Finally gave the new Anthrax covers EP a listen and I think this may be the real reason why Rob Caggiano left the band (#lol #jk). To be honest, none of the songs flat-out suck; however, there are several weaknesses.

Anthems has a few great renditions of classic hard rock songs such as Rush’s “Anthem” and Boston’s “Smokin’.” In fact, those performances are borderline brilliant in some respects. But the “Big Eyes” (Cheap Trick) — sounds like Joey Belladonna is singing “I keep falling for those big guys” —- and “Jailbreak” (Thin Lizzy) covers are just OK, and the “TNT” (AC/DC) cover is “meh.” In my opinion, AC/DC is one of those bands that should never be covered on tape. Live performances are alright, but studio renditions? No thank you.

I respect the band for covering Journey’s “Keep on Runnin'” because Journey is better and heavier than people credit them. Belladonna wails on it.

Anthems contains some fun tracks, but certainly not a solid successor to the band’s surprise resurgence on Worship Music. To this day, my favorite Anthrax cover is “Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath” from I’m the Man EP – one of the first albums that sucked me into heavy metal.

Anthrax “Anthems” EP Cover Art

Track Listing:

1. “Anthem” (Rush cover)
2. “T.N.T.” (AC/DC cover)
3. “Smokin'” (Boston cover)
4. “Keep On Runnin'” (Journey cover)
5. “Big Eyes” (Cheap Trick cover)
6. “Jailbreak” (Thin Lizzy cover)
7. “Crawl” (album version)
8. “Crawl” (Orc mix)