Customer Reviews

Greater of Two Evils

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Well, reviewing this is a little pointless, I suspect, as I think pretty much all the Anthtax fans out there are gonna know whether or not they're interested in an in-studio re-recording of some of the Belladonna and Turbin era material. But, for what it's worth, I think this is a great disc, and absolutely worth the cash. The only bad part about this album is how it illustrates just how dead thrash is, as it completely obliterates all the so called returns and re-births of thrash that we've heard over the years, both in terms of quality,(which they can't really be expected to match in a single album of new material) and sheer metal thrashing madness. (Which they can be expected to match. Well, Overkill still thrashes it up very well, but that's about it.)

Lousy production was a problem for pretty much all thrash bands back in the day, but Anthrax took it especially hard, I think. And, although I knew that this would sound better than the old stuff, I was a little worried that it would integrate production styles of the newer Anthrax material, which wouldn't be quite appropriate for pure thrash.(Louder vox, less harsh guitar tone etc.) Well, I was quite a fool for doubting them, as the production and mix of this album are absolutely perfect. The guitars are incredibly thick and crunching, and pushed way to the front of the mix, and the drums sound great too, particularly the powerful, thudding bass. The vox are right in the center, and relatively quiet, just as they should be. The bass guitar isn't as prominent as it was in classic Anthrax, but you can still make it out well enough, and you get plenty of extra heaviness with the new production. The only complaint I can imagine is that the back-up/gang vox aren't quite as loud as they ought to be, but this is a tiny matter. And the instrumental performances are pretty much flawless. Bush does a nice job with the vox, naturally. I've grown quite fond of the quirkiness of Belladonna's vox, but most of the time Bush is probably more suited for the job. However, it's the change in the production of the instruments that matters, far more so than the different vocalist.(I can't compare him to Turbin, as I'm ashamed to say that I don't own Fistful of Metal) The songs are generally extremely faithful(though not utterly) to the originals, other than some changed solos, which are still generally quite good.(Anthrax was never really about the solos, to me, anyway. Naturally, this comment might not apply to FoM, as I haven't actually heard it, and wouldn't know)

As I presume most people will, I have some very minor quibbles with the song selection. Simply put, Persistence of Time is underrepresented with only 2 tracks. But, the fact of the matter is that there are 12 Belladonna era tracks on this album, and every last one of them is an absolute classic.(Lone Justice is a bonus track) So I can't complain much.And the Turbin material, while not up to the level of the later stuff, is still good, and definitely deserves it's place due to historical significance. And it provides some nice variety as it's very old-school. sorta like the faster material on Kill 'em All with more melodicism and a stronger, straight up speed metal feel.

Well, that's it. Awesome album right here.

This CD is actually a 2 CD set. These are the actual track listings:

Disc 1:

1. Deathrider
2. Metal Thrashing Mad
3. Caught In A Mosh
4. A.I.R.
5. Among the Living
6. Keep It In The Family
7. Indians
8. Madhouse
9. Panic
10. I Am The Law
11. Belly Of The Beast
12. N.F.L.
13. Be All End All
14. Gung-Ho

Disc 2:

1. Anthrax
2. Lone Justice
3. In My World

I can't figure out why this is labeled "+4 Bonus Tracks." It's more like +2 since the only additional tracks that you get that aren't on the US release are Anthrax and In My World (since Lone Justice is a hidden track on the US release). It's still a great album, but you should at least know what you're getting before you pay the extra money.

As far as the CD goes, I don't have anything profound to say about it that will help you decide to buy it or not. All I can say is, if you're an Anthrax fan, get it. If not, my condolences.

OK, some people totally missed the point of this album completely. You guys are so busy comparing John Bush's singing ability to Turbin's and Belladona's that you don't realize that these songs aren't supposed to be exactly like the originals. It would be pointless for Anthrax to rerecord these with Bush if he was supposed to sing like Belladona and Turbin and hit all those high notes. This is an album for the fans that want to hear classic anthrax songs sung by Bush, who had been their singer at this point for about as long as Belladona was. Maybe Bush isn't technically as good of a singer as Belladona but he does have a good singing voice and a completely different style. And as far as Neil Turbin goes he was a ridiculously horrible singer anyway with no real talent other than screaming and TRYING to hit Halford pitched screams, which would never happen. Turbin was only good for getting Anthrax going and provided some decent over the top metal vocals that caught the attention of a few metal fans back in the early 80's and if he had remained their singer Anthrax would never had been able to evolve into the great band that they became. So stop your bitching and comparing this to the originals and enjoy it for what it is. A collection of great thrash and heavy metal classics updated for fans of the John Bush era Anthrax!!!

When I found out that anthrax redid some of their best work I wasn't to sure of how it will come out. But I gave this album a shot and man I loved this album when the first track started. I like the sound and they didn't ruin any of their songs. Tracks that blew me away are Keep it in the Family, Indian, and I am the law. I do recommend getting their first albums instead but this album is just fine and keeps the thrash metal still alive.Keep it up Anthrax. It's the best thing I have heard in a while.

