Anthrax

Five long years since the forgettable Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, thrash mavens Anthrax have returned with their sturdiest album since 1993’s Sound Of White Noise and easily the best of the John Bush era. "As far as showing tons of growth in the past five years, let alone 20 years, that comes very natural to us,” says Bush. Trading brutal beats and razor riffs for more rock-based structures, "Safe Home” and "Think About An End” further the band’s evolution from an ’80s member of the old metal guard to a modern aggro mover ‘n’ shaker. Yet "Black Dahlia” and "What Doesn’t Die” are as heavy as any classic ’Thrax anthem — "heavier, maybe,” says Bush. "Rob [Caggiano, new guitarist] has brought a lot of that into the band because he’s a metal maniac and he’s taken us to another heavy level.” The Who’s Roger Daltrey asked the band if he could appear on the record; the result was mostly backing vocals in "Taking The Music Back.” "He has a little lead vocal part plus his classic screams, though he was a little disappointed that he wasn’t in it more.” Much like his work on 1995’s Stomp 442, Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell again lent a hand by playing leads on "Strap It On” and the retro-rocker "Cadillac Rock Box,” a tune that’s introduced by a phone message from a certain Desmond C. Child. "That’s Dimebag goofing around,” says Bush. "That’s why we called the song that — because he was calling from his big Escalade, which he calls his ‘Cadillac Rock Box.’” Grittier and more confident, the self-produced We’ve Come For You All is a certified classic that proves the ageless Anthrax are still a viable metal option.