Back in 1987, a fourth grader that lived down the block from me snuck a taped copy of I’m The Man EP into my room. That was the first moment that the thrash door officially opened for me. We must have listened to the explicit version of the Rap Metal crossover parody “I’m The Man” 20 times that day. We could not turn it up too loud because the opening lyric contained the offensive term for excrement, and surely my parents would not approve of their first grade closet metal head hearing such lewd content.

Before Anthrax teamed up with Public Enemy for “Bring The Noise,” Anthrax decided to construct one of the first Rap Metal songs ever using a heavy guitar riff of Hava Nagila, samples of Sam Kinison’s signature yell, James Hetfield’s “Master!” and bassist Frank Bello throwing a shout-out to Rodney Dangerfield’s Easy Money during the chorus.

The I’m The Man EP also features a cover of the Black Sabbath classic “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” which is just as perfect, if not better than Bruce Dickinson’s version with Godspeed from Nativity in Black: A Tribute To Black Sabbath. Anthrax throws in a few bars of “Sweet Leaf” at the end of their version [If you would like to hear the worst cover version of “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” check out the one that The Cardigans did in 1994—actually I sort of like it but then again, I think Abba’s infectious melodies and unicorns kick ass].

The EP rounds out with two live Anthrax classics “Caught In A Mosh” and “I am the Law” which is a tribute to comic hero Judge Dred (not the Sylvester Stallone movie). Many teens know “Caught” today because of its inclusion in Guitar Hero.

It is time to resurrect this bad ass EP so grab the old tape from your parent’s basement, brush off the dust, and enjoy the 25 minutes of Metal pleasure as you experience the pioneering and mocking of Rap Metal.

Track Listing:

“I’m The Man [Censored]”

“I’m The Man [Explicit]”

“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” [Black Sabbath cover]

“I’m The Man [Live]”

“Caught In A Mosh [Live]”

“I Am The Law [Live]”