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ANTHRAX’S “FIGHT ‘EM ‘TIL YOU CAN’T” AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD

 Friday, June 24th, 2011 at 9:34am by


Well, it’s been a long, long, long time coming, but Anthrax’s Worship Music is apparently FINALLY coming out on September 13. And now the studio version of the first single, “Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t” — a song the band has been playing live for three years, since Dan Nelson’s brief tenure as their vocalist — is available for download here. (And, oh yeah, you hafta give up your e-mail address to get it.)

Not counting that “Ball of Confusion” cover Joey Belladonna recorded with John Bush for 1999′s Return of the Killer A’s, this is the first new Anthrax song with Belladonna in more than two decades. And it’s no secret that I’m not a Belladonna fan, but I’ll be curious to see if anyone defends his vocal performance here; I think it’s especially awful, and further demonstrates that, even if you are a Belladonna fan, his voice has not aged well. (And whoever decided he should whisper “I will end you” in sync with the drums before the second verse made a poor choice. SO CHEESY.)

But I also think the band made some weird choices in the production of the song, and those choices undermine its power. I don’t know if those guitars or keyboards under the chorus, for example, which is a bad sign; whatever they are, they make the track feel way too poppy. In fact, I’d say the whole song seems to be lacking any real edge.

But maybe it will grow on me. We’ll see.

Headbang here, then debate the quality of the song in the comments section below.

-AR

Thanks to Aleksander Sobecki for the tip!

 

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Austin-Hernandeman/708599027 Austin Hernandeman

    I think it’s amazing, personally.

  • Olav Dowkes

    I thought it was alright nothing more, nothing less. I totally agree with your points about the courus, why they went with that poppy sound I have no idea, well we’ll just have to wait and see when the album is available in its entety…

  • BlackVomit

    This is so dumb.

  • Sean

    Yeah, his voice seems to have gotten worse. Probably could’ve been an ok song but the chorus is terrible

  • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/f60fa9e6421f91d4c1d1d0e1fe20a144?s=80 Goro923

    The chorus arrangement was a bit of a shock… and Belladonna sounds like modern John Fogerty. Lacking balls, that is.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmy-Cecco/1808742747 Jimmy Cecco

    Belladonna’s voice has aged well, yes but I’d rather listen to these vocals than anything Dickinson sings on these days. Now THAT is a voice that hasn’t aged well in my opinion. Aside from that lead in the chorus I don’t really have any gripes with the song, it’s just typical Anthrax.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmy-Cecco/1808742747 Jimmy Cecco

      *hasn’t

    • jeremy

      its funny because bruce dickenson can sing everything the same as he could in the 80s. His voice has aged well go see maiden live.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmy-Cecco/1808742747 Jimmy Cecco

        I’ve seen them several times and he sounds just as old as he does on the newer albums. It isn’t as clear as on the older stuff and raspier, but not a good rasp just a tired one.

  • yzermantiis

    Neil Turbin ftw!!!!!

    • KilledByDeath

      No shit. I hoped forever that they will do at least a couple of Fistful of Metal shows, to no avail :/

      This track sounds cool, but chorus is Avenged Sevenfoldish, and that’s a negative in my book, BUT this beats anything with John Bush sans SoTWN.

      And Dan Spitz was more interesting with his solos. Oh, and intro riff kinda sounds like verse vocals from Gridlock, so i guess they’re recycling. As for vocals, I personally liked them.

  • harro1

    You ppl find something wrong with everything. Belladonna’s vox were damned good IMO. Song itself is pretty much par for the course for Anthrax. You either dig it or not. But the vox were as good as the rest of the parts in it. Surprises me really because I’ve always preferred Bush’s vox. If this is indicative of the rest of the album I’ll give Joey a go.

  • cougar party

    I think is voice sounds ok. The song just isn’t that great. The vocal melody in the verse is very boring.

  • http://www.thatsnotmetal.com Brenocide

    I’d almost go out on a limb here and say it has an almost metalcore style chorus. A metalcorus. Not very Anthrax.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Skylar-Strange/1095951788 Skylar Strange

    Not bad. Not amazing, but not bad. Not offended by Joeys performance, I’ll say that.

  • Jim

    I’m really digging this a lot more than I thought I would.

    • Josh N

      +1. I thought this was pretty good, honestly, and I’m not really a Belladonna-era Anthrax fan.

  • Jim Jonsef

    Really good.

  • JJ

    Best Anthrax song I’ve heard… well since Joey left. Going back to the thrash sound they helped create is the smartest thing they could have done.

  • Rik

    Vocals aren’t great but at least they’re better than Dave Mustaine.

  • Choronzon

    Axl do you like anyone on this planet?U have sand in your vagina?

