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Anthrax

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  • Audience-Alienating Era:
    • Stomp 442 and Volume 8: The Threat Is Real are considered this, due to having a more reserved and lackluster alternative speed metal sound compared to their straightforward thrash albums released before and after. They were both commercial failures (the former to the point that it is now out of print) and contributed to the band losing not one, but TWO record labels.
    • The entire John Bush era of the band is considered this by some fans. Points of criticisms include his vocal style being different from Joey's, and the band's temporary shift from speed/thrash metal to grunge/alternative metal around the time he joined. Sound of White Noise and We’ve Come for You All are considered better than the following and preceding two John Bush records at least. Not helping matters was the inner-band turmoil being at an all-time high during the making of We’ve Come for You All. Charlie Benante took the album's low sales very poorly, writing a number of angry tirades on Blabbermouth.net about metal being dead and the American public being stupid, which only resulted in a massive backlash against both him and Anthrax. Guitarist Rob Caggiano left the band on rather bad terms. An attempted reunion tour left nobody satisfied (including Scott Ian, who publicly bashed Joey Belladonna). John Bush decided he didn't want to be in the band anymore, Joey also deciding he didn't want to commit after all, and Dan Nelson's time at the band making him quit on bad terms. It wasn't until Joey rejoined the band in 2010 and Anthrax releasing the widely acclaimed Worship Music in 2011 that the band finally got their act together and fans really began to respect and love them once again.
  • Broken Base: Hoo boy. You've got your Joey Belladonna fans, your John Bush fans, the occasional lonely Neil Turbin fan... Dan Nelson is by and large left out of the discussion, however, as he never released any recorded material with the band and thus hardly anyone actually heard him.
    • A subset of fans in the early 80s metal/thrash scene hated the "maturing" of the their sound after Fistful of Metal, which along with replacing Turbin, added more melody and slowed down from the 200 bpm all the time style. Granted, nearly every band of this era moved on similarly (Metallica, Megadeth, and even Slayer to a degree) and received similar accusations of selling out at the time from the hardcore speed metal faithful.
    • Take a Third Option: Some people think their 80s material was better when John Bush did the vocals. These fans were lucky to receive not only the live album Music of Mass Destruction but the studio album The Greater of Two Evils, a re-recording of their biggest songs with their 2004 line-up.
  • Complete Monster: Among the Living has musical incarnations of two of Stephen King's worst:
  • Even Better Sequel: Spreading the Disease to Fistful of Metal, followed by Among the Living.
  • Heartwarming Moments: Scott Ian met his wife Pearl Aday when she was singing back-up on a failed tour with Motley Crue. Anthrax wasn't doing so hot at the time either, so they became drinking buddies. He grew to love her so much he didn't know how to tell her, and finally expressed everything in a long, heartfelt letter. Turns out she felt the same and they've been Happily Married ever since. What's more, they cut back on drinking after that too because they were suddenly so happy.
  • It's Popular, Now It Sucks!: They got this treatment and were accused of "selling out" when they chose John Bush as their new lead singer and with their more mainstream sounding album Sound of White Noise. The band's rhythm guitarist, Scott Ian commented on this in an interview saying, "The bottom line is, everyone in this business is in it to make money. Myself included."
  • Nightmare Fuel: See here.
  • Sacred Cow: Among the Living is just as important of a metal album as Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, Rust in Peace and Reign in Blood. Dismissing the album as a "comedy skit" will usually lead to negative responses, and even those who accept it being called comedy metal will make sure you at least call it good comedy metal. Especially considering that the album as a whole is a tribute to the late Cliff Burton. Spreading the Disease and Persistence of Time are not far behind.
  • Signature Song: "Caught in a Mosh" from Among the Living. It certainly helps that it was in Rock Band 3's setlist.
    • "Antisocial" off State of Euphoria has surged into popularity in recent years, partially thanks to its appearance in It: Chapter One.
    • Other known songs include "Only", "I Am the Law", "Indians" and "Among The Living".
  • So Okay, It's Average: Audience-Alienating Era considered, Stomp 442 and Volume 8 do have their defenders. The former is considered a fun album to drive to while mutual Pantera and Anthrax fans are likely to appreciate the slower groove metal tracks on the latter. That being said, generally no one considers either album to be a masterpiece by any means.
  • Tear Jerker: "Pieces" from Vol. 8: The Threat is Real, written by Frank Bello as a tribute to his brother, Anthony, who was also Charlie Benante's nephew. Anthony was shot and killed in 1996 and to their grief, the murder was never solved.
  • Win Back the Crowd: Worship Music was this as it was the band's first album with Joey Belladonna since 1990's Persistence of Time. Reception to the album was very positive by fans and critics alike, it would eventually be placed on many critics' "Best Metal Albums of 2011" lists and is now considered to be one of the strongest albums in Anthrax's discography.

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