Anthrax - Armed and Dangerous (1985)^{Release ID: 1525}

Released in 1985, prior to Anthrax's second album, 'Armed and Dangerous' is a seven-song EP which saw the debut of new and highly revered vocalist Joey Belladonna.

Similar in style to the band's debut album, the only notable difference here is Belladonna's vocals, which sound a lot more confident and more powerful than former singer Neil Turbin. And while the music is still very raw early 80's thrash, there's a marked improvement in the performances by everyone involved, with a slightly more competent approach to songwriting.

Overall though, this is still mostly something I'd consider for collectors only. The title track and 'Raise Hell' are both good, but I find the rest to be fairly passable. A Sex Pistols cover which does nothing for me, a couple of live tracks and two songs from the 'Fistful of Metal' album complete the EP.

'Armed and Dangerous' might have some significance as the bands first release with Belladonna, but if you're not a massive fan then you're probably better off just ignoring this EP and getting the next studio album, 'Spreading the Disease', which is one of Anthrax's best works anyway.