Madhouse: The Very Best Of Anthrax

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This concise 12-song collection focuses on Anthrax’s tenure at Island Records, which spanned from 1985’s <i>Spreading the Disease</i> to 1991’s <i>Attack of the Killer B’s</i>. Many fans consider this the group’s golden period, and it’s easy to see why. With his gilded vocals, singer Joey Belladonna kept Anthrax connected to heavy metal originators like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, while the band’s musical brain trust—guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante—always pushed the music forward, searching for new ways to be aggressive at a time when many metal acts relied on formulaic tactics. Anthrax were perhaps the most versatile of all the preeminent thrash bands. They could do AC/DC-style hard rock (“Madhouse”), hardcore punk (“Caught in a Mosh,” “Antisocial,” “Got the Time”), and purist’s thrash (“A.I.R.”). They even tried hip-hop (“I’m the Man,” “Bring the Noise”), embracing the value of that culture at a time when many rock fans dismissed it as a fad. And in an era when most metal acts were focused solely on speed, Anthrax were already peering into the future with works like “Belly of the Beast” and “Keep It in the Family.”

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