Volume 8: The Threat Is Real

Volume 8: The Threat Is Real
Studio album by Anthrax
Publication (s)	July 21, 1998
Label (s)	Ignition Records
Format (s)	CD
Genre (s)	Thrash metal
Title (number)	14 + 1
running time	1:10:34
occupation	John Bush : vocals Scott Ian : guitar Frank Bello : Bass Charlie Benante : drums
production	Anthrax, Paul Crook
Studio (s)	Krusty's Fun House, Yonkers , New York
chronology Stomp 442 (1995) Volume 8: The Threat Is Real We've Come for You All (2003)

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Volume 8: The Threat Is Real   DE 43 08/10/1998 (5 weeks)   UK 73 08/01/1998 (1 week)   US 118 08/08/1998 (2 weeks)

Volume 8: The Threat Is Real is the eighth studio album by the American thrash metal band Anthrax . It was released on Ignition Records in August 1998 .

Emergence

After separating from the major label Elektra Records , the band was signed in late 1997 by the newly founded Ignition Records label , which was part of Tommy Boy Entertainment and specialized in rock music . The label was distributed by Alternative Distribution Alliance , a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group . The recordings took place at Krusty's Fun House , Yonkers , New York . Phil Anselmo (vocals for Killing Box ) and Dimebag Darrell ( lead guitar for Inside Out and Born Again Idiot ) performed as guest musicians .

With the album, the funk and rap influences disappeared completely from the music, instead Anthrax was inspired by the releases of Led Zeppelin in the early 1970s. An acoustic guitar is used in the piece Inside Out , Toast to the Extras shows elements of a country song through the use of the harmonica and the drum solo in Born Again Ididot is supposed to be a homage to John Bonham . At the end of the album is the folk - ballad Pieces an atypical Anthrax hidden track . It is a composition by bassist Frank Bello , in which he dealt with the murder of his brother and which he originally did not want to publish.

Inside Out was released as the first single in May 1998 and received airplay on several radio stations in various US states. Despite the extensive promotion , the album sold even worse than its predecessor, the Stomp 442 , in the first half of the year after its release, only 59,000 units were sold in the USA. In February 1999, the band went on another tour to promote the album.

Track list

1. Crush - 4:21
2. Catharsis - 4:53
3. Inside Out - 5:31
4. P&V - 3:12
5. 604 - 0:35
6. Toast to the Extras - 4:24
7. Born Again Idiot - 4:17
8. Killing Box - 3:37
9. Harms Way - 5:13
10. Hog Tied - 4:36
11. Big Fat - 6:01
12. Cupajoe - 0:46
13. Alpha Male - 3:05
14. Stealing from a Thief - 13:02

Reviews

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic writes that with the album the creative free fall of Stomp 442 could be stopped and highlights the multitude of new influences in the music. He notes that the band has not yet fully managed to recover from the creative low, the new exciting elements are only superficial and the bottom line is that the album does not contain any really remarkable pieces. Thomas Kupfer from Rock Hard, on the other hand, is enthusiastic about the album, in his opinion Anthrax rarely sounded "so compact, but always varied" and sums up that the album never disappoints. Adrian Bromley from the online magazine Chronicles of Chaos writes in his review that the veterans are slowly running out of ideas and particularly criticizes the one-dimensional vocal performance of John Bush . It is a good album, but it lacks the tension that most fans expect from the band. John Chedsey of Satan Stole my Teddybear, on the other hand, certifies the album to be exactly what Anthrax needed to find its way back to its old reputation.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Charts DE Charts UK Charts US
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Steve Knopper: Anthrax Makes Good On Its Metal 'Threat' On Ignition Bow . In: Billboard Magazine . June 20, 1998, p. 16, 18 .
3. ↑ ^{a b} Anita Samuels: Tommy Boy Refocuses Its Agenda . In: Billboard Magazine . January 9, 1999, p. 17 .
4. ↑ Thomas Kupfer: Anthrax - Volume 8: The Threat Is Real . In: Rock Hard . No. 135 .
5. ^ Adrian Bromley: Anthrax - “Vol. 8: The Threat Is Real ”. Chronicles of Chaos, accessed June 11, 2010 . 
6. ↑ John Chedsey: Volume 8: The Threat Is Real. (No longer available online.) Satan Stole my Teddybear, archived from the original on January 9, 2010 ; accessed on June 11, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

• Volume 8: The Threat Is Real on Allmusic (English)
• Volume 8: The Threat Is Real at Discogs (English)