The follow up to one of Anthrax’s
greatest albums, Worship Music, comes… For
All Kings!
Impressions/Thoughts:
So obviously there is big hype for this new album, it’s the
perfect comeback to the well-rounded album Worship Music. For All Kings has only two singles, Evil Twin and Breathing
Lightning.
Worship Music is one of my favorite anthrax albums, my number
two in fact. The only reason it’s behind their album Among the Living is obvious,
that album has more great songs. After the release of Worship Music, they had
an EP called Anthems which was composed of covers of songs from the 70’s. They
had Rush, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, etc.
After that they released a kick ass DVD called Chile on Hell which I believe
to be the definitive live DVD to watch. So with all these great releases, the build
up to the forthcoming album is very high. So the question is did it live up to
the hype?
The Music:
There are two different editions to this album. The one that
I have contains 11 tracks while the other one has 13 tracks. The difference is
that they took the beginning of “You
Gotta Believe” and made it a extra track called “Impaled”. The second extra track is the ending of “Breathing Lightning” which they broke off and called “Breathing Out”.
Now for the first song “You
Gotta Believe” as the opening track, the beginning is not only epic but it
also reminds me of “Game of Thrones”.
A little known fact is that Anthrax contributed to the Catch the Throne: The Mixtape,
Vol. 2 with their song “Soror
Irrumator”. “Soror Irrumator”
was going to be a song on For All Kings, but with different
lyrics - not about the Lannisters. The album itself is actually free, so feel
free to listen to it here. “You Gotta Believe”,
itself is a great thrashy epic song. It’s
a gateway to the whole album and one of my favorites.
The third song is the title track “For All Kings”, it starts off with an epic introduction and goes
straight into the thrash. The song is one of those songs that is easy to sing
along to. It is a top song from the album, and overall just a good song.
The fourth song “Breathing
Lightning” is the second single and a diverse track from the rest of the
album. It has a slow opening and builds upon itself. It gives the listener a
break from the nonstop heaviness and speed from the previous three tracks. This
buildup leads to a great apex that launches the listener into the heavy instrumentals.
As the song ends it leaves us off with the “Breathing Out” portion, again giving us a break to listen and
prepare for the next song. “Breathing
Lightning” and “Monster at the End”,
for me, were neck and neck for the best song on the album. Ultimately “Breathing Lightning”came out on top as my favorite, a must listen.
Next is the song “Suzerain”,
which is a straightforward thrash metal song. With the great songs before and
after it, this song gets lost on the album. I feel it doesn’t get the
recognition it should. “Suzerain” is
a good thrash song, with all the elements coming together well. Vocals are good
and the instrumentals superb. Again the only thing that harms the song is that
it place in-between two great songs, it seems lesser by comparison.
Track number six, the first single “Evil Twin” is the standard of the album when it comes to the heaviness
and speed of the other songs. Evil Twin lyrically has a great message, but
lyrics alone don’t make a great song. The
instrumentals give the song life. It is a great song and must listen, if
only to hear a good anthrax song.
“Blood Eagle Wings”,
the seventh song, is the longest on the album and probably the longest song
Anthrax has ever composed. From the thrash vibe being the vibe for the previous
six songs, this song slows it down and brings in the heaviness. The song has a
slow feel to it but with the subject matter it portrays, it makes it all the
more cool. Some of you may be wondering, what are blood eagle wings? To be
frank, it’s a ritualized method of execution which is explained in more detail here.
Track number eight is called “Defend Avenge”, which is where the speed of the songs picks up
again. It’s another good strong song, with bold chorus and solos.
The next track “All
of Them Thieves” is a great song is only for one reason. It has a very
memorable and catchy chorus. “All of, all of them thieves! All of, all of them
Thieves!” It just begs to be sung out loud! And for that reason a top song for
me.
Right after this point the album begins to wind down, or at
least you would think. Track number 10 “This
Battle Chose Us” contains the essence of the album, pushing us through with
a good fast song. I like the song’s structure. But for me, this song gets me
pumped for when I need that fast paced thrash metal song.
Now for the final track “Zero Tolerance”. This song is going at full speed to end the album.
It starts off a little slow, with a great sing-a-long section that sound like
it would be great live. Then it kicks into the fast riff and just a good old headbanging
time.
Verdict:
For me I was skeptical at first when the single “Evil Twin” was released. That song was
heavy and fast, but I wanted a little more meat on the song. But I found that
that song was more of a grower and became one of my favorites. When “Breathing Lightning” came out I was in
awe because it was so different from the previous single and it was just the
kind of song I was looking for in the Anthrax album. The album For
All Kings for me is a must buy. If you’re a hardcore Anthrax fan or just a fan of thrash
metal you’ll love this album. With Joey
Belladonna's awesome vocals all the way to Jon Donais’ soloing, it just makes this album one of a kind.
Top 5 Songs:
1) Breathing Lightning
2) Monster at the End
3) Evil Twin
4) All of Them Thieves
5) Blood Eagle Wings
