It’s a thrash metal classic. A pulverizing collection of the finest tracks heavy metal has to offer. Anthrax’s ‘Persistence of Time,’ an hour plus titan of steel that’s still relevant today.
There’s actually a bit of a story behind the darker direction of the album. The previous record, ‘State of Euphoria,’ explored the brighter side of Anthrax. After tasting success, they were enjoying their newfound rockstar status. And that’s reflected on ‘State.’ However, during the demo recordings for ‘Persistence.’ The band’s gear perished in a studio fire. Totaling in over 100,000$ worth of equipment. A major contributor to the more serious tone of the album.
And it shows in droves with tracks such as ‘Gridlock,’ ‘One Man Stands’ and ‘Belly of the Beast.’ The opening one, two, three punch of ‘Time,’ ‘Blood’ and ‘Keep It in the Family’ displays some of the strongest material Anthrax have ever written. Many fans still think it’s never been topped. ‘In My World’ takes on teenage angst in a mature fashion. And the song was a moderate hit. Even gaining the band a guest spot on the hit sitcom Married With Children.
‘Persistence of Time’ saw Anthrax grow exponentially. And the light on the horizon seemed inevitable. Especially with the successful ‘Clash of the Titans’ tour that the band went on with Slayer and Megadeth. The album climbed to No. 24 on the Billboard 200 and quickly went gold. However, frontman Joey Belladonna was ousted once the tour finalized. Only to appear briefly in the ‘Bring the Noise’ music video that debuted in 1992. He returned in 2005 and has been the singer since then. But the years in between saw a gradual loss of media attention and commercial success. Even going as far as to not even have a label by 1999.
Out of the five original Anthrax albums. ‘Persistence’ remains their crowning achievement. Yes, ‘Among the Living’ gets the recognition. But ‘Persistence’ is on an another level compared to the other four albums. And has recently been remastered for a 30th anniversary edition. A true masterpiece of thrash.
