Anthrax
Worship Music
Album Review
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Released September 12 2011
Label Megaforce, Nuclear Blast
Producers Rob Caggiano, Jay Ruston
Anthrax
Joey Belladonna – lead vocals
Rob Caggiano – lead guitar, backing vocals
Scott Ian – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Frank Bello – bass, backing vocals
Charlie Benante – drums
1 Worship
2 Earth on Hell
3 The Devil You Know
4 Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't
5 I'm Alive
6 Hymn 1
7 In the End
8 The Giant
9 Hymn 2
10 Judas Priest
11 Crawl
12 The Constant
13 Revolution Screams
hidden track New Noise
Released on September 12th (and in the U.S. on the 13th), 2011, WORSHIP MUSIC is the first ANTHRAX album featuring Joey Belladonna on vocals since 1990’s Persistence of Time and is truly a return to their thrash roots, with a nice blend of classic 80’s era Thrash Thrax and the more groove laden heaviness of 90’s era Bush Thrax. This was definitely a comeback album for them and kicks off the 2010’s era with loudness, fastness, and awesomeness.
“I’m not Peter North shooting ropes across the room…”
Discover “the most Christmasy sounding porn name”, find out what it really means when “the handy dude” comes over and starts “cleaning the gutters”, and be sure to enjoy Boxing Day Eve when you JOIN US as we dive into the revival of Joey era Thrash Thrax with WORSHIP MUSIC.
WORSHIP
Definitely good stage music to start a show. Surely THAT’s the reason so many albums have intro tracks on them nowadays: to serve as stage/show intro music for the tour. (Makes perfect sense actually…).
“Worship Music” is a command. Not a title, not a noun…a command.
EARTH ON HELL
“Hello? Is this 1987? Is this from the Among The Living sessions?”
It sounds like a throwback to the Thrash Thrax days of yore. This album could have come after Persistence of Time and it would have been perfectly timed. It’s the perfect blend of Among and Persistence.
“It’s reap what you sow, not sow what you reap…
Cheering for your own demise,
Starting tonight, people will die…”
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
State of Euphoria vibes?
There’s a cool video for this (in case you were unaware). Caggiano nails those Dan Spitz nuances.
2:40 – Mosh part? Groove mosh part? Wake Up Dead?
FIGHT ‘EM ‘TIL YOU CAN’T
Zombies!
Actually, upon closer inspection, it looks like a bunch of demonic zombies on the album cover.
This sounds like 1987-1988 to a point. Oh yeah, there’s a video for this one, too. A lyric video that’s got a nice photo montage, including a shot of Frank Bello’s mustache doing its best Andrew Schulz impression.
I’M ALIVE
Looking back, this sounds like something which could have been on W.C.F.Y.A. which ironically is the last album with John Bush before his one and also maybe the most “return to form” thrash album of the John Bush era. Eight years apart, they make a decent companion set. The solos really feel like the classic 80s era.
“As I lead the child to war again,
Heaven lives in every gun…”
HYMN 1/IN THE END
Judging by the video (and the lyrics), they are saluting Dio & Dime, while also celebrating those who remain.
“In the end, you’ll be my light in the dark…”
THE GIANT
Use those headphones. That riff sounds familiar…
Left & right, back and forth…I guess Anthrax has always had a 70’s infusion in their music and style. Check out the “Anthems” EP for some quality covers of 70’s tunes.
HYMN 2/JUDAS PRIEST
Kinda cool how they’ve dropped in these sub jams within the song…a complete detour that’s completely on its own. For a moment you forget where the riff lives and then you’re back…definitely progressive metal vibes, but then, Anthrax always had these elements, even back in the 80’s.
“I am become Death, destroyer of worlds…”
3:40 – riff detour. That’s all the mosh parts were back in the day: a riff detour within the song.
CRAWL
Kinda sounds like Big Wreck at the very beginning (if you don’t know who they are, go check them out: they opened for Dream Theater on the Falling Into Infinity tour stop in Atlanta back in ’97).
The production is hiding a bunch of layers in plain sight, a solid sounding album of new material after returning to their 2nd singer after more than a decade with their 3rd singer.
Definitely some 2000’s influence on the sound as well. I forgot how great this album is: the performances, the writing, the lyrics, it’s all a perfectly pieced together puzzle. Worship Music might actually be the Anthrax magnum opus.
(Also, listen to the end of this song with relaxers starting around 4:58. You’re welcome.)
THE CONSTANT
The acoustics in the background are sneaky…definitely use those headphones.
