I have to admit to approaching this release with both excitement and trepidation, having been a fan of the band since Fistful of Metal and having fond memories of seeing the band live during the "Belladonna era" (in fact their gig with Metallica at the Mayfair in Newcastle in 1986 remains my favourite gig of all time!!). John Bush seems to still be regarded by some as the new boy in the band despite having been in the band longer than the guy he replaced (and of course Joey Belladonna was himself a replacement for original vocalist Neil Turbin).

Its always unfair to directly compare the different vocalists, especially as the music has evolved in such a way as it is difficult to imagine the respective vocalists being able to do justice to the tracks the others recorded (anybody imagine Joey Belladonna doing "Random Acts Of Senseless Violence" or "Only"?? thought not!), the best example is the combined vocals on "Ball Of Confusion" (from the best of compilation "Return Of The Killer A's") which clearly demonstrate that John Bush and Joey Belladonna sing in completely different, but complimentary, styles.

Anyway lets get to the music, I like the fact that the fans have been given a choice over which tracks to re-record as it means that the aforementioned "Fistful Of Metal" gets some representation (its so far been overlooked in various best ofs etc. but gets three tracks here) and whilst we could debate long and hard about the final track selection (should "Among The Living" really have five tracks included here and "State Of Euphoria" only one?) also its clear that the choice has been limited to Anthrax original tracks only as I would have loved to hear John Bush tackle "Got The Time" or "Antisocial" (from "Persistence Of Time" and "State Of Euphoria" respectively).

I like the new treatment of "Deathrider" as its been given a variation in tempo from verse to chorus which along with the raw production adds to its power, "Metal Thrashing Mad" is still a classic (in fact Bush's vocals are stylistically very close to Turbin's originals but with more power). Then we get "Caught In A Mosh" which in all honesty was never one of my favourites from "Among The Living" but its fair to say the reworked version is powerful and John Bush really gives the tune 100%. There are also one or two less obvious choices from the more popular albums "Gung Ho" from "Spreading The Disease" for example, its clear that the whole band are still able to give fresh energy to material that is in some cases more than 20 years old, the production of the album is raw and gives tracks such as "Madhouse" and "Indians" a distinctly different feel (even though, in my opinion, the originals still win out).

So this set of re-recordings works on a number of levels, it provides relative newcomers to the band a document of some of the bands earlier material, it updates some of that earlier material in a fresh and innovative way, it also gives the new line up a chance to put their stamp on classic material from the bands' back catalogue. I can honestly say there is not a duff track here (even though I would personally have preferred some different tracks being included at the expense of those on offer) and as an album in its own right it has much to recommend it.

Let us know your views on 'The Greater Of Two Evils'

Track List

Deathrider
Metal Thrashing Mad
Caught In A Mosh
A.I.R
Among The Living
Keep It In The Family
Indians
Madhouse
Panic
I Am The Law
Belly Of The Beast
N.F.L
Be All End All
Gung-Ho

Line Up

Scott Ian - Guitars,
Charlie Benante - Drums
Frank Bello - Bass Guitar, Background Vocals
John Bush - Vocals
Rob Caggiano - Guitars