SOUND BITES

Considering how long Anthrax has been doing this thing they call "metal" (35 years to be exact), one would be reasonable in expecting lesser quality from a new album in 2016. The fate of their peers in metal's "Big 4" didn't bode well; Metallica are working on a new record at a snail's pace (as of this writing about 7½ years removed from Death Magnetic ), Megadeth's continued attempts at relevance are being met with increasing levels of apathy, and even the once-unimpeachable Slayer managed to release a bit of a dud last time out. What, then, of Anthrax? Having finally released what amounted to a rousing comeback in 2011 with Worship Music , many fans were nonetheless tempering their expectations going forward. After nearly five years between albums and another personnel change, we were left to wonder what Anthrax had left to offer at this point in the game. As it turns out, the answer is plenty; a 90-second orchestral intro opens the r...

For as dry as the last couple months of 2015 were, I'd have expected to be looking at a slew of exciting releases to ring in 2016. As it stands, though, not a lot has been confirmed as of yet. Still, what the release schedule is lacking in certainty is more than made up for in its possibilities for the coming twelve months. Before we head into the murky waters of speculation, let's check out some of 2016's sure things:

I remember spotting Anthrax's sixth album in a department store bargain bin, circa 1994 or 1995. On cassette, no less. Their record label had pressed far more copies than it sold, it seemed, and so Sound Of White Noise found its way to that dreaded bin, next to a plethora for far more deserving rejects, wearing its fifty cent price tag like a shamed dog wearing its own shit on its nose. Today, Sound Of White Noise is regarded as a decent to good album by casual observers, but it was released into a far more hostile environment. In fact, as okay as people seem to be with the album today, Sound Of White Noise effectively ended Anthrax's career. Of course, it's not the album's fault; it was doomed well before release, thanks to what amounted to three pretty significant strikes for a metal band: 1) They had a new singer in John Bush, formerly of Armored Saint. Hindsight has accepted him as a formidable replacement for Joey Belladonna, but fans of the band weren...

ANTHRAX The Devil You Know From: Worship Music Released: September 13 If you follow metal at all, you're probably already familiar with the context surrounding Worship Music , Anthrax's first album with original singer Joey Belladonna on vocals since their 1990 breakthrough Persistence of Time , and first overall in eight years.  If you're not familiar with the situation or metal in general, there are really only three things you need to know: