Sound of White Noise
Studio album by
Anthrax
ReleasedMay 25, 1993
Recorded1992
Studio
Genre
Length56:56
LabelElektra
Producer
Anthrax chronology
Persistence of Time
(1990)		 Sound of White Noise
(1993)		 Stomp 442
(1995)
Singles from Sound of White Noise
  1. "Only"
    Released: June 24, 1993[4]
  2. "Room for One More"
    Released: 1993
  3. "Black Lodge"
    Released: August 19, 1993[5]
  4. "Hy Pro Glo"
    Released: 1994

Sound of White Noise is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in May 1993 by Elektra Records. It is the band's first album to feature vocalist John Bush, who replaced longtime frontman Joey Belladonna in 1992, and the last studio album with longtime lead guitarist Dan Spitz. It was also the second album Bush worked on with producer Dave Jerden, as he also produced Symbol of Salvation for Bush's previous band, Armored Saint.

Overview

The album, produced by the band and Dave Jerden, includes the singles "Only", "Room for One More", "Black Lodge" 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. Jerden was known for producing the likes of Alice in Chains and Jane's Addiction.

With Sound of White Noise, Anthrax moved away from the rapid-fire thrash metal that had defined their earlier output. Their new sound drew on the more straightforward style of Armored Saint (Bush co-wrote all the songs) and often emphasized more melodic songwriting. White Noise continued the trend started on 1990's Persistence of Time of abandoning the humor of Anthrax's 1980s albums in favor of a more serious or earnest tone. Songs like the walloping "Only" and stuttering, stop-start dynamics of "Hy Pro Glo" maintained a level of aggression on par with anything else the band recorded, but in a different alternative metal style. Other songs found Anthrax exploring new territory, like the mid-tempo "Room for One More", and the atmospheric "Black Lodge" (inspired by the Twin Peaks TV series and featuring keyboardist Angelo Badalamenti). Bush's lower-pitched, darker vocal style also was a drastic change from Belladona's. During the recording of the album, the band also produced the songs "Poison My Eyes" and a cover of the Smiths song "London" (both would be featured on the soundtracks to the movies Last Action Hero and Airheads, respectively).

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal10/10[7]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[8]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Rolling Stone[10]

Dave Connolly reviewed the album on behalf of AllMusic and called it "surprisingly 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] Rock journalist Martin Popoff praised the performance of new singer John Bush and the production by Dave Jerden and defined the album's music "top-flight, state-of-the-art metal, fortified by the band's usual societal concerns, here elevated to eloquent outrage at man's crumbling morality."[7] 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."[10]

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".[11]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 charts,[12] selling 62,000 copies in its first week. It is Anthrax's highest ever chart position. It sold 40,000 more copies in its second week.[13] Sound of White Noise was certified gold by the RIAA on July 13, 1993.[14]

As of 2002, the album had sold 511,284 copies in the US.[15]

The singles "Only" and "Black Lodge" charted at No. 26 and No. 38 respectively on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[12] In the UK, "Only" and "Black Lodge" charted at No. 36 and No. 53 respectively.[16]

Track listings

All tracks are written by John Bush, Scott Ian, Frank Bello and Charlie Benante, except "Black Lodge" by Bush, Ian, Bello, Benante and Angelo Badalamenti

No.TitleLength
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
Total length:56:56
Bonus tracks (2001 remaster)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Auf Wiedersehen" (Cheap Trick cover)Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson3:33
13."Cowboy Song" (Thin Lizzy cover)Phil Lynott, Brian Downey5:06
14."London" (The Smiths cover)Morrissey, Johnny Marr2:54
15."Black Lodge (Strings Mix)"Bush, Ian, Bello, Benante, Badalamenti5:21
Total length:73:50
Bonus CD (Japanese edition)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Noisegate"Anthrax4:25
2."Cowboy Song" (Thin Lizzy cover)Phil Lynott, Brian Downey5:06
3."Auf Wiedersehen" (Cheap Trick cover)Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson3:33
4."Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" (Beastie Boys cover)Michael Diamond, Adam Horovitz, John King, Adam Yauch, Matt Dike, Mike Simpson3:09
Total length:73:09

Personnel

Album personnel adapted from album credits.[17]

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

Charts

Chart (1993) Peak

position

Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 30
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[19] 13
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] 52
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[21] 9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 35
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[23] 46
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 21
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 40
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 14
US Billboard 200[27] 7

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[28] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 500,000^[29]

^ Shipments 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. 1 2 Wiederhorn, Jon (July 1993). "Anthrax – Sound of White Noise review". 9 (4). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ↑ "Os 30 anos de "Sound of White Noise", o disco que mostrou o outro lado do Anthrax".
  4. ↑ "Only – Anthrax". AllMusic. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Black Lodge [CD Single] – Anthrax". AllMusic. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Connolly, Dave. "Anthrax: Sound of White Noise". AllMusic. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  7. 1 2 Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  8. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 2006. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  9. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 20. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. 1 2 Sinclair, Tom (June 24, 1993). "Anthrax: Sound of White Noise". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 14, 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  11. ↑ Ramirez, Carlos (August 28, 2009). "Top 10 John Bush Era Anthrax Songs". Noisecreep.com. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  12. 1 2 "Sound of White Noise Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  13. ↑ Blabbermouth (March 7, 2016). "ANTHRAX's 'For All Kings' Cracks U.S. Top 10". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  14. 1 2 RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Anthrax. Retrieved on March 14, 2013.
  15. ↑ Blabbermouth (April 30, 2002). "Metal/Hard Rock Album Sales In The US As Reported By SoundScan". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  16. ↑ "ANTHRAX | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  17. ↑ Sound of White Noise album credits. Elektra Records. 1993.
  18. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Anthrax – Sound of White Noise". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0978". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Anthrax – Sound of White Noise" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  21. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  22. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Anthrax – Sound of White Noise" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Charts.nz – Anthrax – Sound of White Noise". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Anthrax – Sound of White Noise". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Anthrax – Sound of White Noise". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Anthrax Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Anthrax – Sound of White Noise". Music Canada. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Metal/Hard Rock Album Sales In The US As Reported By SoundScan". www.blabbermouth.net. April 30, 2002. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
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