"Worship Music" is the 10th studio album by American thrash metal band, Anthrax. It was released in 2011 on Nuclear Blast Records and was produced by Rob Caggiano. The line-up for the album was Joey Belladonna (vocals), Rob Caggiano (guitar), Scott Ian (guitar), Frank Bello (bass) and Charlie Benante (drums).
"Worship Music" had been in the works since 2008 when Anthrax hired vocalist Dan Nelson after John Bush decided not to re-join the band full time after a number of shows with Belladonna. Nelson recorded vocals for the album and left the band shortly after, either after being fired or resigning his position, there are both sides to the story, and so the Anthrax legacy continued with Belladonna.
The album begins with "Worship (Intro)" before launching into "Earth on Hell" with a fierce Charlie Benante drum fill. The track itself is very reminiscent of Anthrax's heyday albums of "State of Euphoria" and "Among the Living" in its delivery. Next up is "The Devil You Know" which is a groove-infested number, influenced by rhythm guitarist Scott Ian's side project The Damned Things and certainly wouldn't be out of place on their debut album, "Ironiclast".
Another great song on the album is "Fight 'em 'Til You Can't", which touches on the popular zombie theme and Scott Ian's obviously been watching - and appearing in - "The Walking Dead". The only concern about this track is the almost exact copy of a riff of another Anthrax song "Gridlock" in its early stages. Those die-hard fans who have heard this album will probably agree it takes a downturn from the moment track 5, "I'm Alive" ends. It's almost as if the band have thrown out their strongest songs first and put track fillers on the rest of the album with the exception of the closing song "Revolution Screams", which is a bit of a disappointment to some.
It can be said that it is a good album but it's not a classic Anthrax album. The band fails to re-capture the frantic thrash of their heyday in the mid-80s, relying more on a slower tempo. The majority of people will agree that it definitely is good to hear Joey Belladonna back on an Anthrax album again, right where he belongs.
1. Worship (Intro)
2. Earth on Hell
3. The Devil You Know
4. Fight 'em 'Til You Can't
5. I'm Alive
6. Hymn 1
7. In the End
8. The Giant
9. Hymn 2
10. Judas Priest
11. Crawl
12. The Constant
13. Revolution Screams
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