Anthrax – Stomp 442

What can you say about Anthrax that hasn't been said already?
Quite a lot actually, which is a good thing owin to the way they keep progressing.
Stomp 442 is nothing like the instantly head bang inducing speed and thrash metal from the eighties. Instead, it's modern sounding and somewhat technical and guess what: it still rocks.
Die hard tight black jeans and leather jacket wearing (as well as mullet sporting) fans may find this difficult to swallow - but if you were a die hard fan you wouldn't be reading this cos youw ould haev snapped it up the day it came out. Writing about music was once described as being like dancing to architecture - it's not that easy. So here goes...
There are several standout tracks on this album that make it all worth it for me. The opener "Random Acts Of Senseless Violence" can only be described as totally effing awesome - and not only that, but many amny many years after buying this I listened to it whilst totally pissed off one day and it was as if it spoke a different language to me. It was as if the lyrics of "Random ACts Of Senseless Violence" are mostly lost on anyone who isn't angry.
The next standout (which was the single) is "Nothing". Mid tempo, almost tribal sounding (but only briefly... at times), and guitars that make you want to jump and break things - and lyrics that I am still to decyopher to this day.
This album had variety for me but dare I say, it was a little ahrd to get into, perhaps because it was made so solidly? More than anything - as a heavy metal album - it is progressive and perhaps some of the rawness was lost in the process.
No matter. Lyrically, you could write a book about it. If you sonething smart get your hands on this.
Incidentally, this is the first Anthrax release to feature an entirely acoustic track, which is the last one "Bare".