs on here. John Bush’s vocals sound a little closer to a Scott Weiland trying to sound like Phil Anselmo than an authentic version of said vocalist, but aside from that, songs like “Crush”, “Born Again Idiot” and “Stealing From A Thief” are pretty clear representations of a “Far Beyond Driven” approach to 90s Metal. Filling the lead guitar vacuum still being felt by Dan Spitz’s absence is Dimebag, further pushing a good number of these songs in a Pantera direction. The standout song in this sort of sub-album within the album is “Inside Out”, which basically pulls out a few interesting acoustic and clean guitar ballad ideas from “The Great Southern Trendkill” and combining it with the dark and mechanical groove style dominating this album and some hard core styled vocal work that succeeds in not being completely grating.

Though the generally dark and groovy guitar tone remains constant throughout the album, a lot of what is on here reverts back to the trendy alternative rock/grunge sound heard on the previous two albums, thus giving us the 2nd direction. “Catharsis” and “Piss N’ Vinegar” are the worst offenders in combining lazy rock riffs, constant and repetitive amateur straight beats that Benante used to use as rest periods between thrashing and blasting, and plenty of crappy baritone yells that predict a world dominated by the mediocrity of Godsmack. “Alpha Male” actually combines groove metal with this shallow form of hard rock, and somehow manages to sneak in a little 7/8 meter section that goes completely unnoticed between all of the hypnotic and repetitious idea fragments.

And then to finish off any chance of this being a consistent listen, we are offered an overlarge helping of novelty songs that makes one wonder if this is actually a Metal band trying to emulate Weird Al Yankovic. The highlights in this department are two really half-assed attempts at reviving the spirit of S.O.D. in “604” and “Cupajoe”, the latter of which features Scott Ian doing the vocals. When you think about it, this sort of 30-40 second duration Hard Core style is the ideal alternative to Groove Metal because it also features 1-3 riffs yet won’t waste 4 or 5 minutes of your day. “Toast To The Extras” is a really bad Country Rock song, probably inspired by Metallica’s equally terrible “Momma Said”, definitely something that would have been better off not being released at all, not even as a b-side to a single. Then things just sort of die off at the end with a hidden ballad dubbed “Pieces”, basically another pop acoustic ballad in the vain of Radiohead and Goo Goo Dolls that isn’t worth anyone’s time.

When all is said and done, though this doesn’t quite suck as much as a lot of stuff coming out at this time, it still basically sucks. I could maybe rationalize a fan of Pantera spending 4 or 5 dollars for this in a bargain bin, but really you might as well just pick up one of their albums if that’s what you’re into. If you are someone who is just discovering Anthrax through their early material, this is something that should not be looked into at all, nor is that the case with any other album they’ve put out with John Bush. Just let these musical abortions decay away into dust and remember this band for what they contributed to the glorious time period that the 80s were for heavy metal.

Originally submitted to (www.metal-observer.com) on February 28, 2009.

I was reading an article on the “Thrash Revival” the other day. It was pretty interesting, featuring interviews with a lot of the scene’s key players (band members, producers, label owners). One thing in particular that caught my eye was the part of the article discussing the downfall of thrash in the 90’s, in wake of grunge and numetal. Scott Ian was particularly bitter about how the labels rejected Anthrax, writing them off as a spent 80’s metal band playing outdated crap. Of course, I found Scotty’s woes hilarious. While I certainly feel for his plight (and all the other competent thrashers that got ousted back then), it doesn’t excuse the fact that they weren’t playing outdated thrash metal in the 90’s: Anthrax was playing the same bullshit groove metal/modern rock that was oh-so-popular at the end of the decade (see: Pantera, Prong, Godsmack, Pro-Pain). Perhaps the mean ‘ol labels weren’t just being dicks. Perhaps they recognized that Anthrax of the 90’s just plain fucking sucked. For example, their eighth album Vol. 8: The Threat is Real.

The album opens with one of those Pantera-inspired one-riff wonders that just drag their ass around without getting anything done. This one happens to be called “Crush,” not that it’s any different than countless other “Walk” clones. It’s shit like that this that really makes me reanalyze other 90’s ‘thrash’ albums like Annihilator’s King of the Kill or Sacred Reich’s Heal and realize that they really weren’t that bad in comparison. And when that track is finally over….Jesus, is that the Foo Fighters? No, it’s track two, “Catharsis,” which embodies about half of the songs on this album. The other half are like track three, “Inside Out,” i.e. shitty nu-metal. This includes track four, “Piss N Vinegar.” Wait a minute, is that the “Locomotive Breath” riff? Pretty much, buried in modern corporate ‘metal’ backwash. Track five is a flaccid attempt at recalling the good old SOD days, without either the humor or the good taste in riffage.

I’d have liked to criticize all of the tracks on this album like I did for Stomp 442, but this time around, it’s been just too damn tiring. It’s usually about track six (the hokey country-rocker “Toast to the Extras”) that I mentally clock out of this album. The rest is basically the same bullshit from the album’s beginning. Anthrax may take this material seriously, but I can’t. It’s just too fucking horrible. There’s yet another hopeless SOD parody (“Cupajoe”), one that sounds like a Rob Zombie reject (“Killing Box”), and a boatload of half-Pantera, half-Stone Temple Pilots backwash. Feel free to cringe at the hidden ballad too.

