Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 10/24/1995
Before they started incorporating
hardcore punk and
rap into their
thrash sound,
Anthrax pumped out
Iron Maiden-inspired
metal that only hinted at their future. With the album split between vocalists
Neil Turbin and
Joey Belladonna, one can see why the latter got to keep his job.
Turbin's high-register yelp is an acquired taste, lacking the emphasis that the material needs. He can hit the notes, but he lacks the presence that would make
Belladonna more effective. Luckily, he is only present on the last two tracks, which were not originally on the album but made it onto the CD release.
Belladonna's clear wail would be more suited to
power metal à la
Helloween, but it was his voice that also differentiated
Anthrax from their
thrash contemporaries. This is his first recorded appearance, and he displays more personality and range on his five songs than most of his post-1986 output. Giving the cover of
"God Save the Queen" a sarcastic snarl, unleashing his banshee wail on the title track, making the remakes of
"Metal Thrashing Mad" and
"Panic" twice as good: these are the reasons why he was the obvious choice for their '80s material. It would be years before the band's direction clashed with
Belladonna's abilities, but here they found the perfect singer for what they were doing at the time. It may not be their best work, and they may have even started the annoying trend of
heavy metal Sex Pistols covers, but
Armed and Dangerous was the first sign that the band was going to be one of the major forces in the emerging
speed metal scene.
~Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
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