SpenniesAnthrax - Sound of White Noise
June 14th 2006 03:46
ANTHRAX
Sound of White Noise (1993)
Elektra Records
Produced by Anthrax & Dave Jerden
Alongside Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, Anthrax are regarded as one of "the big four" bands that brought thrash metal to the forefront in the 1980's. Today I'm going to talk about their fifth album, and first with vocalist Jon Bush - who replaced longtime frontman Joey Belladonna. Continuing an established band with a new singer is often a hard task, as the voice is the most recognisable aspect of the music - things are usually going to change rather drastically. The most successful band who have done this would have to be AC/DC, they got a new guy at the mic and released one of the highest selling records ever (Back in Black).
But anyway - Anthrax. "Sound of White Noise" is basically a chugga-chugga metal album. It's got all the ingredients - huge guitars, big solo's, double-kick drums and gritty but melodic vocals. I wouldn't say it's a real thrash album, it certainly has it's moments - but next to say, Metallica's "Kill Em All" it's quite a bit slower.
...but what are the songs like??
Ahh, the songs! Well, let's just say they are catchy as hell! Big melodic choruses that make you want to sing along, and big guitar riffs that make you want to play guitar (or learn how to at least). I don't think this contains the most classic metal riffs ever, but I think the beauty is in the songwriting and sing-along nature. Songs like "Only" and "Room For One More" are awesome, the sort of stuff you can just keep repeating and enjoy it more and more each time.
I think the technicality in the song structuring and also how all the instruments work together show a band who are really comfortable playing with each other and play off each other's strengths. They know how to build a big wall of sound without doing anything too flashy, but more subtle things like small guitar or drum variations that aren't that noticeable, but upon further listening make a big impact on the song.
Overall, I think the album is pretty great. For a heavy metal album, it's a lot of fun - there a couple of tracks that miss the mark a bit - but for the first album with a new singer I think Anthrax rose to the task really well, their longevity a testemant to their talents. Anyone into metal will probably be familiar with the record, but for anyone who isn't, it's a good starting point that isn't too full-on and is easy to enjoy (SOWN actually achieved Anthrax's highest chart position - reaching no. #7 on the billboard top 200).
Sound of White Noise (1993)
Elektra Records
Produced by Anthrax & Dave Jerden
But anyway - Anthrax. "Sound of White Noise" is basically a chugga-chugga metal album. It's got all the ingredients - huge guitars, big solo's, double-kick drums and gritty but melodic vocals. I wouldn't say it's a real thrash album, it certainly has it's moments - but next to say, Metallica's "Kill Em All" it's quite a bit slower.
...but what are the songs like??
Ahh, the songs! Well, let's just say they are catchy as hell! Big melodic choruses that make you want to sing along, and big guitar riffs that make you want to play guitar (or learn how to at least). I don't think this contains the most classic metal riffs ever, but I think the beauty is in the songwriting and sing-along nature. Songs like "Only" and "Room For One More" are awesome, the sort of stuff you can just keep repeating and enjoy it more and more each time.
I think the technicality in the song structuring and also how all the instruments work together show a band who are really comfortable playing with each other and play off each other's strengths. They know how to build a big wall of sound without doing anything too flashy, but more subtle things like small guitar or drum variations that aren't that noticeable, but upon further listening make a big impact on the song.
Overall, I think the album is pretty great. For a heavy metal album, it's a lot of fun - there a couple of tracks that miss the mark a bit - but for the first album with a new singer I think Anthrax rose to the task really well, their longevity a testemant to their talents. Anyone into metal will probably be familiar with the record, but for anyone who isn't, it's a good starting point that isn't too full-on and is easy to enjoy (SOWN actually achieved Anthrax's highest chart position - reaching no. #7 on the billboard top 200).
Anthrax being rad
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