ANTHRAX — Sound Of White Noise (review)

ANTHRAX — Sound Of White Noise album cover

Album · 1993 · Groove Metal

4/5 · 2010-07-05
Stooge

Roth vs. Hagar. Di Anno vs. Dickinson vs. Blaze. Halford vs. Ripper. These are just a few examples of established rock/metal bands that have made singer changes, which often both divides a band’s fan base and helps establish the different eras of a band. On Anthrax’s sixth studio album, Sound Of White Noise, we have exactly that division created. It’s perfectly acceptable to like both eras and vocalists, but there is most certainly the tendency to lean in favor of one over another. That being said, I’m a Bush man.

The first 5 tracks on this album are truly remarkable. “Potter’s Field” right off the bat lets the listener know that this is not the Anthrax they are used to. The band has gone in a heavier, slightly grungy direction, and has a new singer (John Bush) whose voice is a better fit for their new sound. Three of the first five tracks, “Only”, “Room For One More”, and “Hy Pro Glo” went on to be singles. Metallica’s James Hetfield accurately described “Only” as a “perfect song” in an interview, and the other two tracks are highlighted by strong choruses and, in the case of “Room For One More”, a crushing guitar riff. The fifth song, “Packaged Rebellion”, is an overlooked song in Anthrax’s catalogue. John Bush gives one of his best vocals on the album on this track.

“Invisible” is a solid tune with another catchy chorus and more solid riffing by Scott Ian. It doesn’t quite stand up with the opening five songs, but still pretty good. “1000 Points of Hate” is driven by a strong, chugging guitar riff throughout the verse that is doubled on bass to great effect, but it’s a somewhat jagged song structurally in compared to some of the other songs.

“Black Lodge” is a great song that sets a dark and eerie atmosphere. The harmony guitar parts that come in mid song (with drummer Charlie Benante taking on additional guitar duties) are very memorable. Along with “Potter’s Field” and only, “Black Lodge” is one of my favorite cuts off Sound Of White Noise.

“Sodium Pentathol”, “Burst”, and “This Is Not An Exit” are the three tracks that round off the album. I’m somewhat under-whelmed by these three songs, though there are some cool riffs in the mix.

One thing I’ll say about this album is that I’m impressed with (even on the weaker tracks) is in both the poetic nature of the written lyrics, and the solid vocal melodies which support them. I usually find it rather corny for an album to contain mostly rhyming lyrics, but on this album, I don’t mind at all.

Despite ridding themselves of a popular member of the band (Joey Belladonna), Anthrax produced one of the top albums of their career with Sound Of White Noise. The few songs that I find somewhat to be sub-par keep me from bumping this album into essential territory, but I would still highly recommend this album. Sound Of White Noise is a great example of when a band makes a fairly drastic change in sound and comes out sounding better.

more than 2 years ago
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Stooge wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I got into Anthrax, odlly enough, through their cover of "Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun" by the Beastie Boys. Instead of finding what I thought would be a second rate Beastie Boys, I discovered a pretty cool metal band when I bought my first Anthrax album, Volume 8. It was actually one of my first metal albums as well.