Cry For the Indians (Among The Living - Anthrax)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Among The Living - Anthrax
Date:	23/01/08 (15 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Classic thrash, with a mixture of styles.

Disadvantages: Incredibly repetitive.

Many fans cite 'Among the Living' as Anthrax's finest almost-hour, and it's indisputably their thrashiest and most energetic offering. Moving on from the enjoyable but fairly dull heavy metal of 'Spreading the Disease,' Joey Belladonna's high wails are retained while guitarists Dan Spitz and Scott Ian begin the Anthrax trademark of simple, heavy and incessantly catchy riffs repeated ad nauseam throughout every song. The repetition of this album is one of the reasons I don't rate it quite as highly as their later 'Persistence of Time,' but for providing a mix of great simple thrash anthems, some harder offerings for the live crowd and some more interesting endeavours later on, this is rightfully recognised as one of the eighties thrash classics, and is probably Anthrax's second best overall.

The songs do tend to fall into the categories of fast aggression ('Efilnikufesin,' 'Imitation of Life' and especially the tell-tale 'Caught in a Mosh'), and slightly more laid-back repetition of the more easily digested 'Among the Living' and 'A Skeleton in the Closet,' both of which are more my kind of thing. The most interesting section of the album seems to have been deliberately reserved for its concluding half, unless it's my imagination and there is no real difference, with the finest song 'Indians' containing all the best of what's come before along with a great epic metal atmosphere, and successor 'One World' attempts to hammer home the same issues of respect and pacifism albeit in a modern (eighties) political context. The longest song 'A.D.I. / Horror of It All' follows and is perhaps overlong thanks to the lack of real advancement once the song gets into its stride, but it's one of the more satisfying offerings and makes a very nice transition from atmospheric, acoustic opening to metal frenzy later on.

With its hardcore punk overtones and energy, immortal guitar riffs and great drumming from Charlie Benante, this is as close as Anthrax came to perfecting the thrash genre that would admittedly be handled with a little more style and sophistication by others. Many of these songs remain Anthrax classics, but the style they moved towards after this release, while something of a departure, allowed for more creative and entertaining material in the early nineties.

1. Among the Living
2. Caught in a Mosh
3. I Am the Law
4. Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)
5. A Skeleton in the Closet
6. Indians
7. One World
8. A.D.I. / Horror of It All
9. Imitation of Life

Summary: Anthrax's third album (1987).