    • Sickboy666

      He likes Devin Townsend.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/James-Tuttle/1187550606 James Tuttle

    If you were not into Anthrax when Belladonna was in the band originally then you want like this. This song goes way beyond my expectations in a good way. In fact I’d say it’s the best thing I’ve heard from them since Sound of White Noise. I’m Loving this!

  • Tedbanger

    First time hearing the song – kind of disappointed they ripped themselves off by reusing the riff for ‘Gridlock’, but other than that I think it’s pretty good stuff. Anthrax is a melodic band, especially all their stuff with Joey, so the poppy chorus doesn’t bother me one bit.

    • kelfro

      Good call on the similar riff from Gridlock. They’re nearly identical

  • cxj

    this band sucks & has always sucked.
    sounds like the ending credits song for ‘delta force 2′ or some shit. ugh.

  • CarsVsChildren

    This is just a terrible song. It’s disjointed, poorly produced, and for something trying to be “pop” it isn’t very catchy.

  • Braston

    Not bad, but I wish I could’ve heard John Bush do it. Just Saiyan…

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Phil-Hopkins/100000274440932 Phil Hopkins

    This song slays. It sounds like something off Persistence of Time (which is my favorite Anthrax album.) It’s not perfect but overall, I am banging my head.

    • \m/fer

      well it pretty much is the exact riff from gridlock but i’m diggin it \m/

  • \m/fer

    not sure what the beef with joey’s singing is…he’s a better singer than john bush ever thought about being and his voice has held up way better than any of the other big four bands…best thing they’ve done in a while

  • John

    Id say it was definitely classic Anthrax style, with a lower, gravelly voice. Obviously Joey cant sing as he once was, but what high pitched voice can after aging? Not many.

    Its thematic, something thrax has done on most of their albums. (i am the law, etc)

    Its upbeat, very 80′s sounding thrax for sure.

    Its not like Testament where they blew up their sound and blasted into high gear over most of their old stuff. (love all testament!) they just kind of stuck with the 80′s sound, being thats what theyre pretty much known for, i dont think its a horrible thing.

    Ill give em the benefit of the doubt on this one, til i hear the rest of the album. None of their albums had 100% hits on them.

  • The Overmatt

    I liked the chorus…and the rest of the song…

    Wasn’t spectacular but still better than new Metallica.

  • DarkDragon

    Its so good because it was originally written for someone elses vocal style. Joey’s falsetto style wouldnt work here so they probably told him to tone it down.

  • Marcelo

    Great song!!!
    I stopped buying Anthrax albums after Sound of White noise, but I like this one.
    I am a guitar player and for the guy who wrote he could not tell if in the chorus there was a guitar or a keyboard, it’s clearly both. The voice is perfect.
    Greetings Anthrax from Latin America!!!

  • Marcelo

    Well, I edit: there is no keyboard, after hearing the song for the 2nd time, the melody in the chorus is a guitar soloing. Great drumming by the way!

  • Kuranes

    I dig it. Axl is a contrarian who only likes bands everyone else hates or else nobody has heard of.

  • huntermc

    I like it!

    I’m an old-school Anthrax fan since Spreading The Disease, but I admit that their Belladonna era albums have not aged well. But I like this new song – it keeps the chugging thrash in the verse and adds a catchier chorus which I’m sure they’re hoping will get them some airplay. Maybe they’re just trying to get their ticket on the nostalgia train. Whatever the case, I’ll buy a copy of the album whenever it comes out.

  • McHammered

    For my 2 cents I thought it sounded pretty damn good… I loved amougst the living and think I like it more then that singer that pooped on one of them, anyways pleasently suprised!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/CJ-Crawford/768948209 C.J. Crawford

    Finally a clear version of this song. It’s nice to be able to understand the lyrics!
    Also interesting that they’ve done 2 zombie themed things now.
    The What Doesn’t Die video and now this song. Maybe they’ll shoot a video
    for this with MORE zombies? I don’t know but I really am looking forward to the record
    and I hope they recorded some good b-sides. I used to buy the import singles back in the day just to get the extra song or two and covers. Those were the days…

  • Pete

    it sounds like Anthrax, that’s for sure. I dunno… the songwriting sounds more suited to John Bush’s voice. I need the context of a whole album….

  • Cecilie

    I kinda like it. I don’t mind the poppy chorus, it’s catchy.

  • Randy

    I don’t think Joey sounds bad at all. It’s not the most groundbreaking song and we’ve seen the live videos about a hundred times now, but kind of cool to hear it all come together. I will be a first day buyer of this album.

  • devil

    To say you’re not a fan of Belladonna-era Anthrax just makes you an ignorant young’n. It was Belladonna-era Anthrax that made Anthrax one of the BIG 4. They went to shit after he left. Bush-era Anthrax was sub-par at best. This song fucking slays. If you can’t recognize that then you know fuck-all about Metal, kid. Go back to school. Anthrax is back and better than any of the other Bands in the big 4, all of whom have gone “Pop.” This ain’t top 40 bullshit. This is friggin’ fight music.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Kyle-Timothy-Palmer/582086079 Kyle Timothy Palmer

    God, Anthrax with Belladonna just can’t win with you guys. I thought the song was kickass.

