1. 	"Impaled"   	1:31
2. 	"You Gotta Believe"   	6:00
3. 	"Monster at the End"   	3:55
4. 	"For All Kings"   	5:00
5. 	"Breathing Lightning"   	5:37
6. 	"Breathing Out"   	0:55
7. 	"Suzerain"   	4:53
8. 	"Evil Twin"   	4:40
9. 	"Blood Eagle Wings"   	7:53
10. 	"Defend/Avenge"   	5:13
11. 	"All of Them Thieves"   	5:14
12. 	"This Battle Chose Us!"   	4:53
13. 	"Zero Tolerance"   	3:48

Joey Belladonna – lead vocals
Scott Ian – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Charlie Benante – drums, electric and acoustic guitar
Frank Bello – bass guitar, backing vocals
Jon Donais – lead guitar

Thrash metal’s “Big Four” are still trudging on in 2016. Metallica should’ve played the Super Bowl and have a new album in the works. Slayer released Repentless last year and are content to keep going without Jeff Hanneman. Megadeth just dropped Dystopia. Completing the cycle is Anthrax, the black sheep of the group, whose 12th studio album, For All Kings, holds fast to the band’s signature melodic thrash style. My question: How relevant is any of it? Why should we care about new material from our favorite ’80s metal bands as they retread the same ground, as they repeat themselves years, decades after their prime? For All Kings — like Repentless and Dystopia and Death Magnetic — is a safe and agreeable slice of thrash, but it’s also robotic, formulaic, and dated.

Scott Ian’s guitar tone is dialed in, Joey Belladonna’s voice cuts through the mix — everything is as you remember it, strangely ageless. But the songs on For All Kings feel like they were written in haste, by the old tried and true formula. Opener “You Gotta Believe” may have been notated thusly on a white board in the studio: “Spooky theatrical intro/thrash section/hook/thrash/hook/groove riff/solo/slow Alice in Chains-y part/resolve thrash section.” Anthrax have written this kind of song over and over again. They are repeating themselves. The song’s chanty punk chorus is endearing and an upbeat way to start the album, but you immediately get the feeling of listening to something you’ve already heard before.

Among the Living and Persistence of Time prove that Anthrax can put together strong arrangements. They are unfavorably compared to their Big Four brethren in this department; Anthrax always had a pop vibe and sense of humor that worked against them in the eyes of technical purists. But even by Ian and bassist Frank Bello’s standards, the songcraft here is lax, and the riffs aren’t good enough to save it. “You Gotta Believe” is actually one of the most complex arrangements on the album. By comparison, “Monster at the End”, “Suzerain”, and “Defend/Avenge” are lean and muscular, the playing tight and sensational, but the progression of the songs themselves is a dulling malaise of verse-chorus-verse with a solo thrown in that grows weary, making For All Kings’ 13 tracks feel more like 30.

Belladonna attempts to save it, though, delivering lively vocal performances that defy his age. Araya, Mustaine, Hetfield: It’s ironic that Belladonna’s name is often forgotten among his fellow thrash vocalists, yet he has outlasted them all, in that he sounds exactly like he did 20 years go. His melodic punk shouts are in full effect, as are his Bruce Dickinson-esque falsettos and extended notes (most notably on the title track, which touts a heavy Maiden influence). The best tracks on For All Kings are its most spacious ones, the ones that give Belladonna the most room to throw around his melodies. “Breathing Lightning”, with its soft intro and major chords, is a fine example of the pop metal Anthrax does best, while the sludgy “Blood Eagle Wings” is a rare moment of restraint, its multi-movement pacing unfolding naturally and less arbitrarily than “You Gotta Believe”. Don’t listen to the words, though. Lyrically, For All Kings is standard post-Persistence Anthrax: half-baked social commentary peppered with generic thrash imagery about spooky thoughts and bad governments. Thinking about the words too hard is an exercise in mind-numbing. Frankly, with the world as fucked up as it currently is, it’s unfortunate that a band with the platform and stature of Anthrax — a band that once penned the poignant Native American examination “Indians” — couldn’t have come up with something more provocative than comic book stuff.

