Madhouse: The Very Best Of Anthrax [PA]

Performer: Anthrax
Artist: Public Enemy
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: Anthrax: Joey Belladonna (vocals); Dan Spitz, Scott Ian (guitar); Frank Bello (bass); Charlie Benante (drums). Additional personnel includes: Public Enemy. Producers: Mark Dodson, Candy Canedy, Eddie Kramer, Paul Hamingson, Anthrax. Compilation producer: Mike Ragogna. Includes liner notes by Gerry Miller. Personnel: Joey Belladonna (vocals); Dan Spitz, Scott Ian (guitar); Charlie Benante (drums). Liner Note Author: Geri Miller. Photographers: Ilpo Musto; B.C. Kagan; Ken Collins. Why the release of one Anthrax hits collection (1999's Return of the Killer A's) so close to another (2001's Madhouse: The Very Best of Anthrax), you ask? Well, the answer's simple -- the latest one is not the doing of the band, but their former label, Island. The 12-track set covers just the band's highlights from 1985's Spreading the Disease up to 1991's Attack of the Killer B's. Granted, there are quite a few thrash metal classics here ("A.I.R.," "I Am the Law," "Indians," "Antisocial," "Got the Time"), as well as some of the first-ever rap-metal experiments ("I'm the Man," "Bring the Noise"), the latter almost single-handedly laying the groundwork for such future hitmaking '90s acts as Rage Against the Machine and Limp Bizkit. The earlier set, Return of the Killer A's, proves to be the better of the two since it covers more ground, but if you're looking for a budget-priced collection that covers Anthrax's peak years, Madhouse: The Very Best of Anthrax manages to do the trick. ~ Greg Prato MADHOUSE: THE VERY BEST OF ANTHRAX chronicles the groups work from 1985 through 1991. The influential New York-based thrash metal band was one of the first rock outfits to experiment with rap (predating the whole "rap metal" craze of the late '90s by a decade). This is borne out by such tracks as "Bring the Noise," a Public Enemy cover featuring cameos by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. But Anthrax is best remembered as a true heavy metal band, and such standouts as "Madhouse," "Indians," "Belly of the Beast," and a metallic re-working of Joe Jackson's "Got the Time" prove it. Although the group would go on to issue more material throughout the '90s and beyond, MADHOUSE: THE VERY BEST OF collects nearly all of Anthrax's definitive cuts.

Critics of heavy metal long pointed out the genre's penchant for often taking itself far too seriously, but N.Y.C. thrash metallists Anthrax showed that metal could indeed have a light-hearted side. Besides helping to put thrash metal on the map with a slew of classic albums in the 1980s, the band was one of the first to merge rap with metal via their cult hit "I'm the Man" and their historic collaboration with Public Enemy on the 1991 remix of PE's "Bring the Noise."

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