We've Come For You All Easton PA

We've Come For You All

Anthrax

Sanctuary Records, 2003

REVIEW BY: Paul Hanson

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 07/28/2003

To prepare myself for reviewing this CD, the latest effort fromone of the thrash metal genre's leaders, I spent a lot of time withtheir greatest hits release Return Of The Killer A's, which chronicles the band'scareer. I introduced my children to the song "Indians" as well asthe frantic pace of their cover of the Joe Jackson tune "Got theTime." I also enjoyed their more recent tracks like "Only,"realizing that the band has progressed from their early releaseslike Fistful Of Metal and Armed And Dangerous. More recently, the band has found outthat you don't have to play 100 MPH to be a heavy band, a laMetallica.

Listening to their greatest hits gave me the perspective toconclude We've Come For You All is a stellar release. Anthraxcontinues what worked on their last release, Volume 8 - The Threat Is Real, and throws enough referencesto their early thrash roots to satisfy veteran and newbie fans.

It's at the 1:41 mark of "What Doesn't Die" that the band soundslike the old days of thrash metal. The crescendo is one that makesyou imagine the band playing this song live. And that's a majorthrust of this release. While there are some overdubs and specialeffects, the bulk of this material sounds like four guys that setup their instruments and started jamming. Vocalist John Bush soundsexcellent, especially during "Nobody Knows Anything," which is alsoa stellar track for drummer Charlie Benante, who constructs afrantic drumbeat. The single "Safe Home" could serve as a suitableintroduction to the band, who has still, despite Metallica's radiosuccess, never really made a splash on the radio.

The song that I would think would make more of an impact is"Think About An End," a Charlie Benante-driven mid-tempo stomp.After multiple listens, this is the song I come back to aspersonifying the progress Anthrax has made on this release. It hasthe trademark Benante drumming, which relies more on tom-tomrhythms than a straight rock beat between hi-hat and snare.