The Greater of Two Evils

2004 studio album by Anthrax

The Greater of Two Evils is an album by American heavy metal band Anthrax. It was released in November 2004 via Sanctuary and is the last Anthrax release prior to the band's reunion with Joey Belladonna and guitarist Dan Spitz.

The album is made up of 14 songs from the band's early era that were first released between 1983 and 1990. These tracks have been re-recorded by Anthrax's 2004 lineup, with vocalist John Bush recording new versions of songs originally sung by Neil Turbin and Joey Belladonna. The final track listing was decided by a vote on the band's website. The track list was then recorded by the band "live" in the studio over two days. The album was originally going to be named "Metallum Maximum Aeturnum", with possible plans to change it to "Old School, New School, Our School: Metallum Maximum Aeturnum" or "Metal Thrashing Mad: Metallum Maximum Aeturnum". The album sleeve features liner notes by comedian and Anthrax fan Brian Posehn.^[6]

The album did not chart in the US, selling 3,421 copies in its first week.^[7]

Track listing

Bonus disc (Japanese edition)

The following tracks are available on a 2-disc Japanese version sold in other countries as an import.

Trivia

• The Japanese katakana writing on the front cover says: スラッシュ　メタル, literally Surasshu Metaru (a transliteration of "thrash metal").
• On the original version of the album, "Lone Justice" appears as a hidden track. It begins after "Gung-Ho" ends, and is followed by the sound of "Lone Justice" being rewound. The song was included due to what seemed to be a strong demand for the track to be recorded by the members of the band's official message board, although many on the board claimed that the high votes for the song were a result of internet sabotage of the voting process. This addition to the album was not included on the Japanese edition, which featured an additional disc, on which "Lone Justice" was featured as a separate track.
• "Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)" is listed as N.F.L. on the cover of the album.

Personnel

• John Bush – lead vocals
• Rob Caggiano – lead guitar, rhythm guitar on "Panic" and "Anthrax"
• Scott Ian – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead guitar on "Panic" and "Anthrax"
• Frank Bello – bass, backing vocals
• Charlie Benante – drums

Charts

References

1. Loftus, Johnny. "Anthrax: The Greater of Two Evils". AllMusic. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
2. Dome, Malcolm (February 2005). "Resurrection Shuffle". Classic Rock. 76. London, UK: Future Publishing Ltd: 90.
3. Popoff, Martin; Perri, David (2011). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 4: The '00s. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 29. ISBN 9781-926592-20-6.
4. Larkin, Colin (2011). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 2006. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
5. Bansal, Vik (November 29, 2004). "Anthrax - The Greater Of Two Evils". musicOMH. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
6. "Anthrax - The Greater Of Two Evils". Discogs. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
7. Blabbermouth (December 1, 2004). "ANTHRAX: 'The Greater Of Two Evils' First-Week Sales Revealed". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
8. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.