Published on Jun 9, 2001
1993 was a period of highs and lows for the thrash metal group
Anthrax. On the high end, the band was signed to one of the biggest
record labels around, and was ready to let loose on the masses.
(Yes, the band was signed to Island, which was by no means a small
label, but being on Elektra, it was assumed that Anthrax would
really have a promotional juggernaut behind them.) On the down
side, the band had parted ways with second vocalist Joey
Belladonna, the man behind the microphone who had led the group to
the cusp of superstardom. You want to talk about travelling an
unpaved road? Anthrax had thrown away their Howard Johnson’s road
map and was charting a new course for themselves.
Sound Of White Noise was the first album to feature (then)
former Armored Saint vocalist John Bush, but it didn’t radically
deviate from what the group had started to do on
Persistence Of Time. Fans wondered, though, how Bush would
fit in with a well-established band.
When this tape first came out, I absolutely hated it – and
probably ignored it for the last six years until one reader
encouraged me to give it another listen. It took me about a year to
finally build up the courage to give it one more try… and
Sound Of White Noise did prove to have some great moments on
it, but did show the signs of a band whose foundations had been
weakened.
The first half of this one is almost indestructible. Never mind
the fact that Bush’s vocals occasionally seem to come in a shade
too soon on “Potter’s Field,” the album’s opening track. Bush might
not have had the range that Belladonna did, but his overall power
behind his vocals were what made the association with Anthrax work.
Tracks like “Room For One More,” “Packaged Rebellion” and “Hy Pro
Glo” all suggested that Anthrax had creatively turned a corner.
(“Only,” the first single, actually wasn’t the best choice for that
honor – even though it, too, is a great track. Had I been in
charge, “Room For One More” would have been saturating the
airwaves.)
The problem with
Sound Of White Noise is that the album feels like Anthrax
spent their energy on the first five songs – leaving the rest of
the disc to slide a bit. Tracks such as “Invisible” and “1000
Points Of Hate” feel like the band is re-treading old material,
while “Black Lodge” just never feels comfortable in the band’s
playing. (For that matter, lead guitarist Dan Spitz often sounds
like his heart isn’t totally in his playing – no surprise, then,
when he left Anthrax not long afterwards.) “Sodium Penathol”
(sorry, but I can’t get the chemical symbols to appear right in
this text) seems like it would have the perfect edge for Anthrax,
but the song is unable to live up to expectations.
The closing tracks, “Burst” and “This Is Not An Exit,” both have
the feeling that Anthrax was turning the corner and returning to
the high quality that made up the first half of
Sound Of White Noise… if only there were more songs to
prove that. At least the album ends on a good note.
Granted, Anthrax will have a tough time topping works like
Spreading The Disease and
Among The Living in my mind. But
Sound Of White Noise, while showing growing pains more often
than not, was a sign that Anthrax was still alive and kicking.
Maybe, had this one been promoted better (and the right songs had
been released as singles), it could have been a commercial
high-water mark for Anthrax. Instead, it’s seen as a transitional
album with some good material… and, while not totally inaccurate,
is a shame.