If Scotty is still wondering why Anthrax isn’t catching on, he should know that they brought it on themselves. They still aren’t playing thrash, as evidenced by a ’05 re-recording of “Deathrider” that’s fucking atrocious (it’s played in half-time, with John Bush on vocals. Why would Charlie Benante need to play in half-time?). As of this writing they’re working on a new release with a new singer, but with garbage like this and WCFYA not that far behind them, I fear for the worst. As usual, the final word here is AVOID. I know I’ll never listen to this again. And you shouldn’t either.

This is one of those albums I own that stands out in my collection--as nothing else I own sounds quite like it or makes me feel in a similar way to the way this makes me feel.... and that feeling... is called "happy."

In Anthrax's usual way, the music is rather peppy and upbeat--though probably more so than usual. Now, I usually despise really happy crap, but the music itself isn't what's so happy--it's the idea that I've used the CD as a mood lightener from time to time, now about that music...

There are two extremely short tracks written, apparently for fun that I actually enjoy. "604" and "Cupajoe"--the former being written about a fat girl the band viewed in a tabloid who weighed 604 pounds, the latter about Anthrax's apparent addiction to coffee. Both of these tracks make up for their awkward shortness with about the heaviest riffing on the album.

My personal favorites are (yeah, in this order) Catharsis, Inside Out, Crush, Toast to the Extras, Born Again Idiot, and the secret track, Pieces, that starts at the 8-minute mark after Stealing From A Thief. Toast to the Extras opens with acoustic guitar, then dives headlong ... into... a mild melodic track that is strangely compelling. Pieces is entirely acoustic and (I believe) sung by bassist Frank Bello, as the song is about his brother who was murdered in New York. Yes, people apparently get killed there. Dimebag Darrel and Vinnie Paul make a guest appearance on the album, and that appearance is in Inside Out, which varies wildly from softly played guitar verses to rampaging, thrashy choruses. Catharsis, I guess I like, most of all because of the lyrics which include the line "Angels in my heart, devils in my eyes" which I've often equated to myself (I give off that "do not touch" vibe all to often, but treat people pretty well). The chorus, like many on the album, is pretty catchy, and the song has a feeling of standard Heavy Metal spliced with Thrash's energy.

Overall the record does a good job of reminding of "Sound of White Noise," but gives off the impression of a band that has grown musically and mellowed out a tad--as though they're finally accepting that Metal is no longer the king in more popular music, and went back to doing what they like. Unlike "Stomp 442" this doesn't occasionally reek of "trying to maintain a presence in an Alternative world." Everything here is Metal, even if the thrash has calmed a little. It's guitar-heavy, rather the way Metal should be, not bass-heavy like a lot of crap coming out around the time this album was released (or like now for that matter).

No Anthrax/John Bush fan should miss, especially as his vocals sound better than ever and run a frantic gamut from fierce yelling to passive singing (Inside Out is a good example). To me it's a step up from arguably the best John Bush-led Anthrax, SoWN, making this one just as good if not better.

This is record i think, half metal / half hardcore sounding... A new kind of Anthrax that ended up sounding unique and tasteful by the mix of those styles. Volume 8, although being a great album is not, i repeat, is not an Anthrax album for all Anthrax fans. Older ones could enjoy this or possibily feel displeased with the new sounding of this "Anthrax goes modern rock", and new fans can be acquired by the band with this fresh combination of styles, that´s far, far away from their mosh thrashiest days...

Although i find that Joey Belladona is and always will be the ultimate Anthrax singer, and despite not being so enthusiastic about John Bush´s vocals (can you believe Metallica wanted this guy to sing for them in the beginning of their carrer, instead of Hetfield?), i think he cuts the songs very well and really makes his job...

This alternative pearl was written almost entirely by drummer Charlie Benante, with only some little musical touches from Scott and Bello here and there...and it starts kicking ass with a really crushing song, "Crush" with some great drum beats, almost pounding your heart out when listening to them, and some reeeaaallly groovy guitar sound by Scott. Next comes "Catharsis", a quite commercial song but very catchy at the same time, and then comes one of the best songs here...oohhh yes...i´m talking about "Inside Out", with those heavy guitars by Scott and Charlie, those delicious acoustic interludes in the middle of the song, and an amazing fuckin´solo by their lead guitar player on service for this one: Dimebag Darrell.

"Piss n´Vinigar" does not convince at all as an Anthrax song and it´s a little bit predictable and a little boring, "604" is one of their typical humourous acts, a little thrashy song with some silly lyrics that goes out for 35 sec... and then comes Anthrax´s really big fuck up on this album..."Toast to the Extras" which is not a totally bad song but it´s really an awful tribute to the country music...avoid this one and skip it...

Then the really good songs return and with a character of their own: "Born again Idiot" (great riffs), "Killing Box" (with Phil "drunk" Anselmo on vocals with Bush), "Harms Way" (commercial like, but like "Catharsis" very good!), "Hog Tied" ( really heavy intro and song) and "Big Fat"( not very special but also good...)

Another funny moment comes with "Cupajoe". Remember S.O.D ´s "Milk" lyrics? Well this is a progressive speed pacing song of 46 sec that talks about...coffee...simple, but funny..."Alpha Male" is no big deal and after it comes another fine moment by Anthrax on this album..."Stealing from a Thief", a fuckinigly heavy song with some groove attached to it and a great vibe...The bonus acoustic track is different, but good. Clean melodies and guitar solos with a excelent voice makes this really the perfect way for Anthrax to close this record.

It´s a good album, that´s all i can say...check out if it makes your style or not...but there´s more than one style to be appreciated here. You can see that this is a really grown up Anthrax with a new sense of things...Old ones, if you have "Among the Living" feel satisfied with it and new fans, adquire this album. It´s worth all of the money.