Beyond Anthrax

Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981 by rhythm guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker. The group was considered one of the leaders of the thrash metal scene during the 1980s and is one of the "Big Four" thrash metal bands with Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer; Anthrax is the only one of the four from the East Coast. As of April 2017, the band has released 11 studio albums, several other albums, and 26 singles, including collaborating on a single with American hip hop group Public Enemy. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Anthrax sold 2.5 million records in the United States from 1991 to 2004, with worldwide sales of 10 million…

Formed Seattle in 1982, Metal Church consisted of vocalist David Wayne, guitarists Kurdt Vanderhoof and Craig Wells, bassist Duke Erickson, and drummer Kirk Arrington. Their 1985 self-titled debut album, recorded when the thrash/speed metal genre was still evolving, made a huge splash on the scene, as did its similar follow-up, The Dark…

Wedding the experimental free-folk of "New Weird America" to the more conventionally song-focused SF freak-folk movement, Six Organs of Admittance mastermind Ben Chasny comes into his own on this, his first-ever studio-recorded LP. Richly textured and three-dimensional, School of the Flower straddles the line between moody ambient madness and vintage sunlit psych-folk.

Seal the Deal & Let's Boogie may be the album that finally makes Volbeat rock & roll superstars in the U.S – they are everywhere else. That said, the follow-up to 2013's brilliant Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies may seem, at least for longtime fans, a surprising choice for a breakthrough. Ex-Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano joined the band after producing and playing on the 2013 date, and he cements his position here. He co-produced this with vocalist Michael Poulson and Jacob Hansen. His original riffs and mad shredding have made the band's sound – already unique – iconic. While the record's title – as wonderfully strange and catchy as its predecessors – signifies a hard-partying set, there is something else afoot here.