This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
New York thrash-metal pioneers Anthrax just can’t catch a break.
First there was that whole post-9/11 kerfuffle over their name, as if they were the ones sending white powder through the mail. Then, just this month they cancelled a Toronto show — over SARS. Well, Anthrax may be due for a break, but they won’t get it with the so-so We Have Come For You All, their first album since 1998’s Volume 8: The Threat is Real. This 14-song comeback really doesn’t have much to offer besides the usual slate of warmed-over double-bass beats, chugging guitar fury, gruff vocals and hyperspeed thrash. Granted, a few of these cuts — notably opener What Doesn’t Die — offer a decent wallop of nostalgia for fans of ’80s metal, but for my money, Anthrax’s greatest strength was the off-kilter idiosyncrasy they brought to classic tracks like A.I.R., Madhouse, I Am The Law, Caught In A Mosh and Gung Ho. That irreverence is sadly lacking on this heavy-handed overly serious effort. Just because they’ve come back doesn’t mean everyone have to go along with it.
