ANTHRAX
PERSISTENCE OF TIME
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Relative to earlier ANTHRAX albums, PERSISTENCE OF TIME has a more aggro sound than any album before it. The darker mix and overall vibe represent a departure from their previous albums, with an infusion of S.O.D. along with more progressive sounding elements.
Perhaps the most memorable things that stand out about this album in the persistence of ANTHRAX’s history are their appearance on “Married…With Children” and Christopher Walken’s keen production advice resulting in a generous helping of “more cowbell”.
CHECK OUT ANTHRAX ON THE INTERWEBS
Released 8/21/1990
Recorded December 1989 – February 1990
Label Megaforce, Island
Producer Anthrax, Mark Dodson, Jon and Marsha Zazula
ANTHRAX
Joey Belladonna – lead vocals
Dan Spitz – lead guitar, backing vocals
Scott Ian – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Frank Bello – bass, backing vocals
Charlie Benante – drums
Side One
1 Time
2 Blood
3 Keep It in the Family
4 In My World
5 Gridlock
Side Two
6 Intro to Reality
7 Belly of the Beast
8 Got the Time
9 H8 Red
10 One Man Stands
11 Discharge
We usually advise our listeners to jump ahead about 20 minutes or so to get to “the meat of the episode” but for this one you’re gonna wanna double that number, as this episode was longer (and perhaps even girthier) than usual.
Prepare to learn “the difference between pink & purple” and find out “the new name for Valentine’s Day” (because ”the goat wasn’t enough”).
“Keep a 12 of High Life on board”, discover the name of “the next Pantera album dedicated to algebra”, get ready to hear some “super slap bass” done with “steak-umm labes” and JOIN US as we time travel 33 years into the past to arrive at the dawn of the 90’s with ANTHRAX and PERSISTENCE OF TIME.
TIME:
Tick, tock, tick, tock…slowly increasing in speed, flying by ever faster as time tends to do while aging and/or are having fun. The crushing brutality of time is ever present, both in this song and in life. An extremely heavy, aggro sounding mix. There’s definitely no absence of bottom in this mix.
It’s like blending the sound of S.O.D. with Anthrax (which, Anthrax is already 2/5 of S.O.D. anyway…or S.O.D. is 2/4 of Anthrax, depending on how you math).
As with life, you get into a rhythm and eventually the tempo picks up speed and gets faster and faster…
“Life and death as words they don’t mean shit,
It’s what you do with them,
And how you live with it…”
BLOOD:
Has an almost “Indians” vibe at the start with the tribal sounding drums. The guitars are aggressive as ever, and the riff is given extra weight thanks to the matching bass line. The bass really does have a much more aggressive presence on this album…
“Brother Ron…?”
There’s definitely a more progressive element to this album, both in terms of song length and perhaps also, song girth. That riff almost has a slight death metal vibe to it.
“How do you get the blood off?”
Maybe there’s not as many obvious “hooks”, but there’s a definite progressive vibe to the riffs that give the album a distinct depth and texture. Perhaps some of the riffs could have been trimmed back a tad, but that’s where they were at that time, creatively. Just sayin’…the reason filet is better than ribeye is because there’s more meat and less fat.
“What do you do when something dies?
A life together has ended, you’re living a lie,
When did this act become reality?
Hello conscience, do I laugh or do I cry?
KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY:
“Why the hell, do you hate?”
That riff definitely has a generous blend of S.O.D.’s secret herbs, spices and mosh part heaviness. This might be the heaviest riff in the Anthrax catalog up to this point, if not in their entire catalog. There’s definitely hints of Sabbath in there as well.
Second verse…***TRIGGER WARNING***.
“Retribution, no solution, Constitution,
Discrimination, through the nation, raining hatred…”
IN MY WORLD:
All I can think is “Married…With Children” and the destruction of The Bundy’s living room. The riff is maybe a tad generic for Anthrax, but it’s still Anthrax.
At the 6:25 mark: a little long…most of the songs are a bit long, but then, part of artistry is trying different things, so maybe this is where they were at this particular time.
The riff at the 5-minute mark is pretty cool, probably the best riff in the song.
“A lie may fool someone else,
But it tells you the truth,
You’re weak, just another clone…”
GRIDLOCK:
NOW we’re talking! Bring on the fastness that is Anthrax!
Even for a faster song, it’s still over 5 minutes long.
That riff around the 3-minute mark seems a tad superfluous, but then, thrash was all about “how many riffs can you fit into one song?”.
“Build me up and then you tear me down,
Curse my name when I’m not around,
You’re so hard until the truth is found,
What goes ‘round always comes around…”
INTRO TO REALITY:
Okay, so not a lot of instrumentals in the Anthrax catalog. It’s a good one, but in listening to this and the next one (“Belly of the Beast”), it feels like they could have trimmed up a few spots and just blended them together into a single song. But if this was their progressive phase, then I understand why they did what they did.
BELLY OF THE BEAST:
Even the way it just “comes in” feels like an old school prog band from the 70’s, it seems to come from out of nowhere.
