Cover albums are always interesting. Listening to a bands’ interpretation on a song could either be faithful to the original, or be their own unique style. When a band decides to do a collection of cover songs, it always makes for a more interesting album.

And that is exactly what metal music legends Anthrax have decided to do by choosing the 6 of the total 8 songs in their latest EP release “Anthems”. Taking a small selection of songs from a choice of different bands makes this a very good, yet somewhat brief, experience.

Songs such as Anthems (Rush), Smokin’ (Boston) and Keep On Runnin’ (Journey), a surprising but overall great choice, seem more in the usual Anthrax tempo with a more upbeat, faster pace. Drummer Charlie Benante seems right at home playing the part of Neil Peart, while guitarists Scott Ian and (recently departed) Rob Caggiano play to the likes of Neal Schon, Brad Delp, Angus Young and others greatly in a way that does them all justice.

The other song selections; Jailbreak (Thin Lizzy), T.N.T. (AC/DC) and Big Eyes (Cheap Trick) have the band putting powerful sounds first than anything on these songs. Bassist Frank Bello really shines on songs Anthems and Big Eyes, as he should. Even singer Joey Belladonna’s voice sounds almost exactly like Steve Perry and Robin Zander that its almost to the point of pure imitation rather than homage.

The final 2 tracks on this release come from the band’s 2012 Worship Music, Crawl (Anthrax), along with a remix of the song.

As I said earlier, it’s always interesting to listen to bands’ versions of other groups’ songs. But in this case, it really works. Any fan of hard rock music should really get this.

Anthrax – Smokin’ (Boston)

Anthrax – Big Eyes (Cheap Trick)

This review can also be found at ThreeTallNerds.com