Year of Metal #027: Anthrax - Among The Living

Of the Big Four of thrash metal, I get the sense rightly or wrongly that Anthrax are the least well respected. Not that I’m too familiar with any of them, but I’ve also listened to less of their music going into this 1987 record than the rest of the thrash gang. 

I like Among The Living the most when it’s pushing right into that punk/hardcore bracket. "Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)" is the highlight for me, a sneering number about drug abuse. I know Anthrax took their inspiration from a wider field than some of their contemporaries, and the barked, catchy chorus wouldn’t feel out of place in a Minor Threat tune. It’d be thematically suitable, too - the hectoring anti-drug stuff is always a little tedious but it’s delivered with real conviction. The precise, wheedling riff is cool too. It took me a long time to work out what the title’s actually supposed to be when read backwards and I’ll see it firstly as that NWA album every time. 

I like “A Skeleton In The Closet” for much the same reason. It’s got a big chorus and a quality solo. Here the guitar and bass mesh for a while to great effect. It comes out of nowhere and doesn’t last too long but it’s one of the melodic high points of the record, before we revert to form with a more standard fast sweeping lead line. 

These highlights aside, I wasn’t exactly captivated by this record. There are great moments, like the intro to the titular opening song. Ominous sounds pile up, the drums cascade, a cool chuggy riff builds. But then the pace picks up and we’re into some pretty ordinary thrash business. 

There’s definitely some substance to this record, with tracks about meaningful and personal matters (Native Americans on “Indians”; the death of Metallica bassist Cliff Burton on “Horror Of It All”), and that maybe merits the 50 minute run time, but it’s not really my cup of tea to listen to pure thrash metal for that duration. Anthrax are no doubt giving their audience what they want - I just don’t need nearly an hour of this kind of stuff.