Purists may see it as a cash in attempt, but "Greater of Two Evils" finds Anthrax retreading their classic Joey Belladonna era thrash material with John Bush's voice instead. And what a great listen it is. Opening up with "Deathrider", which has never sounded better, it is clear that Anthrax haven't lost a step at all, and guitarist Rob Caggiano, who debuted with 2002's "We've Come For You All", is a perfect piece to the puzzle as he and Scott Ian feed off each other the entire album. "Metal Thrashing Mad", "Caught in a Mosh", "I Am the Law", "Madhouse", and "Be All End All" sound more charged than ever before, and the only complaint one can make of "Greater of Two Evils" is that more songs weren't included. Despite that, this is a must own for Anthrax fans, old and new, and a reminder of how real heavy metal is done.

I always enjoyed Anthrax's music, but always grew tired of Joey Belladonna's high-pitched vocals. Now with this album, John Bush's deep hard rock vocals give these songs heavy credibility. The guitar work is massive and sounds phenomenal. Tracks like Among the Living, Caught in a Mosh, I Am the Law, and Be All End All never sounded better on recording. I now have a new, regained appreciation for these songs. In defence of Belladonna, he has more of a vocal range than Bush, and that is evident when you hear this album and compare the songs to their old versions. Overall though, this compilation sounds KILLER!

Ever since the john bush era started, the band, the fans, and myself have waited for this project to come out. Originally advertised as Metallus Maximus and coming out in 2002, this set reaches us at the end of 2004. Anthrax finally have a record company behind them that is stable (or so it would seem), so it makes sense that now is the time for The Greater of Two Evils. What i have read is that they went into the studio and recorded these songs in two days, just bashing them out and recording the whole band live. There are some rearrangements, all of the songs have the same production (which you don't get in the typical best-of from the belladonna era), and YES....the vocals do sound different! I always loved anthrax with joey, but john's voice sounded better to me. No disrespect to joey or the fans who prefer him, but his vocals now seem really shrill and he was definitely a classic 80's wailer. John's vocals are gritty and intense, and obviously the band was eager to record these older songs with him. Like i said before, the band planned on doing this album for awhile, so accusations of just trying to cash in a few bucks seem silly. Songs were selected by fans on anthrax.com. While i could do without gung-ho, and would rather see in my world, i can't complain about the songlist. Also, it almost seems appropriate that this is the last record that frank bello will play on. I think this record is a great treat for the fans while anthrax records their new album.

I was immediately hooked after I first listened to this album. I retract all doubt I had of these guys' capabilities after the last few albums they made, they still have the intensity they blasted out in the early part of their career. I guess fear of a repetetive sound is what changed their style over the years. As for these songs, check out A.I.R., Keep it in the family, and Be all End all, they have never sounded better. If you want lightning fast speed, Gung-Ho, Panic, and Deathrider are on here and they are faster than the originals. Charlie Benante is a better drummer in his older age than he was in the bands prime. I have been a fan for some years, and I am happily shocked to hear this album after all this time that they've been around. It really is a brilliant idea. Especially the selection of songs that they re-recorded. They are golden chunks of Anthrax history. They had a song, called Now it's dark, that they were supposed to have put on here, but due to the lack of space they can fill on a cd in the U.S, it was unfortunately left out. That's too bad, because it is an excellent song. Hopefully we will hear it sometime in the near future. Knowing these guys though, they would have put ten more of our re-recorded favorites on the cd if they had the space. They just love doing what they do that much. A heavy metal band can't really get any cooler than Anthrax.

This is awesome! Every song is amazing, vox are amazing, riffs are killer and the musicianship is threw the roof! ANTHRAX ARE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll admit was a little skeptical when the band announced plans to re-record some Anthrax classics with the new lineup. The old stuff never grabbed me, and it seemed like a bit of a cash grab. After reading some of the band members' statements about The Greater of Two Evils, I decided to give it a shot. All I can say is "I GET IT NOW". These weren't bad songs; they were just missing two very important elements. One was more modern production technology, but the main element was the right vocalist. I can hear you old school Anthrax fans having fits over that statement, but to me (and I suspect many others), the John Bush lineup is the REAL Anthrax. I'm not knocking Joey Belladonna, but all of his albums combined didn't impact me like Sound of White Noise did.

With The Greater of Two Evils, Anthrax reaches all the way back to the Fistful of Metal days and on through the Belladonna albums, giving us all a chance to experience these old songs in a whole new light. Bush's energetic and intense yet still melodic vocal style is such a better fit for Anthrax's brand of thrash, and you can tell he put 110% into recording these songs. The band also sounds amazing. The guys put so much frenetic energy into these songs that you'd never guess they had been playing some of them for two decades.

I know Anthrax got some grief over this release, but I absolutely love it. It gives me a deeper appreciation for both John Bush's vocal style and those early Anthrax albums. It also serves as a good close to John Bush's tenure with the band, since Anthrax has since dumped him in favor of Belladonna and a younger unknown singer, respectively.