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Anthrax > Armed and Dangerous > Reviews > Sweetie
Anthrax - Armed and Dangerous

Fuck Off - 85%

Sweetie, April 20th, 2018

This little gem hasn't been touched since 2011 here on the archives, and much to my surprise, a large number of people hate it?! What the actual hell? I'm usually less than surprised when the typical user likes to hate on anything glam or fun related, but this? To those unfamiliar, Armed And Dangerous is a fun little EP that came shortly before Spreading The Disease. To summarize, it's basically that song, an unreleased track, a Sex Pistols cover, and two live cuts from Fistful Of Metal, but with Joey on vocals. Yeah, why in God's name would anyone want to own this piece of shit, right?

The only variation of the title track that differentiates it from the song on the sophomore album is that it has a longer fade in for the intro; ya know, that acoustic little piece that precedes the beef of the track? Nothing to get too excited about, but regardless of which release you're listening from, it's still a killer track. However, the other song on this side "Raise Hell" is a gem that you can't get on the full lengths, and it pretty much sticks to the early Belladonna era that most are familiar with. Definitely a quick but solid track.

Entering side B is where it gets truly interesting. The first song is a cover of "God Save The Queen" by The Sex Pistols. Never mind the fact that I'm a huge Sex Pistols fan getting way too excited upon discovering this, I would have loved it even if I weren't. This is a killer rendition of a punk classic that gives a new level of energy, replacing the attitude that Johnny Rotten and co. laid down eight years prior. Those riffs could not be more defining of thrash, and are a great way to showcase the influence that punk had on the genre as a whole (as if everyone didn't already know that anyway). Lastly, we get "Metal Thrashing Mad" and "Panic" from the debut album, performed with Joey. It's always neat to find stuff like this, as it adds a different twists to existing songs by the band itself. Nothing too special, but there certainly isn't anything to complain about.

So uh, yeah, why a large number of people shit all over this, I'll never come close to knowing. It certainly isn't "pointless", it certainly isn't a waste of time (it's nineteen minutes long for fucks sake, get over yourselves), and it's just a fun, honest little collection of Anthrax tunes from a time when they weren't known as the American thrash legends we would come to know and love. I'm unsure of how hard this is to come across, as I bought the LP for cheap off a highschool friend, but if you come across it, it's certainly worth picking up.