Great CD! Anthrax combines rap and metal which is original in their music. Great beat and great title of cd.
It's all about the Sabbath cover song Sabbath Bloody freaking Sabbath. If my cassette of this EP which I got when it came out were ever to fall apart, I would buy a CD just for their cover of that Black Sabbath song. I still remember how much of an impression that song made on me when I first heard it, and the feeling in it, for it was my first introduction not only to Sabbath, but to what I consider the pure, root essence of metal, Anthrax and other thrash bands being a newer offshoot at the time. If ever someone were to ask me in ignorance "what is metal music?" I would play Anthrax's cover of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath for them, so that they might know completely. I find great spirit and power in it, and that's from the songwriting of Black Sabbath coupled with the modern shredding thrash guitars and bass (the bass is played pickless as in the style of the original song, and rocks), and the killer vocals. Anthrax just flat-out rocks on this song. When it ends they go straight into the riff from Sweet Leaf, another Sabbath song, and so help me I've never heard anything that shreds with greater power, but then it fades away after about 10 seconds. The rest of the album is good too, but hasn't held up as well for me. You've got Anthrax mocking their white selves as they rap, I don't know, I guess it's pretty good - I listen to that part of the album more for the memories. And then you've got the live versions of a few songs.
On your case and in your face I'm the Man was my first exposure to Anthrax. The band's extremely juvenile rap-metal hybrid was naturally a huge hit with me and my middle school metal buddies. Of course we also thought the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right to Party" was genius, which ought to tell you something. As goofy as it was though, looking back you have to admire Anthrax's embrace of the decade's other rising musical movement. This would lead to the band's groundbreaking collaboration with Public Enemy and had a lot to do with the emergence of the rap-metal genre. I'm not suggesting that we owe Anthrax a debt of gratitude for inflicting Limp Bizkit on the world, but the band definitely deserves credit for defying expectations and trying something new.
20 years later, I'm the Man is every bit as goofy as it was back in the day, and I'm still not sure we really needed 3 different versions of the song, but there is still a very good reason to pick up this EP. In addition to the various takes on I'm the Man; this EP features two live tracks and an absolutely fantastic cover of the Black Sabbath classic Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. That song alone is well worth the price of the disc (especially if pick it up used like I did). Unless I'm in a particularly nostalgic mood, I usually skip right to this song and hit repeat.
Bottom line - If you're an Anthrax fan you need to own this disc. It will probably linger unheard on your shelf for great lengths of time, but it is still an important piece of Anthrax history.
Thrashy fun The very first Anthrax product I bought, my autographed copy sits proudly amongst my CD collection and the reason I tell you this is so you can hopefully forgive me looking through rose coloured glasses at what is, after all, a fairly stop-gap novelty sort of thing.
You see apart from a joke 5 second mystery track this is only 6 tunes long and it's the sort of slick, annoying marketing deal that came to prominence during the 90's. But in this case it's sort of backwardly acceptable cos this came out in the 80's. As for the actual tunes, 'thrax fans will know them all. Three versions of I'm the Man (my teenage mind liked the dirtiest the best, surprise surprise) and we also get great live run throughs of Caught in a Mosh and I Am the Law. Both are incendiary and spontaneous and really make this EP worth the effort of tracking down. Lastly we get a cover version of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath which bulks up the tune in comparison to the aged original studio version.
Only an EP so not much to rave about - IMHO; get it if you see it for a decent price cos it reeks of fun and a band on a really high note.
Talk about memories! Gee, I bought this on VINYL when it was first came out (in 1988, if I'm not mistaken) and I couldn't get enough of it! I'd love to get it on LP again (the tiny CD can't do justice to the cover!).
Indeed, Anthrax was one of the first thrash metal bands of the late-80s to incoporate rap into their songs (more as a joke, I felt), but I do believe Aerosmith beat Anthrax to the punch when they remade "Walk This Way" with Run DMC (in either '86 or '87) when it came to using rap with rock and metal. Either way, one couldn't deny the growing influence of rap on music back then.
There's no way to really describe "I'm the Man" except to urge anyone reading this to listen to it. It's hilarious, and for those of us old enough to remember those freaks known as the P.M.R.C. having a monster fit over this, it's even sweeter yet. - Donna Di Giacomo
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