For All Kings feels pointless. A victory lap for victory lap’s sake. The definition of a fans-only release. We’re still waiting on new Metallica, but the Big Four is 0 for 3 with their recent albums, and they all suffer from the same problem of feeling like recycled cash grabs — competent albums musically and from a production standpoint, but totally lacking in original ideas and undesirable next to the classic material. These albums are sadly doing the opposite of their intention, cementing the Big Four further in the past rather than bringing them up to speed with modern metal, which is leaving them behind. At least Anthrax have remained humble and unpretentious throughout their career. For All Kings feels less like a contrived insult to fulfill contractual obligations and consumer demand and more like a genuine gift to their diehard worshippers who swear by ’80s thrash in all its nostalgic glory. --- Jon Hadusek, consequenceofsound.net

Pamiętacie medialny szum wokół wspólnej trasy tzw. "Wielkiej Czwórki Thrash Metalu" sprzed sześciu lat? Z owej czwórki najwięcej zyskał na tym właśnie Anthrax. Pozostałym zespołom taka reklama nie była potrzebna. Metallica od lat cieszyła się statusem megagwiazady i sama byłaby w stanie przyciągnąć podobne tłumy na koncerty. Megadeth właśnie wrócił z najlepszym od lat albumem "Endgame". A Slayer nigdy nie zawiódł swoich fanów, dzięki czemu zawsze cieszył się ich niesłabnącym uznaniem. Tymczasem Anthrax swoje najlepsze lata miał już dawno za sobą. Ostatni naprawdę dobry album, "Persistence of Time" ukazał się 20 lat wcześniej. Wkrótce po jego wydaniu, z zespołu odszedł wokalista Joey Belladonna, którego zastąpił zdecydowanie mniej charyzmatyczny John Bush, z którym zespół nagrywał coraz słabsze albumy. Dlatego postawienie Anthrax w 2010 roku na równi z wspomnianą wyżej trójką (a przynajmniej dwójką, bo jednak największą część koncertów wypełniał występ Metalliki), było dla zespołu naprawdę sporą nobilitacją i szansą na odzyskanie popularności. Nic dziwnego, że do składu postanowił wówczas wrócić Belladonna (już po zaklepaniu udziału zespołu w trasie, a jeszcze przed jej rozpoczęciem).

Album "For All Kings", którego oficjalna premiera zbliża się wielkimi krokami, to drugi longplay zespołu od czasu powrotu Belladonny. Poprzedni, "Worship Music" z 2011 roku, przyniósł niestety głównie rozczarowanie. Zawarte na nim utwory sprawiały wrażenie, jakby zespół nie mógł się zdecydować, czy wrócić do thrashowych korzeni, czy może pograć bardziej komercyjnie. Efekt połączenia tych dwóch możliwości, delikatnie mówiąc, nie był zadowalający. Paradoksalnie, "For All Kings" jest albumem, który brzmi zarazem bardziej thrashowo od poprzednika, jak i zawierającym jeszcze bardziej chwytliwe melodie. A rezultat jest naprawdę dobry. W takich utworach, jak "Monster at the End", tytułowym "For All Kings", "Suzerain", czy "All of Them Thieves", świetnie udało się połączyć ciężki, agresywny akompaniament z wyraźnymi melodiami i chwytliwymi partiami wokalnymi. Nawet w najcięższym "Evil Twin", w którym agresywna jest także warstwa wokalna, pojawia się całkiem nośny refren.

Najciekawiej wypadają tutaj bardziej rozbudowane utwory, jak "Breathing Lightning" i "Blood Eagle Wings", w których pojawiają się nawet łagodniejsze fragmenty z czystymi partiami gitar, oraz - a raczej przede wszystkim - "You Gotta Believe". Smyczkowy wstęp, który od razu przywodzi na myśl jeden z najlepszych utworów Anthrax, "Be All, End All" (z albumu "State of Euphoria", 1987), pełni rolę "zmyłki" przed thrashowym łojeniem, całkiem jednak melodyjnym. Innym smaczkiem w tej ponad siedmiominutowej kompozycji jest nagłe zwolnienie oparte na basowym motywie, który stanowi akompaniament dla lekko orientalizującej gitarowej solówki. Naprawdę dobre otwarcie. Słabo prezentuje się natomiast końcówka albumu. Utwory "Defend Avenge", "This Battle Chose Us" i przekombinowany "Zero Tolerance" nie wnoszą już nic nowego ani ciekawego do całości. Sprawiają jedynie, że longplay zaczyna się dłużyć. Bez nich czas trwania albumu wynosiłby optymalne na "długogrającego" wydawnictwa 45 minut.

