Being a HUGE Anthrax fan, I decided to buy this 1994 live album from Anthrax. As many already know, Joey Belladonna was fired and replaced in 1992, so already you can tell this album’s release was decided on by their old record company. It even has the name of the record company in the title!: Island. So how is the album?

Pretty bad. It was recorded at the end of a long 2 year tour supporting the album Persistence Of Time. Because of this, the performances are tired and sometimes sloppy. Though the thing that hurts the album most is the terrible mixing job. The sound quality is muffled and very muddy. Joey Belladonna’s vocals, and Charlie Benante’s drums are mixed up front, along with Scott Ian and Frank Bello’s backing vocals. Everything else goes to the wayside. The guitars and bass are barely audible.

Some of the tracks are even split in the wrong places! The last four tracks were performed for a radio show. The sound quality is excellent, but they’re played almost exactly the same as the studio versions. Why bother? I cannot recommend this CD to anyone but an Anthrax die-hard. The only song that you might want to buy the album for is a blistering performance of “N.F.L. (Efilnikufesin)”.

the Best of Anthrax.. thrash me mad! but this is not all.. featuring PUBLIC ENEMY! Good thrash metal live album

I want to be real honest here; this is not a four or five star album. I’m a huge Anthrax fan and think this album is a lot of fun. But four or five stars should be for excellent or essential albums and this just isn’t up to that level.Produced to fullfill contractual obligations with Island records, this live album captures some of the fun of the band just prior to Joey Belladonna leaving the band. So if you want to hear Anthrax live with Belladonna and Spitz, then this is for you. The first 2/3rds is a live venue in California and the sound quality is merely good – not perfect. The last four songs are from a live in the studio session for a radio program. Sound quality is better on these.This is not bad! If you already love Anthrax then don’t hesitate! But it’s not a good selection for the first Anthrax album you buy. For that, I’d recommend, Among the Living, Spreading the Disease, Persistence of Time or Sound of White Noise.

I wouldn’t go as far as saying that this is a must-have CD by the great band, but there are some tracks on it that are outstanding.The quality is certainly not the best for a live album (for a lesson in quality live recordings, look at Iron Maiden’s Live after Death), but there is still some killer tracks here.However, I am still wondering my Among the Living is not on here – in my opinion, this is one the best songs they ever did as a live set.I love the live version of Bring the Noise with Public Enemy – these guys pioneered alot of the sounds that you hear now with bands like Limp Bizkit, Korn, POD etc and you can hear that in this track – simply awesome.The crowd/live atmosphere is not really transferred onto this recording, especially with those recorded in the studio with a “live” audience.Still, this is an Anthrax album so that alone gives it some merit !!!

I remember when I first got my copy of this disc,as I just assumed the label wanted to simply ca$h in on the Anthrax days long gone.This twelve track offering is rather decent,specially if you ever got to see the band when former vocalist Joey Belladonna was fronting them.Notable cuts include the opener “NFL”(remember what that stands for?),”Parasite”,(still like seeing the video on VH1 Classic),their signature song “Indians”,”I Am The Law”,”Caught In A Mosh” and “Anti-Social”.Opposed to all the long time Anthrax fans that SAY they like John Bush as their vocalist,I like Belladonna better.A good thrash metal catalog title.Great cover.