Anthrax – Worship Music

I almost didn't buy this because I was a huge fan of Bush-led Anthrax. Those 5 records he did with them are the only reason I got into the band. The moment that I heard 'Black Lodge', I had to check them out. Nothing against Belladonna, but I just can't get into it. Anyhow, this release isn't bad, but it's definitely a departure from the Bush releases. 'The Devil You Know' is actually killer on here, but that's really the only bright moment for me. If you liked the early Anthrax LPs, then this falls in line with those. If you got into them because of Bush on vocals, then you'll be let down pretty hard. It's not a total waste, but certainly not my cup of tea.

OK, history lesson first. Since the band's last studio album (2003's underrated We've Come for You All) Anthrax had dropped longtime vocalist John Bush to reunite with previous singer (and fan favorite) Joey Belladonna for some touring. When it came time to record an album, Belladonna split, to be replaced by Dan Nelson, a relative unknown. They wrote an album - Worship Music - with Nelson on vocals but then Nelson quit/was fired/who knows and the album was shelved until yet another reunion with Belladonna, resulting in a reworked Worship Music, the band's tenth studio album.

Now that that's out of the way, I have to say I am a John Bush fan. In my opinion the albums he sang on were Anthrax's best albums by far. I never got Belladonna's appeal and frankly I came into this album expecting to hate it.

But it rules...so...much!

Worship Music is just an incredible slab of heavy metal, and there's no way to deny that. This band has always written very solid albums, and they've always had a unique energy, no matter who was in the band at the time. This time around, it seems like we're getting the best of everything the band has to offer. There's a nod to their old school thrash metal roots in the blistering "Fight `Em Till You Can't" and "The Devil You Know," and songs like "I'm Alive" and "The Constant" have the heavy, melodic, modern vibe of the later Anthrax albums. Actually, a good number of these songs sound like they were written with John Bush in mind, and while I'd have loved to hear him sing them, I have to it Belladonna does a fantastic job. He's particularly good on the killer "Judas Priest," which is probably the album's best song.

If you are, or ever were, an Anthrax fan, Worship Music really is a must-have album. Fans of the Belladonna era albums are going to love it the most, but this album is also going to be a very pleasant surprise to skeptics who would rather have heard John Bush on vocals again (which is where I fall). In the end, the sheer power and energy of Worship Music is overwhelming. It crushes anything the rest of the so-called "Big Four" have released in the last twenty years, and is the strongest Anthrax album since, well, the last one. It immediately carves out a spot at or near the top of any "best of 2011" lists.