The chorus riff has a nod back to “Intro to Reality” and Christopher Walken would be proud of the tremendous cowbell at the beginning. The arrangement flows but it’s like a steak that was grilled with no seasoning: it seems like something’s missing.
That breakdown at 3:40 is kinda cool, but it’s still effectively riding that same riff, just a variation of it. The outro cowbell is tremendously bigly.
“The things you trust are not the same,
Trust in death, trust in grief,
Trust in hope is trust in pain…”
GOT THE TIME:
From the artist that also brought us “Steppin’ Out”, we have Anthrax’s cover of Joe Jackson’s “Got the Time”. Pretty true to the original, but thrashier and obviously more ‘Thraxed Out. The length of this one is perfect, focused and to the point, like thrash used to be. The bass part is nice.
“If I tell you what I’m doing today,
Will you shut up and get out of my way?”
H8 RED:
Took forever to understand that this was code for “Hatred” (insert ding-dong-doofus moment here), it’s just a cooler way to spell something that’s insanely hideous and utterly pointless to the entire human experience. This might be one of the more interesting riffs on the album.
I suppose that’s the one way to tell if material is leftover from a prior session or if it’s something new. If it sounds like it could fit on a previous record, it’s likely leftover from that session. If it sounds like nothing else ever done before, its likely brand spank.
The walk down riff around 2:39 is kinda cool. The riff (or reprise of the main riff) after the solo gives it a little darker, creepier vibe.
“You may not know this,
We may be different,
Different but equal,
Different and free.”
ONE MAN STANDS:
The opening riff has promise…the thick harmonies are nice. The drum progression has a proggy vibe to it.
It’s almost like they were trying to find a formula and then jam all those riff ideas into that formula and churn out an album. There’s definitely moments throughout the record that stand out, but as a whole, it’s just kinda…I don’t know if uninspired is the word. Maybe my memories from this time are negatively impacting my present-day view of it.
“The flock no longer fears the wolf,
The flock is taking what it wants…”
DISCHARGE:
Fast…sounds like classic Anthrax. Maybe one of the more inspired songs on here. Ironically, one of the “shorter” songs on the record.
“Self-inflicted crucifixion,
Suicidal contradiction,
Clusterfucked you load it up,
Clusterfucked you self destruct!
Show Notes:
(00:01): #lungbutter / “You know what’s gross…is it just me?” / “We were just talking about buttholes and #OnlyFans a little while ago…”/ #worstwoodyallenimpression / “Metal makes everything better…”/ “This should go well with this as well…”/ ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised ***/ “I think I’ve found my holiday drink…” / #thisepisodesclinkyoftheepisode #StGeorge #NOLA #CoffeeLiqueur
Clinky of the Episode
St George NOLA Coffee Liqueur
***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST!!!*** / #thisepisodesbeeroftheepisode (“This is NOT #daydrinking …”) / ***To skip the nonsense and get #straighttothemeat of the episode, jump ahead about 40 minutes…***/ #DuClawBrewingCompany #SweetBabyJesus #ChocolatePeanutButterPorter (“This one’s gonna be thick…”)
Beer of the Episode
Sweet Baby Jesus
Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter
“Hey man, you know what purple looks like?” / #RussellsReflectionsBeerEdition / “I kinda almost feel like that’s karma, dude…”/ “I don’t like that flavor unless it’s got #painkillers in it…”/ #RussellsReflectionsASMR / #downunder / “I didn’t realize that was about anal until much later…”/ PRIMUS – XANADU (as originally performed by #RUSH ) / “He’s not just a bass player!?” / “It’s Les but it’s not Les…It’s Les but with less Les…”/ #noteperfect / “I wanna hear him sing about honeydew…”/ #afarewelltokings
(14:41): ***IF YOU WANNA GIVE US A CALL AND LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL YOU CAN DO SO AT 980-666-8182!!!*** / #superfist / #TheVoicemailSegment / #BobFromOhio #chocolatestarfish #ahorseseyewinking (“Bunkerpoon must be amazing…I get good vibes from it.”) / #legalizedrelaxers (“That’s like a midwestern butthole…”) / “It kinda does…”/ #WHOA / #sidetittat (“Like a #steakumm that wasn’t quite done…”) / #titvag #antibutthole / #pissingpostASMR / “Was it Christmas or Boxing Day?” / #ChristmasEve / “People used to live 900 years and had babies in their 90’s…”/ #paganrapeday (“There’s a chance…”) / #Lupercalia (“The goat wasn’t enough…”) / “Let’s just call #ValentinesDay #FuckDay …”/
#DariusASMR #CollegeFootballWager #keepitthrashy / #tangentional / “Gimme a high tentacle…”/ #honorablemention #MauiWowieASMR (“The smell of that room…”) / “What’s the difference between pink and purple?” / #onelinerASMR #nymphysema / #burntrubber / “Usually it breaks first…”/ “Isn’t it sad what age does?”/ “Is it for all dudes?” / “It’s for hims and theys…”/ “Hims is for Dudes…”/ #Keeps / #HatsOffToHims / “I feel like I scare girls when I come…”/ “We went Squatch hunting…”/ #hugepubes (“I squatched over the weekend…”) / “It’s not just for buttholes anymore…” / #whateverthefuckingfuckdotcom / “Put us on their first…”/ “It gets more ludicrous as we go…”/ “I wanna see Russell as a TV preacher…”/ “It’s not usually a recommended part…of the diet.”/ The common denominator among #cultleaders / “You had me at the dressing and turkey…”/ “No it wasn’t a stinkbug…” / “It was when the smell hit me and suddenly I could taste it…”/ “You got any beer?”