Mimo pewnych niedoskonałości, "For All Kings" to naprawdę dobry album. Najlepszy w dyskografii zespołu od wydanego ćwierć wieku temu "Persistence of Time". Anthrax, podobnie jak niedawno Slayer i Megadeth, udowodnił, że zasługuje na zaliczanie do "Wielkiej Czwórki Thrash Metalu". Teraz pora na ruch Metalliki. ---Paweł Pałasz, pablosreviews.blogspot.com

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1. 	"A.I.R."   	5:45
2. 	"Lone Justice"   	4:36
3. 	"Madhouse"   	4:19               play
4. 	"S.S.C./Stand or Fall"   	4:08
5. 	"The Enemy"   	5:25
6. 	"Aftershock"   	4:28               play
7. 	"Armed and Dangerous"   	5:43
8. 	"Medusa"   	4:44
9. 	"Gung-Ho"   	4:34

Musicians:
Joe Belladonna (vocals); 
Dan Spitz, Scott Ian (guitar); 
Frank Bello (bass); 
Charlie Benante (drums).

"Young and free, something you'll never be!". The first lines of Anthrax's sophomore output resume the band's spirit back in the days very well. The East Coast thrash metal legend performs carefree songs full of enthusiasm without any compromises. Stylistically, the band sounds still much closer to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal than to the pitiless thrash metal between liberatingly humorous lyrics and socially critical statements on later outputs. The cool main riff of "Madhouse" could be taken from a Judas Priest record of the early eighties while the harmonious guitar play and the high pitched chorus of "S.S.C./Stand or Fall" have obvious Iron Maiden influences. New singer Joey Belladonna offers his most enthusiastic performance and isn't afraid of high notes or fast passages. His technical struggles here and there are outpowered by his charming juvenile spirit. The tight rhythm section of bass guitar and drums harmonizes well and grooves, pushes and rushes us through nine vivid tracks. The guitar work is extraordinary as one can hear both tight heavy metal riffs and orgasmic melodic high-speed guitar solos in all tracks of this fun ride.

Despite numerous influences from other bands, Anthrax always manages to add a surprising note to each song and keeps a high degree of original diversity without losing the carefree guiding line. Especially the opening moments of most tracks are courageous, entertaining and original. The humorous radioplay overture of the charismatic "Madhouse" reminds me of the thought provoking drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The acoustic guitar opening of "S.S.C./Stand or Fall" almost recalls traditional flamenco influences. The drum play and sound effects in the beginning of "The Enemy" make almost any metal fan play air drums and bang his head. The folk infused sounds in the beginning of "Armed and Dangerous" that are carried on by appeasing acoustic guitars and heartbreaking electric guitar solos are atmospheric and progressive but nevertheless related to classic heavy metal. This is one of the most melodic and also outthought tracks ever written by the band. On the other side, Anthrax closes the record with its fastest song ever which is the chaotic and humorous "Gung Ho" where all instruments break loose towards the intentionally random ending.

There are only two songs I enjoy a little bit less on an otherwise incredibly strong output somewhere between classic heavy metal, American power and thrash metal and a small dose of hardcore punk. "Aftershock" has some interesting lyrics and can be seen as a hint at more politically inspired texts to come from the band but the chorus lacks energy and originality and the usually emotional guitar solos on this record are missing on this tune. "Medusa" is slightly better because of a solid heavy metal main riff and a great melodic vocal performance in the verses but the slightly psychedelic and noisy chorus is rather off-putting and plain weird as it doesn't fit at all to the rest of the song. If these two tracks weren't on the record, it would maybe be the best American heavy and power metal album of all times. Despite these two average tunes, this album still is a classic must have for fans of the aforementioned genres.

There is only one thing left to talk about. I would like to know what happened to Mister Brown. The mentally disabled patient welcomes his medicine with hysterical laughter in the beginning of "Madhouse" and one can hear him again during the chaotic and liberating party that is going on during "Gung Ho". Maybe he was able to escape from the madhouse as one can hear him again in another crowd during the performance of "Bud E Luv Bomb and Satan's Lounge Band", a b-side of the band's third record. As far as I know, he was never heard of again after his appearance during this crazy concert with a couple of drunkards in a social club. What happened to Mister Brown? I hope this secret will get revealed one day and that we might hear of him again on Anthrax's next studio record.

