I haven’t listened to them seriously in many, many years, but they used to be my favorite band. Back in the dark days (Junior High) my favorite bands were Whitesnake, Motley Crue and the like.
It was Anthrax and The Dead Kennedys that saved me. At their best, (Spreading The Disease, Among The Living) Anthrax had an almost DRI style crossover thing going on. They were pretty intelligent for metal, and at the time I was an Anthrax fan I was also heavily into Soundgarden (who were lumped into the “alternative metal” scene before the other Seattle bands came up.)
I don’t begrudge anyone disliking Anthrax, I’ve not listend to them seriously in over a decade, but I gotta jump in as I think that more than any other band, they got the shaft in the grunge vs. metal thing; I personally was quite happy with the shift, but Anthrax had way more in common with punk and alternative metal than with cock rock meathead heavy metal. Choosing John Bush didn’t help (I’ve absolutely nothing against the guy; he just linked Anthrax to a more classic metal style than I care for) when I would have had them go for a DRI or Cro-Mags singer as a much more suitable replacement. Plus, Scott Ian’s always seemed like a pretty sharp, well-spoken chap.
So, yeah. Anthrax at their best was way better than they give credit for. When I was into the big 4 of American thrash, they were my favorites of that scene.
I can totally understand hating anything too metal, but I’ll bet that you could package Anthrax’s best albums, complete with their look from that time, package them as a NY hardcore band, and they’d float with those fans.
p.s. I’d even go so far as to say that it was my Anthrax fandom that got me into the idea of searching out music that was heavier and more intelligent; if not for Anthrax, I might have given up on the idea that I can have both and never have discovered Ministry.
Yeah, I’ll second that. I am very much bored with metal at this point but I can still listen to some Anthrax every now and again. I disagree with what you said about Bush though, I think his voice suits the more ‘alternative’ style that they adapted on Sound Of White Noise perfectly. He sounds a lot like those grunge singers on that album. I also think Charlie Benante is probably the best metal drummer ever. Anyway, lets not turn this thread into an Anthrax thread.
