As one of the pioneers of thrash metal - alongside Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth - Anthrax is still the least-known band of the Big Four. According to the band members, their best album is Persistence of Time, released on August 21, 1990. Though, it shows the first signs of a band that never really found itself. 1990 was a pivotal year and Anthrax weren’t the only ones who wanted in on it: Slayer released their cult record Seasons in the Abyss and Megadeth responded with their even more cult-y Rust in Peace.
Other lesser-known bands also came to join the thrash scene, such as Sacred Reich with their super-brutal American Way or Coma of Souls from the band Kreator who brought an rahter gory touch to the genre. Each of these releases contained the thrash's DNA while also revealing unique identities. With albums such as Fistful of Metal and Among the Living, Anthrax showed off their interesting ability to offer up enjoyable, uncomplicated thrash, becoming the go-to band for fun yet technical music.
Persistence of Time was a much more technical and serious offering. You can’t help but bow down to Scott Ian with his masterful rhythms and to Joey Belladonna with his soaring vocals (perhaps his best yet). The album deployed an arsenal of sophisticated compositions such as Time and H8 Red. Keep It in the Family is still Anthrax’s darkest song to date. Joe Jackson’s Got the Time stood out on the record, seeming to be much more in line with Anthrax’s sound on their previous albums. So yes, this was the band’s most technical and successful album, but they had sacrificed a part of their identity. Sound of White Noise, which would follow in 1993, would see them return to their basic recipe without ever managing to balance it with the technicality of Persistence of Time. This is perhaps the greatest frustration with the New York band. © Maxime Archambaud/Qobuz