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CD 1
1 	Among The Living (Live In Chile) 	
2 	Caught In A Mosh (Live In Chile) 	
3 	I Am The Law (Live In Chile) 	
4 	Efilgnikcufecin (N.F.L.) (Live In Chile) 	
5 	A Skeleton In The Closet (Live In Chile) 	
6 	In The End (Live In Chile) 	
7 	T.N.T. (AC/DC Cover) (Live In Chile) 	
8 	I'm Alive (Live In Chile) 	

CD 2
1 	Indians (Live In Chile) 	
2 	Medusa (Live In Chile) 	
3 	In My World (Live In Chile) 	
4 	Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't (Live In Chile) 	
5 	I'm The Man (Live In Chile) 	
6 	Madhouse (Live In Chile) 	
7 	Antisocial (Live In Chile)

Bass – Frank Bello
Drums – Charlie Benante
Guitar – Jonathan Donais, Scott Ian
Vocals – Joe Belladonna

One of Metal’s most important acts, ANTHRAX, are celebrating three decades since their 1984 debut »Fistful Of Metal« , in what has been an unstoppable career. ANTHRAX not only continue to tour the globe relentlessly - including being part of The Big 4, alongside MEGADETH, METALLICA and new labelmates SLAYER - they even find themselves guest-starring in an episode of famous US TV show “Married…with Children”.

Now ANTHRAX are about to release »Chile On Hell«, a live-in-concert DVD featuring footage filmed at the Teatro Caupolican in Santiago, Chile on May 10, 2013. For the »Chile On Hell« show ANTHRAX performed an extended set that featured songs from the band's entire back-catalogue. So get ready to mosh in the privacy of your own home with multiple Grammy-nominated thrash masters ANTHRAX!

The band’s current incarnation includes vocalist Joey Belladonna, bassist Frank Bello, drummer Charlie Benante and last remaining founding member and guitarist Scott Ian. SHADOWS FALL guitarist Jon Donais, who has been touring with ANTHRAX since Rob Caggiano's departure in January 2013, handled the lead-guitar parts at the Santiago show.

“Santiago was the perfect place to film the show for this," said ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante. "When we'd played there in the past, we'd finish our set, play our encore and go back to the dressing room. But every time, the fans would continue to scream and cheer and clap. I mean, they went on and on, they wouldn't stop. One time Scott [Ian, guitar] and I walked out to the side of the stage just to watch what was going on in the audience, it was intense. Why wouldn't we want to film a DVD in front of an audience like that?”

“Plus,” Benante continued, “the time was right to do this DVD… We wanted to finish on a high note. We didn't want to look back and regret that we didn't record the live show.”

»Chile On Hell« was produced by Jay Ruston and filmed by City Drive Entertainment Group and DC3 Global. The DVD's cover art was designed by Stephen Thompson, who partnered with Benante to "redesign" the artwork from last year's »Anthems« EP. ---nuclearblast.de

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01 - Among The Living
02 - Caught In A Mosh
03 - I Am The Law                  play
04 - Efilnikufesin (NFL)
05 - A Skeleton In The Closet
06 - Indians                       play
07 - One World
08 - ADI-Horror Of It All
09 - Imitation Of Life

Personnel
* Joey Belladonna – Lead vocals
* Dan Spitz –Lead guitar, Acoustic guitar on A.D.I
* Scott Ian – Rhythm guitar, Backing vocals
* Frank Bello – Bass guitar, Backing vocals
* Charlie Benante – Drums

"Disease! Disease! Spreading the disease!" The opening lines of Anthrax' third studio full length record aren't only a reference to the vivid predecessor, they also indicate the addicting strength of this thrash metal milestone. On its third output, the band has finally found its very own style. The East Coast quintet has moved away from its original New Wave of British Heavy Metal sound, several classic rock influences and even most of their hardcore punk touch inspirations. "Among the Living" is the band's rawest, fastest and angriest release and it defines the thrash metal genre better than any other album ever done.

