ANTHRAX - Spreading The Disease: 30th Anniversary Edition

November 18, 2015, 8 years ago

(Universal)

Mark Gromen

Rating: 8.5

review heavy metal rarities anthrax

ANTHRAX - Spreading The Disease: 30th Anniversary Edition

Is it just me, or does the screaming bloke on the cover look like departed bassist Dan Lilker? A two-disc set, the initial sophomore effort is now augmented by 18 live/alternate renditions. While that sounds like a plethora of newbies, in truth, the eight-song 1987 Tokyo concert compilation (part of multiple shows at the Nakano Sun Plaza) is the real gem. Although only about half of the original onstage running order, nice to see all but one (“Panic”) of the Fistful Of Metal tracks a.i.r.ed in Japan are still intact: “Metal Thrashing Mad”, “Howling Furies” and set concluding “Soldiers Of Metal”. Remember seeing an aggressive, hungry outfit (guitarist Scott Ian with long mane and no facial hair!), sporting a new vocalist (intent on hitting the high notes, even if a little strained, as on this CD!), camouflaged Marshall stacks rising towards the ceiling of The Ritz (in NYC), about a year earlier. 

Wonder why it's called thrash? Listen to the guitars on the live opener. Fun to hear some of these long dormant numbers again (for the first time?), like a lengthy, more mid-tempo “The Enemy”. For Anthrax, the final metal triumvirate of “Armed And Dangerous”, nitro fueled punk of “Gung Ho” and aforementioned “Soldiers OF Metal” has never been duplicated. The remainder is studio material; demos recorded in '84 (leading up to the original sessions, prior to Joey Belladonna's recruitment), all non-vocal renditions of Spreading The Disease stuff, although there's also instrumental practices of chugging “Raise Hell” (from the pre-release Armed & Dangerous EP) and the debut's “Metal Thrashing Mad”. There's also a Belladonna rehearsal/audition tape for “Medusa”. Like Metallica's Ride The Lightning, underground metalheads were (believe it or not) initially disappointed, with screams of "sellout," but given the test of time (and the band's experimentation that followed). Spreading The Disease ranks as a strong metallic moment in the Thrax canon.



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