Illegal Foreign Object

1993 was one of my favorite years for metal releases. Sepultura unleashed Chaos A.D., Type O Negative terrified Beavis & Butt-head with Bloody Kisses, and Rob Halford’s Fight released War Of Words. Iron Maiden put out three(!) killer live albums: A Real Live One, A Real Dead One, and the import Live At Donington. Anthrax also dropped a massive record, the band’s first with former Armored Saint vocalist John Bush, Sound Of White Noise.

John Bush wasn’t the only change for Anthrax — Sound Of White Noise was Anthrax’s first album on Elektra Records, the first time the band worked with producer Dave Jerden (who produced Symbol Of Salvation, Bush’s last Armored Saint album before joining Anthrax), and its first foray into a more “mainstream” sound.

Two years prior, labelmate (and fellow “Big Four of Thrash Metal” member) Metallica dialed back the blitzkrieg and embraced the groove with the Black Album. Thirty million in album sales and five hit singles later, it was the biggest rock band in the world.

“Big Four” thrash gods Megadeth pulled off the same trick in 1992 with the release of Countdown To Extinction. While it retained more of the classic thrash sound than Metallica had with the Black Album, Megadeth embraced polish and melody — it too went multiplatinum.

It is impossible to dismiss the idea that the success of Metallica and Megadeth didn’t play a role in Anthrax’s musical direction. The attempt at attracting a wider audience while playing music that sounded more “modern” certainly didn’t diminish the quality of the tunes — Sound Of White Noise is heavy. I have the utmost respect for Joey Belladonna; he is a legendary thrash metal figure. But there’s a raw, almost sinister soulfulness to John Bush’s vocals that worked perfectly with Anthrax’s updated sound.

The stuttered groove of “Hy Pro Glo” and juggernaut riffage of “Burst” throw haymakers like prime Earnie Shavers.

“Black Lodge” is like nothing previously heard in the metal genre. Co-written with Twin Peaks score composer Angelo Badalamenti, it’s a moody groove — the perfect metal representation of the hit television series. The video for “Black Lodge”, a haunting six-minute piece of cinema created during a time when MTV appreciated such things, was directed by the great Mark Pellington (who also directed the videos for Pearl Jam’s masterpiece “Jeremy” and Alice In Chains’ view of the Vietnam War through a soldier’s eyes “Rooster”).

“This is Not an Exit” is a plodding, stomping nod to French existential philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s play No Exit and Bret Easton Ellis’s terrifying American Psycho.

“Potter’s Field” and “Only” gallop like the Polish cavalry at the Battle of Warsaw. Drummer Charlie Benante shines throughout the album, and nowhere are his talents better represented than on these two tracks. Bush’s deeper vocal register gives the songs an added air of menace, while Frank Bello pummels his bass like Zeus bathing in the Catatumbo River. Guitarists Scott Ian and Dan Spitz eschew much of the standard thrash shredding found on previous efforts and concentrate on grinding the listener into fine powder. Metallica’s James Hetfield called “Only” “a perfect song.”

“Room For One More” is my favorite song on Sound Of White Noise. It will forever remind me of my brother Alan and how he’d play it at max volume while we moshed around his bedroom before heading out for a night of mischief as high school kids.

Several years after the release of Sound Of White Noise, I went to see Anthrax open Mötley Crüe‘s Maximum Rock tour. I was front row, center, right up against the barricades. During the choruses for “Only”, John Bush stretched the mic out for fans to sing. When he put the mic in front of me, I seized the opportunity and shouted to the heavens. He kept the mic in front of me. I kept singing. For about 30 seconds, I was the singer in Anthrax. I cannot oversell how badass that moment was for me.

Tracklist:

1. Potter’s Field 10/10
2. Only 10/10
3. Room For One More 10/10
4. Packaged Rebellion 8/10
5. Hy Pro Glo 8/10
6. Invisible 8/10
7. 1000 Points Of Hate 7/10
8. Black Lodge 10/10
9. C11 H17 N2 O2 S Na 8/10
10. Burst 9/10
11. This Is Not An Exit 8/10
12. Noisegate* 7/10
13. Auf Wiedersehn (Cheap Trick cover)* 8/10
14. Cowboy Song (Thin Lizzy cover)* 9/10
15. London (The Smiths cover)* 10/10
16. Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun (Beastie Boys cover)* 10/10

Grade: 88

*Bonus tracks included on various singles, imports, compilations, and deluxe editions.