Anthrax

So the mighty 'thrax are back with the classic line-up (temporarily) to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their second album (huh?), and there’s a slew of new releases out there. I’m not sure if the world needs a new live album and DVD — a video anthology DVD and this double-disc retrospective of the band’s years with Island records — but here they are. So, beginning with Spreading the Disease and ending with the Attack of the Killer B’s rarities collection, this is a good overview of it all. But fucking hell guys, seven tracks from Spreading the Disease? Why not just put the whole damn album on here? Really, half the fat on this collection could have been cut: I loathe "Be All, End All”; to this day I have no idea what "Medusa” sounds like, even as I’m listening to it; "I’m the Man,” is still kind of funny but, like I said… cut the fat. But this is a band who have made a career based on mistakes, and done a great job of it. When they’re on, they’re one of the best thrash bands in history, and the songs on this collection prove that. But enough with nostalgia — give us a new album!