  • Ryan T. Lundgren

    I get it that people who are fans of the John Bush Anthrax catalog (or think all metal vox must sound like the “singer” garggles molten glass) isn’t gonna dig this new track, but here’s a news flash for you – WE WOULDN’T BE TALKING ABOUT THIS BAND IF NOT FOR JOEY BELLADONA! I actually like both the Joey and John stuff, but this track is every bit as good as anything off of Persistance of Time AND We’ve Come For You All. Sept. 13th can’t come fast enough…..

  • Rick Javic

    Loving the song, not a big Joey fan but I’ve got no problems with this, he sounds way better than he did on the Big4 DVD and thankfully they seem to have nailed the production. Hopefully James, Lars, Rick and Fiddleman are listening to this because they could use the education. Pains me to think that we’ll never really get to know how good this could have been had John Bush sung it but I suppose we should all just be thankful that they’re finally releasing the damned thing.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Terrence-Murphy/715542012 Terrence Murphy

    I swear the intro sounds like “Discharge” from Persistence of TIme. And yeah, I can hear the kinda poppy AX7 harmonies in the chorus that I don’t particularly like.
    But, regarding voice…no issues. The real story is that we all get to hear new drumming from Charlie!

  • http://danielldean10@yahoo.com Danno

    fuck anthrax, they suck

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jordan-Lunsford/100000821886561 Jordan Lunsford

      umad bro?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Burton/784250631 Dan Burton

    Throughout the whole track I was thinking ‘this would sound awesome with John Bush on vocals’

    • Miguel G

      +1. Cool song through. I love the pre-chorus.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jordan-Lunsford/100000821886561 Jordan Lunsford

    Sick song! I love Belladonna, so glad hes back and I’m super stoked for this album. I for one think his voice has aged well, and since this song wasn’t written for his vocal style that may be why he has it toned down a little bit.

  • leroydragon

    awesome!!!!!!!! people that say it sounds like a7x are dumb dumbs. Sounds like Anthrax, like what they are supposed to sound like!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-Reagan/520958920 Mike Reagan

    First real song since Persistence of Time

  • DTdeadhead

    This song would sound much better with Dan nelson’s vocals

  • Shralper

    This is Anthrax and they are back. Joey sounds awesome if you like Joey and I do. He is one of the last remaining voices in old school high pitched screams and he is just a bad ass singer period.

    Anthrax is back…

  • Darren fretwell

    I agree with the review, belladonna is speaking live, rather than singing. He can’t hit notes like he used to and Scott Ian is lying when he says belladonna sounds the best he ever has. Listen to those early 80′s live tracks on you tube, belladonna is fucking awesome, he drowns out the whole band at some points

  • Licensedhero

    @ John Burton- That’s funny. I was thinking “This would sound better with Joey” throughout the whole John Bush error

  • Licensedhero

    @ John Burton- That’s funny. I was thinking “This would sound better with Joey” throughout the whole John Bush error

  • Licensedhero

    @ John Burton- That’s funny. I was thinking “This would sound better with Joey” throughout the whole John Bush error

  • Sorrowedman

    I’m an anthrax fan for 20 years, always loved belladonna, and i agree that he lost his voice completly, john bush is an awesome singer too.and it was a loss for the band. when i heard that belladona returned to the band i was happy, till i ear him on big 4. bad, very bad.But on this studio music, belladonna sounds better than live on big 4!

  • Sorrowedman

    I’m an anthrax fan for 20 years, always loved belladonna, and i agree that he lost his voice completly, john bush is an awesome singer too.and it was a loss for the band. when i heard that belladona returned to the band i was happy, till i ear him on big 4. bad, very bad.But on this studio music, belladonna sounds better than live on big 4!

  • Sorrowedman

    I’m an anthrax fan for 20 years, always loved belladonna, and i agree that he lost his voice completly, john bush is an awesome singer too.and it was a loss for the band. when i heard that belladona returned to the band i was happy, till i ear him on big 4. bad, very bad.But on this studio music, belladonna sounds better than live on big 4!

  • Stupid people annoy me

    Christ I’d love to be a self-important fuckhead shitmouthing everything….

    Anthrax rules. This is what they are supposed to sound like.

    Crybabies who think you can do better – feel free to do so. Elsewise, feel free to eat a sack of shut the fuck up and die.

  • Stupid people annoy me

    Christ I’d love to be a self-important fuckhead shitmouthing everything….

    Anthrax rules. This is what they are supposed to sound like.

    Crybabies who think you can do better – feel free to do so. Elsewise, feel free to eat a sack of shut the fuck up and die.