Persistence of Time

''Persistence of Time'' is the fifth studio album by the American thrash metal band Anthrax. It was released on August 21, 1990, through Megaforce Worldwide/Island Records and was nominated in 1991 for a Grammy Award in the Best Metal Performance category.

The album included the singles, " Got the Time" (a Joe Jackson cover) and "In My World" (which was performed by the band on the '' Married... with Children'' episode, " My Dinner with Anthrax"). ''Persistence of Time'' was the last full Anthrax album to feature vocalist Joey Belladonna until 2011's '' Worship Music''.

Album information

Anthrax returned to the studio in the fall of 1989 with Mark Dodson (who produced the previous album, '' State of Euphoria'') to start work on their fifth album. Recording of the album was difficult, with a large structure fire causing the band to lose more than $100,000 worth of gear and their rehearsal studio on January 24, 1990. Following this disaster, the band moved to a different studio in late February of that year to finish work on the album.

The album's tone is decidedly more contemplative and mature than the bulk of Anthrax's previous work. Abandoning the humor and comic book references which were common on their previous albums, the lyrical focus of ''Persistence of Time'' is the need for tolerance and peace. Reaction to ''Persistence of Time'' was mixed, with critics and fans alternately panning and praising this darker sound. The band also introduced a progressive side of the music which had not been present in their earlier work, while also placing a reduced emphasis on typical thrash metal elements such as fast tempo and aggression.

This is the last full studio album to feature Joey Belladonna on vocals before John Bush took over vocal duties. Belladonna appeared on several songs on the 1991 EP '' Attack of the Killer B's'' before splitting acrimoniously from the band in 1992. He returned to the band in June 2010 to record the album '' Worship Music'', which was released in 2011.

The introduction to the album's sixth track "Intro to Reality" featured dialogue from an episode of ''The Twilight Zone'' called " Deaths-Head Revisited". "Keep It in the Family", "In My World", and "Belly of the Beast" were later re-recorded with the John Bush/Rob Caggiano line-up for the album '' The Greater of Two Evils''.

Reception

''Persistence of Time's'' highest position on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart was No. 24. It was certified gold by the RIAA on January 17, 1991.RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Anthrax
Retrieved on May 19, 2013.

Steve Huey of AllMusic gave the album a favorable review, saying that it "rivals ''Among the Living'' as Anthrax's best album". "The more cartoonish side of the band" is substituted by a "dark, uncompromising examination of society's dirty underbelly", which makes ''Persistence of Time'' "their most lyrically consistent album". Kim Neely of the American magazine ''Rolling Stone'' underlines the social tone of the lyrics and describes ''Persistence of Time'' as "a foray into the dreary, gray bowels of urban hell", praising singer Joey Belladonna for "railing against every societal ill known to city-bred man". He concludes saying that the album "ain't the most uplifting thing to listen to, but it's real." A similar concept was explained by a review by ''The New York Times'' of November 18, 1990, which said that "the music carries the exhilaration of a desperate struggle." Canadian journalist Martin Popoff praised the "admirable Prong/Pantera/Metallica '90s minimalism at work here", but found "the overall effect just so dense and relentless that it just wears you out by hangover's end." ''Loudwire'' ranked the album #25 on their list "Top 90 Hard Rock + Metal Albums of the 90's".

Track listing

Personnel

;Band members
* Joey Belladonna – lead vocals
* Dan Spitz – lead guitar, backing vocals, rhythm guitar ("Got The Time")
* Scott Ian – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead guitar ("Into To Reality" , "Got The Time")
* Frank Bello – bass, backing vocals
* Charlie Benante – drums, lead guitar ("Into To Reality" )

;Production
* Anthrax – producer, liner notes
* Mark Dodson – producer, basic tracks engineer
* Steve Thompson, Michael Barbiero – mixing at Electric Lady Studios, New York
* Greg Goldman, Brian Schueble, Marnie Bryant, Ed Korengo – assistant engineers
* Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk, New York
* Jon and Marsha Zazula – executive producers, management
* Don Brautigam – artwork
* Waring Abbott – photography

;Crew
* Rick Downey – lighting, management
* George Geranios – sound
* Paul Crook – lead guitar tech
* Bill Pulaski – band
* Mike Tempesta – rhythm guitar tech
* Troy Boyer – bass tech
* Walter Gemenhardt – drum tech
* Art Ring, Maria Ferrero – management

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Persistence Of Time
1990 albums
Anthrax (American band) albums
Megaforce Records albums
Island Records albums
Albums produced by Mark Dodson