Sound of White Noise

Sound of White Noise
Studio album by Anthrax
Released May 25, 1993
Recorded 1992 at Henson Recording Studios, Cherokee Studios and Eldorado Recording Studios in Hollywood, California
Genre Alternative metal,[1] heavy metal,[2] grunge[3]
Length 56:56
Label Elektra
Producer Dave Jerden & Anthrax
Anthrax chronology

Persistence of Time
(1990)		 Sound of White Noise
(1993)		 Stomp 442
(1995)
Singles from Sound of White Noise
  1. "Only"
    Released: June 1993
  2. "Room for One More"
    Released: 1993
  3. "Black Lodge"
    Released: 1993
  4. "Hy Pro Glo"
    Released: 1994

Sound of White Noise is the sixth studio album by American thrash metal band Anthrax, released in May 1993 on Elektra Records. It is the band's first album to feature vocalist John Bush, who replaced longtime Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna in 1992. It is also Anthrax's last studio album with longtime lead guitarist Dan Spitz.

Overview

The album, produced by the band and Dave Jerden, includes the singles "Only", "Black Lodge", "Room for One More" and "Hy Pro Glo". This album marked a significant revision in the band's sound, with the departure of lead vocalist Joey Belladonna and the introduction of grunge influences (Dave Jerden was the producer of Alice in Chains). Typical thrash metal elements such as speed and aggression, which characterized much of Anthrax's earlier work, are largely absent from their sound at this juncture in their career. The album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 charts,[4] Anthrax's highest ever chart position. Sound of White Noise was certified gold by the RIAA.[5] "Only" and "Black Lodge" charted at No. 26 and No. 38 respectively on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music [7]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide [8]
Rolling Stone [9]

Dave Connolly reviewed the album on behalf of AllMusic, giving the album three stars out of five. Connolly called the album "surprising melodic" but "predictably pummeling" and the music "relentless." He commends the overall quality of the songs on the album before settling on "Only" as the best overall, but calls out several other tracks for praise as well.[6] Spin critic John Wiederhorn described the album as "a good typical heavy-metal record." Nevertheless, he also noted that the album "doesn't wander beyond the sound of its dark, moody intros and tuneful, galloping rhythms."[2] Tom Sinclair of Rolling Stone described the album as "a powerful comeback from a group that never went away."[9]

Among the album's songs, "Only" has received particular attention; Metallica frontman James Hetfield is said to have referred to "Only" as a "perfect song."[10]

Track listings

All songs written and composed by John Bush, Scott Ian, Frank Bello and Charlie Benante, except "Black Lodge" by Bush, Ian, Bello, Benante, Angelo Badalamenti. 

No. Title Length
1. "Potters Field"   5:00
2. "Only"   4:56
3. "Room for One More"   4:54
4. "Packaged Rebellion"   6:18
5. "Hy Pro Glo"   4:30
6. "Invisible"   6:09
7. "1000 Points of Hate"   5:00
8. "Black Lodge"   5:24
9. "C₁₁ H₁₇ N₂ O₂ S Na"   4:24
10. "Burst"   3:35
11. "This Is Not an Exit"   6:49
Bonus tracks (2001 remaster)
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
12. "Auf Wiedersehen" (Cheap Trick cover)Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson 3:33
13. "Cowboy Song" (Thin Lizzy cover)Phil Lynott, Brian Downey 5:06
14. "London" (The Smiths cover)Morrissey, Johnny Marr 2:54
15. "Black Lodge" (strings mix)Bush, Ian, Bello, Benante, Badalamenti 5:21
Bonus CD (Japanese edition)
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
12. "Noisegate"    4:25

Personnel

Album personnel adapted from album credits.[11]

Anthrax
Additional personnel
  • Vincent Bell - tremolo guitar parts on "Black Lodge"
  • Angelo Badalamenti - synthesizers, orchestration and arrangement of synthesizers and additional guitars on "Black Lodge"
  • Kenny Landrum - synthesizers
  • Terminator X - scratching on "1000 Points of Hate"
Production
  • Produced by Anthrax & Dave Jerden
  • Mixed by Dave Jerden
  • Mastered by Eddy Schreyer
  • Engineered by Bryan Carlstrom
  • Assistant Engineers: Mike Baumgartner, Annette Cisneros, Ed Korengo, Jennifer Monnar & Scott Ralston

Chart positions

Charts (1993) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[12] 30
Canadian Albums Chart[13] 13
German Albums Chart[14] 35
Dutch Albums Chart[15] 52
Swedish Albums Chart[16] 21
Swiss Albums Chart[17] 40
UK Albums Chart[18] 14
US Billboard 200[19] 7

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[20] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[5] Gold 511,284^[21]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Weingarten, Christopher R. (September 14, 2011). "Anthrax and Joey Belladonna Keep It In the Family". The Village Voice. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wiederhorn, John (July 1993). "Anthrax - Sound of White Noise review" 9 (4).
  3. ↑ http://heavymetal.about.com/od/toppicks/tp/1993top10.htm
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Sound of White Noise Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Anthrax. Retrieved on 2013-03-14.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Connolly, Dave. "Anthrax: Sound of White Noise". AllMusic. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  7. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 2006. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  8. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 20. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Sinclair, Tom (June 24, 1993). "Anthrax: Sound of White Noise". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 14, 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  10. ↑ Ramirez, Carlos. "Top 10 John Bush Era Anthrax Songs". Noisecreep.com. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  11. ↑ Sound of White Noise album credits. Elektra Records. 1993.
  12. ↑ "Discography Anthrax". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  13. ↑ Peak chart positions for albums in Canada:
  14. ↑ "Chartverfolgung / Anthrax / Longplay". musicline.de (in German). PhonoNet. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Discografie Anthrax". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Discography Anthrax". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Discography Anthrax". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  18. ↑ Peak chart positions for albums in the United Kingdom:
  19. ↑ "Anthrax - Billboard 200 chart". Billboard. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Canadian certifications – Anthrax". Music Canada. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Metal/Hard Rock Album Sales In The US As Reported By SoundScan". www.blabbermouth.net. Retrieved September 5, 2014.

External links