Five Minutes Alone…definitely has that groove…an Anthrax’d F.M.A. Groovy and heavy. The John Bush era is more groovy, the joey Belladona era is more thrashy…J.B. What are the odds that their 2nd and 3rd singers would have the same initials?
3:03 – A detour that still fits. The mosh part has become the breakdown part. Metal is just so good!
REVOLUTION SCREAMS / NEW NOISE
2:11 – Listen to that incredible riffage. I really like how they just break off and take an intermission from the song.
This album has all the best traits of Belladonna Thrax and Bush Thrax, both of which are JB Thrax.
“Revolution…who’s side are you on?”
4:52 is when the outro starts.
5:30…a shift, drum wise…Then blast beats…Then ultra blast beats.
Btw, New Noise is a cover of a Refused song and it’s buried at the end of this track after about 5-6 minutes of silence.
Show Notes:
(00:01): “Merry Christmas, everybody…you can say that in America, right…again?” /
“We were shamed for saying it…”/ “At some point you can’t say anything…”/ “Is it root or route? Genre or genre?” / “You know why? It’s because we’re Reinventing the Metal…” / ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / “Welcome back AND Merry Christmas to you from Metal Nerdery Podcast!!!” / “Ooooh, the TRANS podcast…”/
“Uh, it’s Christmas magic…”/ “I think he spent most of his time there…there’s nothing but kids there…”/ “Not 4…it’s probably 5…”/ “Oh boy, you went to the donkey show…”
(04:39): ***Check us out on the SOCIAL MEDIA at #metalnerderypodcast at #Facebook and #TikTok and #Instagram and #YouTube and Head on over to the PATREON at patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast / #PatreonShoutOut / EMAIL US at metalnerdery@gmail.com and VOICEMAIL US at 980-666-8182!!!*** / “It’s…it’s rough…if it’s anything, it’s rough…”/ “I don’t know why he talks like that…”/ “When you get winded / going down an escalator…” / “There’s 2 reasons to stay fit…” / “I’m not Peter North shooting ropes across the room…” / #PeterNorth / “Maybe he made adult toys at the north pole…”/
A shoutout to the people across the globe…we just saw our #SpotifyWrapped / “Per month…”/ “Lead streams…as opposed to a rhythm stream?” / .003 cents per stream / #RussellsMetallicaReflections / “You saw him cup the microphone!”/ “He can do the old windshield wiper pretty quick…”
(15:48): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: ANTHRAX – WORSHIP MUSIC / Released September 12th (and/or 13th), 2011, the first album with Joey Belladonna since 1990 / “He left them for #Volbeat…”/ “It sounded modern, and it still sounded thrashy, and it still sounded like #Anthrax…”/ “It’s not in the cards…”/ #vices / “You mean I gotta shoot ropes again…right now!?”
(18:52): WORSHIP / “You can tell this is intro music…”/ EARTH ON HELL / “Starting tonight, people will die…” / “#ThrashThrax vs #BushThrax - totally different ‘Thraxes…” / “It sounds like classic Anthrax…”/ THE DEVIL YOU KNOW / “It fits everywhere…” / FIGHT ‘EM ‘TIL YOU CAN’T / #zombies / “It sounds like it could have come out…in ’90 or ’91…”/ I’M ALIVE / (NOTE: “Blending” in this case refers to the layering of the clean guitars over the crunchy guitars) / “I know, it’s got melody…whatever…” / #ThrashThrax
(29:20): “In between-ies…”/ HYMN 1 / IN THE END / “That kinda sounds like John Bush era Anthrax a little bit…” / “His honk didn’t get too out of shape…”/ #JourneyTribute (he played drums AND sang!?) / THE GIANT / #usethoseheadphones / “There’s more and more of the John Bush era in there…the element of that period…” / HYMN 2 / JUDAS PRIEST / “Let it ring out…”/ “Yeah, that’s kinda 2000’s-y…” / “I am become Death, destroyer of worlds…”/
“You and the handy dude?”/ “That’s what you call it? ‘Cleaning the gutters’?”
(39:13): CRAWL / “Legs spread out before me…”/ “It sounds like the time…” / “Curly Taylor…”/ THE CONSTANT / “It does have that (Five Minutes Alone) vibe to it…”/ “It’s like pop punk meets Anthrax…the 2000’s…” / #PopPunkThrax / “This sounds like a nice blend of Thrash Thrax and Bush Thrax…all the Thraxes mixed into one…” / REVOLUTION SCREAMS/NEW NOISE/ #Refused / “Oh you’re on the #Metallica recording schedule? Nah brah, #TooL recording schedule…we go decades between our albums…”/ #MerryChristmas #untilthenextyear #outroreel #sixseven