Out of the so-called Big Four of thrash metal, Anthrax has always been the one I am most conflicted about. Admittedly, this is at least in part due to the fact that the songs that became staples for the band generally are not their strongest material or, even worse, covers that are done well, but should really have been sacrificed in favor of original material. In all honesty, Anthrax does have its fair share of excellent songs, but a release like their sophomore album ‘Spreading The Disease’ does raise an interesting question: is Anthrax really best as a thrash metal band?

‘Spreading The Disease’ was the first album the band recorded with Joey Belladonna on vocals and probably his best recorded performance. Despite having good singers throughout their career – I personally like John Bush even better – the band hardly ever wrote material to the strengths of their singers. Belladonna’s background clearly is not in thrash metal, causing him to technically over-sing some of the material in here, but that is exactly what pushes tracks that otherwise would have been dull plodders like ‘Madhouse’ towards acceptable territory. While I’m still not crazy about that song due to its terrible chorus, Belladonna’s performance does make the pre-chorus incredible.

Apparently ‘Madhouse’ was received well enough to still be on the band’s setlist nearly every night, something I will never understand. The other live staple from ‘Spreading The Disease’ is opening track ‘A.I.R.’, a fairly decent thrasher which shows some of the first glimpses of what a creative drummer Charlie Benante would become. Along with ‘Aftershock’, closer ‘Gung-Ho’ is without a doubt the best thrasher on the album, having some excellent riff work as well as a pre-chorus with a fantastic build-up. ‘Stand Or Fall’ has some cool fast thrash riffs as well, though its overly melodic chorus does take the sting out a bit.

Now here is where my doubt if thrash metal is Anthrax’s forte comes in. The best material on ‘Spreading The Disease’ leans towards more traditional forms of heavy metal. ‘Lone Justice’ in particular is a fantastic metal song with far more open riff work than the average thrasher, really allowing Belladonna to deliver his greatest vocal performance on the record. The powerful ‘The Enemy’ is practically eighties US power metal, while ‘Armed And Dangerous’ is probably Anthrax’ most sophisticated song to date with its Queensrÿche-ish first half. The mid-tempo ‘Medusa’ is another highlight. A simple composition, but the riffs are great and Belladonna’s vocal approach is quite creative.

Despite my reservations about Anthrax as a thrash band, ‘Spreading The Disease’ is clearly an excellent metal album with some of the band’s best songwriting to date. ‘Persistence Of Time’ has it beat in terms of creativity, but ‘Spreading The Disease’ definitely has the best melodies on any Anthrax album. I also really love Frank Bello’s fat bass tone here. Through the years, I have had plenty of discussions whether or not Anthrax deserves the praise they get. But after hearing ‘Spreading The Disease’, my conclusion is really that they do, just not for the material that is usually praised.

Recommended tracks: ‘Lone Justice’, ‘Medusa’, ‘Armed And Dangerous’