Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 10:00 AM by Nikos Nakos
1990 was clearly a magical year for the genre. With three of the Big 4 releasing albums, amidst the loss of releases of now classic thrash albums such as ”Never, Neverland” by Annihilator, ”The American Way” by Sacred Reich, ”Souls Of Black” by Testament, ”Act III” by Death Angel, ”Slaughter In The Vatican” by Exhorder, ”Twisted Into Form” by Forbidden, ”Coma Of Souls” by Kreator among others. Nevertheless, Anthrax’s 5th studio album ”Persistence Of Time” released on August 21 of the same year was not a usual Anthrax album.
With the State Of Euphoria tour ending in 1989, the Americans decided that they needed to evolve further from their thrash roots. But not everyone in the band was in the same mood about exactly how they should evolve, which caused strife among them. In addition, the group’s frustration with the previous album played a major role and as a result, they found themselves with their backs against the wall. So, in December 1989, after spending most of the year trying to create songs of similar acceptance to Iron Maiden / Judas Priest, they entered A&M Studios in Hollywood, California, with producer Mark Dodson. In an effort to maintain full control of the songs, Anthrax co-produced the album. Recording the album was difficult, with a major building fire causing the loss of over $100,000 worth of irreplaceable equipment and the band’s rehearsal studio on January 24, 1990. After this event, the band moved to another studio in late February of that year to complete the preparation of the album.
“Persistence Of Time” was written and recorded during a dark period in their career, when metal was losing its popularity (to grunge). It was obvious in the result that the group managed to make big changes in their sound by presenting something darker, serious and technical. It is the most aggressive album they have released to date, yet for some, unjustifiable reason it has been almost ignored by fans and the band. An album that reached #24 on Billboard and greatly increased their fanbase.
The cover was the first important element that showed that the changes were underway. On their previous albums we had encountered some cartoon aesthetic or worse, the hideous face of Not Man staring back at you – but this time there was nothing but a desolate wasteland and a skull clock, deftly reminding you of your possible death. All the nonsense and connotations of the comics were replaced by a series of songs that analyzed the ills of society with a teeth-clenching passion. Charlie Benante and Scott Ian wanted to write a dark album full of mid-tempo riffs in a minor key and lyrics that focused on mortality, prejudice and social discord. After all, it’s no coincidence that this album features some of Scott Ian’s most personal and confessional lyrics to date. Lyrics with tremendous attention to the hypocrisy and hostility that has and continues to thrive within human society wanting the songs to reflect his personal growth.
But even though it had already been prepared and rehearsed showing the way, Frank Bello was becoming resentful because some of his song ideas were rejected by the others because they didn’t fit the theme of the album and singer Joey Belladonna was having trouble understanding the grittier, more violent sound his bandmates were going for. Composing and rehearsing for the album was fraught with difficulties and in February 1990 leaving the studio exhausted and frustrated, Belladonna didn’t know it at the time, Ian Scott and Frank Bello had already spoken with a new singer. But first they had to tour to promote their work.
Joey’s firing would come shortly after Anthrax was invited to appear on the sitcom ”Married With Children” for an episode that first aired on February 23, 1992. The group performed ”In My World” on the program and had partial participation in dialogue. Scott Ian still regrets asking the group’s then-manager Jonny Zazula to fire the singer, which he did with a quick phone call. But he was so stressed in his personal life that he couldn’t bear to be the one to fire him. John Bush, who replaced him and recorded four full-length albums with them, quit in 2005 when Anthrax brought Belladonna back for a reunion tour of the ”Among the Living” lineup. That album was Belladonna’s swan song or break from the group.
To sum up, ”Persistence Of Time” is one of those albums that is tucked away in the books of metal history, languishing in the light of other legendary albums, when it should be equally revered. As well as Scott Ian has done, he still feels that the album is underrated by metal fans, some of whom were disappointed that it wasn’t in a similar vein to the previous albums. At the same time, he takes responsibility for never giving listeners a more straightforward path to follow by luring them into rap-metal inspiration at the wrong time.
