ANTHRAX Guitarist Offers Track-By-Track Breakdown Of 'Worship Music'

"Worship Music", the long-awaited new album from ANTHRAX, is due in the U.S. on September 13 via Megaforce Records (one day earlier in Europe through Nuclear Blast Records). The band's first studio release in eight years marks the return of vocalist Joey Belladonna, whose last studio work with the group was 1990's "Persistence Of Time".

A track-by-track breakdown of "Worship Music" by ANTHRAX guitarist Rob Caggiano can be found at GuitarWorld.com. A couple of excerpts follow below.

"Fight 'Em Til You Can't":

Caggiano: "That was kind of the first song we started playing as a band, even in the rehearsal room. It was one of the first songs that got finished, so we started playing it a lot. It's a song that's got all the elements of what the band is about; it's got the thrashy vibe, it's got melody, it's got a groove, it's got a lot of over-the-top playing in it."

"In The End":

Caggiano: "That song was originally called 'Down Goes the Sun', from the first round. It was one of the ones that got re-recorded and it actually went through probably three or four renditions before it ended up how it is now. It's one of my favorite tracks on the album; it's pretty epic. It's got almost a ZEPPELIN kind of vibe to it with the chords in the chorus. At one point that riff was gone and I called up Charlie [Benante, drums] and said, 'Dude, we have to put that riff back in.' So he went back in and re-did the drums and the song came out awesome. I love it."

"Judas Priest":

Caggiano: "This is an interesting song. This was the other song that got re-worked. 'Judas Priest' was originally called 'Maniacal', and at the time, on the first go-round of the record, it had my favorite lead on it. I thought it was one of the best parts on the whole album; even the riff under the solo I thought was awesome. The original version of the song, though, I think reminded everyone too much of 'the other guy,' if you know what I mean. There wasn't anything wrong with the song, it just had a negative vibe to it. We felt like it needed to be re-worked and re-written, so to make a long story short, some of the riffs are the same but the majority of the song is completely different now. Along with 'I'm Alive', I'd have to say this is one of my favorite leads on the album. I was on tour with THE DAMNED THINGS when we were wrapping up work on the album. This was the last song to get finished on the album. I basically had to play the lead on a tour bus in Belgium! [laughs]"

The Omega Order is offering an exclusive pre-order bundle for "Worship Music", featuring the new CD; "Fistful Of Metal" triple 10-inch picture discs; and an ANTHRAX LP slipmat (only available in this bundle).

"Worship Music" track listing:

01. Worship (intro)
02. Earth On Hell
03. The Devil You Know
04. Fight 'Em Til You Can't
05. Im Alive
06. Hymn 1
07. In The End
08. The Giant
09. Hymn 2
10. Judas Priest
11. Crawl
12. The Constant
13. Revolution Screams

The CD cover artwork for "Worship Music" was handled by renowned comic book artist Alex Ross, who has worked with Marvel Comics and DC Comics and is known for his "Marvels", "Kingdom Come", and "Astro City" illustrations. Ross also did the original artwork for ANTHRAX's "We've Come For You All" and "Music Of Mass Destruction" albums.

"Worship Music" was produced by ANTHRAX, Rob Caggiano and Jay Ruston and recorded over a four-year period at studios in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Belladonna's return to the band prompted some of the songs originally recorded to be re-crafted with fresh lyrics or tweaked to better suit his overall vibe and energy. Some of the songs were completely replaced with brand-new songs and, of course, all have Belladonna's inimitable vocal stamp on them.

"Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't" audio stream: