After Metallica came screaming out of the gates with their new brand of thrash, Anthrax obviously thought it it was time to “one up” them and put out this one. The playing on Anthrax Fistful of Metal was faster than that displayed on “Kill ’em All” (Metallica uses a technique of guitar playing called “downpicking” where the guitar strings are struck on the downward action where as Anthrax, I assume pick the strings on the downward and upward which is called “alternate picking” meaning they can potentially play twice as fast) Whether you like Anthrax or Metallica better is up to your individual taste but if you listen to these two albums together you can definitely see that by January 1984 Anthrax had put out a faster and more developed product for their debut album.
The album opens up with the blisteringly fast “Deathrider” which shows off how fast these cats can actually play. The riffs are faster and more technically challenging than that displayed on “Kill ’em All” and over the top is Neil Turbin‘s ear splitting voice. Turbin had some amazing pipes on him and used them to full effect on the opener, and the second track “Metal Thrashing Mad”. The band slow it down a little for a cover of Alice Coopers “I’m Eighteen”.
The pace picks up again on “Panic” which is where it becomes abundantly clear how good Charlie Benante really is too. His drumming is flat out but also extremely exact. Playing as fast as these guys do is hard, but playing as exactly as Charlie does is indeed a rare thing. “Subjugator” reminds me a little of Judas Priest but definitely a beefed-up version. Anthrax have definitely taken things to a new level with this album. This album really pummels you into the ground.
As things go on Danny Spitz gets to show off a bit on lead guitar too. This is glorious stuff, with “Soldiers of Metal” and “Death from Above” hammering down the point again. If you wanted a slab of 1980s thrash, this album is basically perfect. There is nothing I can fault this release on. Guitar player Scott Ian‘s rhythm guitar is perfectly executed and heavy as all hell. This album perfectly combines thrash metal with more traditional styles of metal in a way that not many other albums ever have since. “Across the River” and “Howling Furies” close off the album with a bit more of the stomp groove the band would become famous later on for. These songs have a bit of a different feel but overall its one tight and solid album that virtually every metal head should have in their collection.
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