Over the next fifty minutes, Anthrax is offering nine pitiless tracks filled with fast riffs and unchained guitar solos, angrily pumping bass guitar licks, ferocious yet versatile high-speed drumming and breathless yet powerful vocals that are emotionally over the top but manage to remain catchy and melodic as they are constantly supported by energizing and angry gang shouts. The lyrics vary between angry yet intelligent social criticism and unchained fun anthems inspired by popular culture. The more serious lyrics are related to contemporary issues back in the days such as the outrageous fate of Native Americans, an ongoing Cold War despite a desire for peace and unity from younger generations and a warning that the horrors of war shouldn't be downplayed, forgotten or neglected. The more carefree texts feature ironic statements about complicated interpersonal relationships, unbound lust for life or are simply inspired by fictitious characters from different art media such as Judge Dredd, Randall Flagg or Reverend Henry Kane. Lyrically, this release is an incredibly authentic time document from the mid-eighties but I can still relate to most of the texts three decades later due to their timeless and youthful spirit.

This mixture of mature and juvenile lyrics would become a trademark for the band that was also a guiding line for the next three studio albums. Even though the band found its own musical style on this release, the quintet opted for less urgent variations of that style on the next three records. Anthrax have never been that poignant again as on "Among the Living". Some of their other albums might be more courageous, diversified or intellectual but this release is probably their best due to its emotions, energy and honesty. In my opinion, this is the best thrash metal album of all times.

Apart of one or two less intense minutes in "A.D.I. / Horror of It All" that sounds alien to this release due to its calmer and sluggish approach and an almost epic length of nearly eight minutes, every track on here is an instant hit and still relevant almost thirty years later. Just like a disease, this album makes you sing along, raise your fists in the air and get crazy in a mosh pit. If you want to see what this kind of music can do to an adrenalized crowd, go watch the first thirty minutes of the incredible live release "Chile on Hell" where the band plays the five opening tracks of this milestone in a row more than twenty-six years later. From the first epic and melodic seconds of the atmospheric, pace-shifting and pitiless opener "Among the Living" to the angry message against media creation of plastic people in the album closer "Imitation of Life" that ends this milestone with heavy and low bass play, brutal mid-tempo riffs and some dystopian distortion, the intensity of this album is indeed spreading like a disease. If you like metal music, no matter what genre might be your favourite, this is an absolutely essential record to add to your collection or to quote singer Joey Belladonna: "Among the living - follow me or die!" ---kluseba, metal-archives.com

Każdy zespół ma album, który powszechnie uznawany jest za najlepszy w dyskografii. W przypadku Anthrax jest nim "Among the Living". W porównaniu z "Spreading the Disease" o wiele lepsze, bardziej czytelne, jest brzmienie. Za to pod względem muzycznym jest jeszcze więcej thrashowej agresji. Zachwyty na tym albumem są jednak dla mnie niezrozumiałe - brzmi on bardzo monotonnie. Praktycznie wszystkie utwory oparte na ciężkich riffach i utrzymane w szybkim tempie. Pod względem wokalnym też jest praktycznie cały czas tak samo: melodyjny śpiew Belladonny uzupełniają wściekłe partie skandowane na punkową modłę przez Scotta Iana i Franka Bello. Jedynym urozmaiceniem są wstępy niektórych utworów ("Among the Living", "Indians").

Oczywiście, mimo monotonności całości, można wyróżnić kilka interesujących utworów. Przede wszystkim oparty na genialnym riffie "I Am the Law", zresztą kolejny przebój zespołu. Riffy zachwycają także w nieco bardziej przystępnym "Horror of It All", zaś poprzedzający go "A.D.I." to ciekawa akustyczna miniaturka. Z kolei "Imitation of Life" to miażdżące zakończenie longplaya, agresją przebijający wszystko, co grupa wcześniej nagrała. Świetną solówką popisał się Dan Spitz, zaś partia wokalna zdaje się zapowiadać nadchodzące eksperymenty grupy z rapem. Także wspomniany już "Indians" zasługuje na uwagę, chociażby tylko za ten wstęp: z początku gra sama perkusja, dopiero po chwili wchodzi świetna solówka. Szkoda, że całego utworu nie utrzymali w tym klimacie. --- Paweł Pałasz, pablosreviews.blogspot.com

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