Review by MartinDavey87 for Anthrax - Among the Living (1987)

Released in 1987, ‘Among the Living’ is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Anthrax, and is hailed by fans as one of the genres greatest albums. Much like the other members of thrash metal’s “big four” (look ‘em up if you don’t know), Anthrax were at this time, riding an upward trajectory of both creative and critical success. Their previous outing, ‘Spreading the Disease’, solidified them as one of metal’s most promising bands, and this follows on exactly from where they left off.

With the same line-up of musicians, having toured and played together for a number of years now, it’s no surprise that everyone is firing on all cylinders here. The twin-guitar assault sounds even tighter than before, with rapid-fire thrash riffs that refuse to slow down. The bands tongue-in-cheek approach is here in spades, in particular with vocalist Joey Belladonna’s performances, sometimes serious, oftentimes humorous, all the time impressive. All the ingredients for a great Anthrax record are here.

The production sounds good for its time, though nothing overly remarkable, it sounds pretty much as you’d expect an 80’s thrash album to sound, and it holds up well to this day. With fist-pumping anthems such as ‘I Am the Law’, ‘Indians’, ‘Caught in a Mosh’, ‘Among the Living’ and ‘Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)’, there’s an abundance of Anthrax classics here, helping make ‘Among the Living’ an essential album that belongs in every metal fans collection.