Anthems To The Mosher At Dusk

Anthrax – Anthems

 Megaforce Records – 2013

Muthas, Anthrax has cranked out a ton of covers in their career, and this year they have released an eight track EP - Anthems - that features six covers of songs from the 70s.  The band offers up songs from Rush, Boston, AC/DC, Journey, Cheap Trick, and Thin Lizzy. The EP also features two versions of the song “Crawl” from Worship Music.  So how does all this sound?  Read on dear reader and we’ll tell you.

First off, the inclusion of not one, but two versions of “Crawl” is ridiculous.  This song was one of the weaker tracks on Worship Music, and the last thing we need is a shitty sounding remix of a mediocre song.  What a waste.  Anthrax should have put two new cuts on this EP to whet the appetite for the next studio album.  Second, do we really need both versions of “Crawl” back to back on the album?  WTF? Oh well, at least they are tracks 7 and 8, which makes it easy to skip these turds.

When it comes to cover songs, bands have a choice: make the song their own, or play it exactly as the original artist did.  Anthrax chose the latter rather than the former and Anthems is a bit disappointing because of it.  Almost all of the covers are exact, note-for-note reproductions of the originals with nary a variation.  It would have been nice to hear a more expansive take on each song by the band. On a more positive note, Joey manfully uses the full scope of his great range to easily mimic everyone from Geddy Lee to Bon Scott to Phil Lynott. 

The highlight of the EP is Journey’s “Keep On Runnin’” which is a bit heavier than the original and is much better as a result.  As the liner notes mention, Joey auditioned for Anthrax by singing Journey songs and he effortlessly pulls off Steve Perry’s vocals.  Check it out below:

Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak” is also very well done and a favorite here at The Metal Blog of Metal. Incidentally, we loved Anthrax’s earlier cover of Lizzy’s “Cowboy Song” from when John Bush was in the band.  Such a great cover!   

One place where this release does excel is in the packaging.  Each CD is a digipak wrapped in a slipcase.  Each slipcase had a die-cut pentathrax on it that shows a bit of the artwork underneath.  Upon pulling the digipak out of the slipcase, one of six different covers is displayed – one for each different cover song.  That is very cool and will be sure to drive OCD fans crazy as they try to collect each cover variant.  Good job boys!

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The Bottom Line:  This is a decent little EP with sweet packaging that has definite collector appeal.  It’s not essential by any means, but if you like cover songs, run out and get it.  Also catch the band on the Metal Alliance Tour as they are throwing a couple of these songs into their set.

As always, MAKE MINE METAL!

It's Going Down Tonight

Gypsyhawk – Revelry & Resilience

Metal Blade Records – 2012       

Muthas, how many of you love Thin Lizzy and miss their brand of soulful, street-wise rock and roll?  The answer should be all of you!  Well Phil Lynott is long gone but there is a band from So-Cal that’s keeping that style of music alive and well in 2012 – Gypsyhawk.  The band has just released their excellent second album, Revelry & Resilience, on which they have taken that Lizzy sound, along with other great ideas from the 70s and 80s, and the result is a head-banging, toe-tapping triumph! 

Gypsyhawk is fronted by bass player Eric Harris, who is also in Huntress, and was formerly in Holy Grail and Skeletonwitch.  Harris has a rough and ready vocal style that matches the classic rock influenced cuts perfectly.  The songs frequently feature those snakey, intertwining, twin lead guitars that were a hallmark of Thin Lizzy.  Check out the tracks “Frostwyrm” and “The Fields” for a taste of that Lizzy sound. 

We are not saying that Gypsyhawk is some Thin Lizzy rip-off band, but rather that they drank deep of the heady brew offered up by Phil and the boys, and they allow this influence to show.  Lyrically, the album features songs about fantasy, science, science fiction, and plain old rockin’.  “Overloaded” is one of those  tracks that blasts the listener's face off with a sweet-ass anthem about living in the now.  Hells yes! 

The band ares obviously huge fans of George R.R. Martin's fiction, with many songs about his fantasy series, “A Song of Ice and Fire,” AKA “Game of Thrones.”  The first single, “Hedgeking” is one of those cuts that is infectious, heavy and must be played repeatedly.  Check out the kickass video for it below:

Other highlights include the speedy "State Lines," the crunchy "Galaxy Rise," and an ode to the Buckeye State "1345." The album wraps up, appropriately enough, with a cover of Rick Derringer’s “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo,” and is a fine interpretation of that rip-roaring 70s anthem.  Hop in your van with a barbarian painted on the side, lay some rubber down the highway, and blast this album at top volume!  Ditch your black/death/disco/nu/symphonic/operatic/hipster horseshit and listen to some real damn music!

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The Bottom Line:  If you like classic rock, Heavy Metal, Thin Lizzy or music that doesn’t sound like shit, then you should definitely run out and grab Revelry & Resilience.  Also, Gypsyhawk will be out on tour this fall with The Sword which is a hell of a pairing -- two rock solid bands that understand how to lay it down 70s style.  Get a ticket to the tour if you can, and buy these guys a beer.

As always, MAKE MINE METAL!