ANTHRAX 'For All Kings' (2016)

02 February 2016

It's a bit awkward when a coworker tells you your constant finger-drumming on the desk at work is annoying everyone. Especially if everything you can take away from the situation is that the new ANTHRAX album is now totally under your skin. (I deescalate the tension by pointing out this is better than hearing me sing along.) But the important thing here is that 'For All Kings' really is full of reasons for you to beat the sorry desk in front of you like Charlie Benante beats up his drumkit.

It has been a while since ANTHRAX caught this well the essence of what makes them a great heavy metal band. It always starts with a cool Scott Ian riff, which then gets developed into different variations by Benante's meatgrinder of a rhythm section, before culminating in a super catchy chorus the size of New York. This album features a lot of that. And then some.

If the hero of 2011's 'Worship Music' was Joey Belladona – both because of his return as vocalist and his strikingly good performance as a singer – in 'For All Kings' the lights are on someone else: Jonathan Donais. The former Shadows Fall guitarist, who joined ANTHRAX a couple of years ago, shines throughout the album and his solos are often the key moments in each song.

Take for example the slow, eerily melodic middle part of opener 'You Gotta Believe' – a song which is otherwise as heavy as death and sounds like it came off of 1990's 'Persistence of Time.' The solo which this moment seamlessly flows into, is what to a large extent makes the song. A few minutes later the same guy is in Dimebag Darrell's shoes and delivering a raspy solo over a relentless groove.

Besides awesome guitar moments, this album also offers a lot of heaviness. Music-wise it erupts as some of ANTHRAX's roughest riffs of the past 20-something years. The Slayer-esque breakdown of 'Evil Twin' and the furious tempo of 'Zero Tolerance' are examples of that. The other side of the coin is the lyrics. ANTHRAX dive into some of this present day's darkest topics – indoctrination into hating those not like you, extremism and using religious beliefs as a pretext for bloodshed.

The take on said topics comes with a comic book-like naivety because this is, after all, the same band that has a song about Judge Dredd. ANTHRAX never have had a goal of depressing you with their music. Quite the contrary – they're one of the metal bands who are most openly about the fun. Released in an age of uncertainty and fear, 'For All Kings' is the heaviest and darkest ANTHRAX album in a while. And like a ray of light it can make you drum on your desk, with the kind of smile only this band can put on your face.

Source: RadioTangra.com

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