Persistence of Time

Anthrax | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 7, 1990)
• Original Release Date: August 21, 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fontana Island
• ASIN: B000001FYN
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,729 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #6 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Thrash & Speed Metal
  • #13 in Music > Rock > Rap Rock
  • #40 in Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Pop Rap

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: ANTHRAX
Title: PERSISTENCE OF TIME
Street Release Date: 08/21/1990
Domestic
Genre: HEAVY METAL

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the Belladonna Era Anthrax, March 18, 2003

By 

Richard (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Persistence of Time (Audio CD)

Of all the albums that Anthrax released with Joey Belladonna, this is most definately the best. It has the thrash of all the preceeding albums, it has serious and topical lyrics (unlike State of Euphoria, Spreading the Disease, etc), it has the longest songs of all the Thrax albums, it has the best production of all the Thrax albums and is the best musically. Joey does much less screaming on this album and sounds [mad] all the time. It is one of Anthrax's darkest albums.

1-Time: Time starts the album off great, a ticking clock builds into rapid fire drums and killer guitars. It's dark, melodic, and fast! The lyrics are great and the singing is some of Belladonna's best. The solo is scathing and the outro is amazing - Charlie Benante's drumming = incredible.
2-Blood: Filled with thought provocing lyrics this one is anchored in a heavy throbbing rhythm and powerful chorus. Charlie's drumming is unique and guitars are great.
3-Keep It In the Family: This is one of their best song. It starts off with a grinding heavy rhythm that builds into a fast metal song. The chorus is catchy and the lyrics are great. The song is not the fastest on the album, rather, it plods along with a slow, seething, feroicity.
4-In My World: This one was released as a single and it is worthy of it. The drums are first rate and the guitars progress in a building up to a surprisingly melodic chorus. The solo is amazing - the best on the album! The lyrics are angry and straightforward, but don't come off as pitiful or whiney. Scott and the boys are capable of writing truly great lyrics at times.
5-Gridlock: The albums only pitfall, this one is good, but it's not really up to the caliber of the album. The lyrics are a tad uninspired and the guitars, while good, are nothing ground breaking.
6-Intro Into Reality: This is one of the best instrumentals I've heard. It is a haunting, melodic, introduction to Belly of the Beast. It starts off slow and builds slowly in complexity and speed. Halfway through the drums come in and it picks up. It foreshadows parts from the following song. The greatest hits compilations leave this one off, I don't know why. Personally I don't think you can get the full effect of Belly of the Beast without hearing this first.
7-Belly of the Beast: The albums dark masterpiece. I think it has to do with the Holocaust and Nazi Germany, but some parts of it remind me of the Soviet Union. Either way it is a great track. The lyrics are some of the best they've ever written: "Who is evil, who is blind? In the name of who do you fight?" The bass work is exceptionally really showing off Frank Bello's talent. The solo is top notch. Pure Anthrax magic.
8-Got the Time: A break from the dark sound of the album, Got the Time is a cover of Joe Jackson. The subject matter actually fits well with the rest of the album. Frank again demostrates his skill in a great bass solo. The guitars are innovative and entertaining.
9-H8 Read: This song is a very thrashy one. The lyrics again are thought provocing. It deals with racial hatred as well as general animosity. The solo is good and the drums are great.
10-One Man Stands: Another masterpiece. This one deals with the Teanimen Square Massacre. The lyrics are amazing and moving. The way the vocals are arranged is intersting and the chorus makes you want to sing along. The guitars are bellicose thunder and the drums are a steady roll. Very political, very intense, Thrax at their best.

11-Discharge: The angriest song on the album, this one is straight up thrash. The guitars are just as dark as Slayer and so are the drums. The solo is great and the vocals are frantic until the chorus where they burst into an amazing dark melody. A very good way to end the album.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anthrax Enters The 90's, August 23, 2004

By 

Will Culp (Greenville, South Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Persistence of Time (Audio CD)

Persistence of Time(1990). Anthrax's Sixth Album.

In the 80's, Thrash was created in the San Fransisco Bay Area, with bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Exodus, Slayer, Testament, and Overkill aweing fans and releasing some of the finest and fastest albums ever heard. While San Fransisco was Thrash's breeding ground, New York band Anthrax would soon prove themselves to be one of the one of the best bands of the genre. Blending the fast and furious spitting and raging electric guitars with the often humorous and punky vocals/lyrics, their 80's albums, most notably 'Spreading The Disease' and 'Among The Living', became massive underground hits. Around the time of 'Persistence of Time's release, the world saw the release of '...And Justice For All' and 'Rust In Peace', two albums that revolutionized and popularized the genre. Instead of repeating themselves and using punk influences, Anthrax decided to drop everything but the speed and the heaviness, and the Thrash classic 'Persistence of Time' stands as one of the darkest, heaviest, and breathtaking releases of its time. Although they would go on to tour with Public Enemy and incorporate Rap elements to their music, and go on to Top Ten success with 'Sound of White Noise', 'Persistence of Time' finds them thrashing and rocking, all the while scaring the hell out of the listener. So, is 'Persistence of Time' one of Anthrax's best or weakest albums? Read on to find out!

