Album Review: Anthrax's "Worship Music"
13.09.11

Wednesday evening in New York City, Anthrax is scheduled to play Yankee Stadium alongside Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth, the other members of the so-called Big Four of thrash metal. (The show made its American premiere last April, at Indio’s Empire Polo Club.) But though these bands may still share an audience, they’ve diverged in fundamental ways.
Compare, for example, the latest projects from Anthrax and Metallica: On “Worship Music” Anthrax reunites with singer Joey Belladonna for the first time since 1990’s “Persistence of Time,” while Metallica’s forthcoming “Lulu” captures a far more unlikely collaboration, with Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground. “Worship Music” reveals Anthrax’s desire to reclaim ground ceded over the decades to younger metal acts; “Lulu” reflects Metallica’s commitment to tilling fresh soil. When Belladonna sings, “You’ve gotta go with the devil you know,” he’s describing a conservative impulse that pervades the tellingly titled “Worship Music,” both for better and for worse.
Source: Los Angeles Times