BravePicks 2016 - ANTHRAX's For All Kings #3

December 29, 2016, 7 years ago

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BravePicks 2016 - ANTHRAX's For All Kings #3

Another gruelling year of heavy metal mastery is almost over! And all the votes are in and the compiling is complete! It's time to celebrate the winners and call out the not-so winners! So who will be our #1? You’ll find out as we count down the BravePick Of 2016 throughout December! And once again our devout scribes put their collective metal minds together to build the ultimate lists including individual Top 20s (new studio albums ONLY),  Top 5 Brave Embarrassments, Top 3 Concerts, What/Who Needs To Stop In 2017? and Metal Predictions For 2017. All will be showcased come the New Year!

'Tis the season to commence the good, bad and ugly of 2016! Let’s rock!

BravePicks 2016

3) ANTHRAX - For All Kings (Megaforce / Nuclear Blast)

Anthrax has enjoyed a resurgence after 2011’s Worship Music that featured the return of singer Joey Belladonna to the band. 5 years later and the ‘Thrax machine is firing on all cylinders with For All Kings being one of the band’s strongest offerings period. For All Kings shows the New Yorkers at their melodic best and is a mature offering that shows that the band can still thrash when they want to, but they are also capable of other musical adventures. 

Drummer Charlie Benante spoke to BraveWords about For All Kings:

“I call this record a Back To The Future type of record because it’s a throwback to ‘80s thrash, but then it’s done in a modern day feel. That song has a very thrash metal type of vibe to it; then it has this breakdown that can be from 2016, and it resolves back to thrash style.”

Benante also spoke about the cover art depicting the members as statues in a place of worship:

“Right, so basically the last three albums that we did, I’m trying to almost tie-in the covers together. It’s taking place in this world – I don’t know where this world is – but it exists somehow. With this one, you really don’t know? In this hall, that these creatures are in… there’s these statues, these monuments to these kings. Were these kings there thousands of years ago? Were they responsible for music at one point? There’s not music anymore? It’s a story I’m still playing around with in my head to take it further in comic book form.”

Read more at this location.

In his 8.0 review, scribe Martin Popoff remarked:

“Five years since Worship Music and Anthrax are firing up another set of accessible, perfectly recorded songs easy to love due to rhythmic precision, clean vocals and thoughtful, mature lyrics. Seriously, Anthrax and Megadeth are in a similar place, the main difference being one’s got the irascible voice of Dave up top and one’s got Joe Belladonna with his trademark melodic singing, although he mostly sounds like a different guy, given his lower, more aggressive registers.”

Read the rest here .

BravePicks 2016 Top 31

1) 
2) 
3) ANTHRAX - For All Kings (Megaforce / Nuclear Blast)
4) DEATH ANGEL - The Evil Divide (Nuclear Blast)
5) METAL CHURCH - XI (Rat Pak)
6) MEGADETH - Dystopia (Tradecraft/Universal)
7) DARKTHRONE - Arctic Thunder (Peaceville)
8) MESHUGGAH - The Violent Sleep Of Reason (Nuclear Blast)
9) FLOTSAM AND JETSAM - Flotsam And Jetsam (AFM Records)
10) TOMBS - All Empires Fall (Relapse) 
11) THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN - Disssociation (Sumerian / Party Smasher)
12) DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT - Transcendence (HevyDevy)
13) WITCHERY – In His Infernal Majesty’s Service (Century Media)
14) ABBATH - S/T (Season Of Mist)
15) DARK FUNERAL - Where Shadows Forever Reign (Century Media)
16) ASPHYX - Incoming Death (Century Media)
17) GOJIRA - Magma (Roadrunner)
18) THE DEAD DAISIES - Make Some Noise (SPV / Spitfire)
19) INSAHN - Arktis. (Candlelight)
20) NAILS - You Will Never Be One Of Us (Nuclear Blast)
21) CROWBAR - The Serpent Only Lies (eOne)
22) BORKNAGAR - Winter Thrice (Century Media)
23) ENTOMBED A.D. - Dead Dawn (Century Media)
24) TREMONTI - Dust (Fret 12)
25) OPETH - Sorceress (Moderbolaget/Nuclear Blast)
26) HAMMERFALL - Built To Last (Napalm)
27) EPICA - The Holographic Principle (Nuclear Blast)
28)  DARK TRANQUILLITY - Atoma (Century Media)
29) SUMERLANDS - S/T (Relapse)
30) RUNNING WILD – Rapid Foray (SPV)
31) AVANTASIA – Ghostlights (Nuclear Blast)

 



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