Track Ratings-

Time- "Tick, Tick, Tick"... BOOM! Anthrax explodes out with the progressive "Time", a track that you won't soon forget. Think Slayer's dark? Just listen to Spitz's riff and you'll see they give Slayer a run for their money. Belladonna's sneering vocals spew out hate-filled lyrics with precision and ease, and the chorus is headbanging gold! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G-!

Blood- Wow. Think Lars Ulrich is metal's premiere drummer? Tell that to Charlie Benante and he'll shove it in your face. Sure to get your blood curling, "Blood" has incredible, creepy vocals from Belladonna with constant shouts of "MURDERER!" that are only a taste of the lyrics. Want kick-ass Thrash Metal? Listen up!

Keep It In The Family- "We Are Family"? Hell no! If you want that, go to a disco parlor. On the other hand, if you want headbanging electric riffs, creepy vocals and lyrics, incredible solos, and good-old Thrash metal, I suggest you unpause this song.

In My World- In my world, bands like Anthrax would be at the top of the charts and Good Charlotte and Blink- 182 would appear to be smears on the highway. Unfortuneatly, that won't happen, but we've still got the song "In My World", which features gloomy riffs and dark vocals, not to mention a Spitz solo that's sure to give everyone their daily dose of Thrash.

Gridlock- Muy Bein Benante! Combine Metallica's 'Hit The Lights' and Megadeth's 'Mechanix', with Belladonna's melodic vocals and a wicked solo from Spitz, and you've got yourself 'Gridlock'. Great musicianship here!

Intro To Reality- An intro to "Belly In The Beast", "Intro To Reality" finds Spitz and Scott Ian combining the forces of Rhythm and Electric Guitars to create a breath-taking 3 minute plus song. Great!

Belly of the Beast- Bearing a strong resemblance to Testament's 'Souls of Black', 'Belly of the Beast' is a bass-heavy Thrash rocker that practically bleeds sarcasm and pessimism. Gotta love the chorus!

Got The Time- Although Anthrax officially dropped their punk influences, this clearly points otherwise. Bello's addictive bassline behind Spitz's punky riffs give Belladonna the perfect punk beat to sing his heart out. An energetic, fun Thrasher!

H8 Red- Spitz spits(*) out a demented guitar beat, and Belladonna's questioning vocals only enhance the headbanging quality! Belladonna's melodic vocals work wonders here, and the chorus will simply blow you away. "Do I Hate You?!"

One Man Stands- 'Persistence of Time's masterpiece, "One Man Stands" is a dark, moody Thrash Metal standard not unlike the sound of late- Alice In Chains, except with melodic vocals and a beat sure to give you nightmares. I just can't describe it.. Anthrax progresses through many musical measures with ease, and the chorus is simply phenomenol.

Discharge- Simply *great*. Benante's super-fast pitch, Spitz's record-breaking guitar speeds, and Belladona's powerful vocals deliver a performance you'd come to expect from 80's Metallica and Megadeth. Powerful, ambient musicianship.......crank it up!

Overall, 'Persistence of Time', while not equalling its neighboring albums 'Among The Living' and 'Spreading The Disease', still stands as a terrific looks into one of Thrash's finest bands, Anthrax. The musicianship is *top*-notch, the tone dark, and the volume loud, so if you enjoy that, I suggest you take a listen. After this album, Anthrax would fire Joey Belladonna and hire vocalist John Bush, and would go on to create a Top Ten record and put Rap influences into their music. Unfortuneatly this technique didn't work out and ended up keeping the albums from ever retaining the glory of 'Among The Living', 'Spreading The Disease' and 'Persistence of Time'.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! FANS OF THRASH, HEAVY METAL, AND ANTHRAX WOULD HIGHLY ENJOY THIS ALBUM! THE LAST BRILLIANT ANTHRAX ALBUM!

Killer Kuts- "Time", "Blood", "H8 Red", "One Man Stands", "Discharge", and pretty much everything!

Also Recommended-

Among The Living- Anthrax
The New Order- Testament
Master of Puppets- Metallica

Thanks For Reading!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The solution to the rap-oriented work week..Yes indeedly, June 8, 2005

By 

magician of sadness "forbidden_sorcery" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Persistence of Time (Audio CD)

First off,I will confess to being a long-time Anthrax fan.I grew up with The Ramones as much as Black Sabbath,but I'll admit to being bored with metal by the time 1990 rolled around.Then came Persistence Of Time,scarcely a year before grunge was forced down our throats by music execs at MTV.Persistence saved metal as far as I was concerned and got me interested in the scene at large again.Its amazing,but there's not a bad song on this album.The opener Time sets the pace,chugging riffs,melodic leads(melody being unknown to bands like Slayer),and thoughtful lyrics about life,particularly their plea for us not to waste ours.Belly of the Beast is masterful,eloquent,and I feel inspired in by Orwell's 1984 as well as what was going on during George's reign in office.Even though all the songs on this album are worthy of a mention,Discharge definitely struck me.Everyday it seemed we were hearing about celebrities overdosing on heroin,driving too fast too drunk,and instead of Anthrax telling you to feel bad for the poor little self-indulgent hedonists,they point the finger squarely back in their faces and force people to take a look at their excessive lives.This album showed me there could be positive outcomes to tragedy.If you're an old school metal fan like me,more than likely you own this.If you're a newebie,you need to own this.You will not be disappointed.