(36:30): A recommendation from Darius…/ #AchooASMR (“One more…they always come in threes…”) / #Chaunch / #WarCurse SHADOW GODS (“You wear panties dude?”) / “That’s a changeup…” / ASYLUM (feat. Glen Alvelais, formerly of #Forbidden ) / #dudeband / “Does that make her better?” / “If she could do slap bass with her…steak umms?” / “Probably bots…”/ “I did that to my marriage too…”/ “They do stop growing…”/ “You’ve NEVER thought about that?” / #RedWhiteAndBlue / #TheDocket - METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: ANTHRAX – PERSISTENCE OF TIME / #HeadbangersBallTour / “They got the bronze…”/ #futureepisodeASMR / #deathmatchASMR / “It’s supposed to be #notfair …”/ Summer of 1990 (Released 08/21/1990) / “This is kinda their South of Heaven…it’s darker and more aggro…”/ #AllisonAnthrax / “It’s later…” / “Remember ‘Steppin’ Out’ in the 80’s?” / TIME (“Listen to this with headphones…”) / “Totally different than State of Euphoria…”/ “There’s no lack of bottom…”/ “Okay, I’ve got a question…”/ #toomuchbutt #superbutts (“I don’t got enough meat to get around the cheeks…”) / BLOOD (“The mix is darker…”) / #BrotherRon / “Is that stealing…in comedy?” / “Does he do drums AND comedy at the same time?”
(1:00:41): “It’s the heaviest song…” / #nocokelines / “It’s the darkhorse…”/ KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY #balls (“A little S.O.D. mosh feel to that…”) / “Thanks Ed for the inspiration…”/ “Kinda has a Sabbath feel to it…”/ “Before they were…setting pubes on fire.” / #chicksdigit / IN MY WORLD (Remember when #Anthrax was on #MarriedWithChildren ?) / “That’s the sound I want…”/ “I kept gettin’…”/ “I never really had a sophomore year…”/ #summerschool and #dumbness / “When have you ever used algebra in your life?” / #thenextpanteraalbum / “Solve for X…”/ “How does math have letters and shapes in it?”/ “I can’t help you…”/ “Math has numbers in it…when you have shapes and letters and sentences…it’s a logic problem.”/ #SouthParkASMR / #bluecollar vs #whitecollar (“Nobody knows how to do shit anymore…”) / “The word is #tradeschools kids…” / #magicalpieceofpaper / #pursueyourpassion / “This is the next level of education…”
(1:15:58): GRIDLOCK (“It’s a long time coming…”) / “I’ll bring you a pack of crackers…”/ “That’s almost as good as #alltheveins …”/ Side 2 (on #cassette) / INTRO TO REALITY / “I saw a picture the other day of Dan Spitz and Chris Holmes…”/ #ASMRASMR #WhisperFightASMR #ThatsWhatYouDoASMR #WTFIsGoingOnASMR (“Alex!”) / BELLY OF THE BEAST / “Unpopular opinion…”/ “It was their #BlackAlbum …”/ GOT THE TIME (Their version and the #JoeJackson version) / “That’s way more punk than Steppin’ Out…”/ “Do you ever feel weird for listening to pop songs?” / #newwave / “You know how much of a dumb ding-dong doofus I am?” / “Sounds like a sea shell song about a prostitute down by the beach…”/ H8 RED (“This could have almost been on State of Euphoria…”) / #RussellsReflectionsAnthraxEdition / The clean vocals and the #powermetal vs #thrashmetal argument / “We’re so stupid…/ ONE MAN STANDS (“Sounds like they’re hitting a piano string…hard.”) / “For the record…”/ “I was about to hit play and I decided not to…”/ Songs with hooks relative to other Anthrax albums and metal in general / #unpopularopinion (“Hook equals pop”) #hookermusic (“It…pulls you in…and forces you inside.”) #hookycatchy (“Technically they are…”) / #ballgame / DISCHARGE (“There’s some light hooky moments…) / “I get the whole point of the grab…”/ “You want a hook that looks like a U, not a J…” / #sportsrelated / “I feel like you’ve done that…”/ #funfact #redflag (“She was hot too…”) / “We’re never gonna get any female listeners…”/ #adultentertainment / “I mean…I gotta pee.”/ #untilthenext ***GO GET YOURSELF A #METALNERDERYPODCAST HOODIE FOR CHRISTMAS FROM METALNERDERY.COM/MERCH !!!*** / #BunkerpoonGiftIdeas / #outroreel #uhhhkay