Anthrax - Sound Of White Noise (1993)

No longer interested in moshing, skateboarding or wearing Bermuda shorts, Anthrax move with the times, i.e. a period saturated by the grunge invasion where metal dropped from the hearts of teenagers. Suddenly, Joey Belladonna is out of the band and the New York chuggers are messing with their sound, but was it for the good ? Well, the recruitment of ex-Armoured Saint frontman John Bush was a surprise, but admittedly, the guy has a good, deep bellow, but where does that leave Anthrax ? Not many expected the once gurning, stomping thrashers to hit back with '...White Noise', a slower, far darker, deadly serious and dare say it, grungier record. Dave Jerden, who made his name mixing various records for many an alterno-rock band, is twiddling the knobs here, forming a densely layered, certainly more cutting edge slab. No longer are Anthrax writing comedy tracks, '..White Noise' reflects everything from urban decay to human outrage, it's clear that the band want to go into the '90s with a venom, to be put alongside the likes of Pantera, C.O.C. etc, as a true metal band. Problem is, I'm not wholly convinced but then again, that's my fault for loving 'Spreading The Disease' and 'Among The Living' so much. However, slap this record alongside the likes of Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, etc, and it wouldn't sound out of place and I think the boys knew what they were doing on this opus.

Many reviewers have said this album is under-appreciated, I think it's more a case of fans not sure what to make of it. Yep, occasionally there are the trademark guitar chugs, but the album is drenched in an almost fuzzy logic of industrialised grunge, from the moody 'Black Lodge' to the heavy weight opener ' Packaged Rebellion'. Bruising stuff but possibly too far removed from the days of old ? Again, this is about evolution and the '90s were a huge turning point for countless bands who were made to look rather silly next to the leviathan grooves of say Soundgarden. Anthrax stepped up to the challenge, and probably passed the audition, but I wasn't there to experience it, and I'm thankful of this. Looking back many years later, '...White Noise' smells of a band wanting to be cool, wanting to fit in to survive, and that has to be commended and I guess Joey and the shorts just had to go. I think the cover sums up the album in a nutshell - blurry!

6.5/10