Return of the Killer A's: The Best of Anthrax

Return of the Killer A's: The Best of Anthrax

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Return of the Killer A's is by no means a farewell to 13 years of pioneering metal. Rather, it's an assemblage of classics, B-sides, and covers that sums up their career. Scott Ian and bandmates cowrote the 1980s speed-metal bible in an era when most bands were fixated with hairspray, but the band persevered through metal's lean years. They defied convention by becoming one of the first metal acts to gain mass appeal with their reworking of Public Enemy's anthem "Bring the Noise." Their humorous "hit," "I'm the Man," is also here along with such mosh-pit faves as "Antisocial," "Indians," and a sprawling punk-enraged cover of Joe Jackson's "Got the Time." More recent tunes such as the Pantera-like "Hi Pro Glu" and "Crush" are included alongside a version of the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion," with early vocalist Joey Belladonna and current frontman John Bush sharing vocal duties. --Shanthi Sivanesan

Tracks:

Bring The Noise
Only
Potters Field (Hypo Luxa Hermes Pan Remix)
Ball Of Confusion
Crush
Room For One More
Inside Out
Hy Pro Glo (Hy Pro Luxa Mix)
Fueled
Among The Living
Got The Time
Indians
Antisocial
I'm The Man
Madhouse
I Am The Law

Amazon.com

Return of the Killer A's is by no means a farewell to 13 years of pioneering metal. Rather, it's an assemblage of classics, B-sides, and covers that sums up their career. Scott Ian and bandmates cowrote the 1980s speed-metal bible in an era when most bands were fixated with hairspray, but the band persevered through metal's lean years. They defied convention by becoming one of the first metal acts to gain mass appeal with their reworking of Public Enemy's anthem "Bring the Noise." Their humorous "hit," "I'm the Man," is also here along with such mosh-pit faves as "Antisocial," "Indians," and a sprawling punk-enraged cover of Joe Jackson's "Got the Time." More recent tunes such as the Pantera-like "Hi Pro Glu" and "Crush" are included alongside a version of the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion," with early vocalist Joey Belladonna and current frontman John Bush sharing vocal duties. --Shanthi Sivanesan

Customer Reviews:

Indians rocks! If only the rest of the songs were that good..........2006-05-29

This is a good compilation of Anthrax songs, with some cool tracks on it. However, it's not everything a fan could ever want. Caught in a Mosh, Armed and Dangerous, In My World, Be All End All, and anything from the first album are conspicuously missing, and some atrocious Al Jourgensen remixes were included. The songs that were included, though...

Bring the Noise 6/10 - Even some quality rapping can't save this track from being more of a "Charlie Benante and Public Enemy" song than an Anthrax and Public enemy song. In other words, TURN UP THE GUITARS! Seriously, you can barely hear them.

Only 8/10 Cool song with that circular chorus and one of John Bush's best performances - you can see why Metallica offered him the job as singer.

Potter's Field Remix 5/10 BORING. Seriously, this sucks. Crappy remixes like this one are the reason your CD player has a skip button.

Ball of Confusion 9/10 Not only did they choose a great cover song, John Bush and Joey Belladonna's vocals (on the same song!) go together perfectly. They should think about becoming a two-singer band.

Crush 6/10 Unnecessary. This song should have been taken off and replaced with any of the above-mentioned missing songs.

Room for One More 9/10 A great song, and another reason why Sound of White Noise was better than many of the Belladonna-era albums. (State of Euphoria, I'm looking at you...)

Inside Out 5/10 SNORE.....

Hy Pro Glo Remix 4/10 Terrible. Jourgensen really butchers the song, making it sound robotic.

Fueled 7/10 Another one that should have been replaced.

Among the Living 9/10 Now this is what I'm talking about. Wild punk breaks, a marching chorus and riff to match, and a good vocal performance, and well... this song didn't get any worse from the last time you heard it.

Got the Time 9/10 This fun, frantic Joe Jackson cover (check out the original!) also has one of my favorite moments in it, specifically, the the "two three go!" in the chorus. It's just plain fun.

Indians 10/10 Best song on the greatest hits compilation? I think so! From the beautiful Thin Lizzy twin leads at the beginning to the mournful chorus and hard-charging verses, this is THE perfect Anthrax song.

Antisocial 8/10 Doesn't stand up to Anthrax's original songs, but as covers go, it's a good one.

I'm the Man 8/10 So what if it's the radio edit. It's still hilarious.

Madhouse 9/10 MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I Am the Law 8/10 Cheesy lyrics about Judge Dredd don't make this song any worse.

Although they never achieved the same level of fame as Megadeth, Metallica or Slayer, they still made a significant contribution to metal. And in the end, that's what it's about.

A Must Have for Anthrax fans and fans of classic metal bands........2006-03-06

The title speaks for itself: Return of the Killer A's: The Best of Anthrax. These are the songs that made Anthrax one of the best classic metal bands of all time. They are one of the First Four original metal bands that set the standard for the rest of em, including Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth.

This album has what you need to get into Antrax if you are new to them, and/or new to metal. It is essential if you are not new. 'nuff said.

The last song on the list: I am the Law, is one of the greatest songs of all time, regardless of genre.

You could buy another cd, or a different Anthrax cd, but then you wouldn't have this one.

Okay compilation.......2005-03-25

Anthrax is a great thrash metal band. They have MANY good songs, a lot more than the sixteen tracks here. While it is lacking, it has some good, redeeming factors. How does this stack up? Read on to find out.

PROS:
-You get many of Anthrax's best works on one CD.
-It's a cheap compilation.
-Almost fills the limit you can fit on a CD.
-Has new songs. (i'll review them before I finish this review)

CONS:
-WHERE THE F**K IS CAUGHT IN A MOSH?!?!?!?!?!??!?!
-Doesn't have songs from all of Anthrax's album.
-Has the RADIO EDIT of I'm The Man.

THE NEW SONGS:
3. Potter's Field (Remix)-5/5-A great song gets a great remix.
4. Ball of Confusion-5/5-HOLY CRAP!!! Joey Belladonna, John Bush AND Danny Lilker on the same track!?!?!?!?! 'Nuff said.
8. Hy Pro Glo (Remix)-5/5-See track 3.

Overall:
If you're new to Anthrax, DON'T buy any of their compilations, buy Among The Living.'Nuff said.

PRETTY COOL ANTHRAX COMPILATION........2004-01-18

I believe that this is a good compilation which has many of this bands classic hits.It is not perfect because it is missing some really good songs,but then again what compilations out there are ever perfect.If you dont have all their albums then this is a good place to start.METAL RULES!!!

no title.......2003-11-22

this is a solid cd. i would give it 4 1/2 stars, but there are no halves. the only reason it doesnt get a full fledged 5 is cuz its missing a few really good songs from stomp 442 that were replaced with lesser (in my opinion) songs. this is a great cd from start to finish. my personal favorites are inside out, im the man, bring the noise, got the time, and most certainly fueled. hope you enjoy it as much as i do.