Anthrax Premičre Supercharged Cover Of Boston's 'Smokin' - Listen Now
Friday, 15 March 2013
Written by Jon Stickler
New York thrashers Anthrax have premičred their version of the classic Boston track, 'Smokin'. The supercharged rendition is taken from 'thrax's upcoming classic rock covers EP 'Anthems'.
The EP, which is a follow-up to Anthrax's 2011 'Worship Music' album, also features reworked versions of Cheap Trick's 'Big Eyes', Thin Lizzy's 'Jailbreak', AC/DC's 'T.N.T.' and Rush's 'Anthem'.
Speaking about the inclusion of 'Smokin' on the EP, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante told Classic Rock: “We were on tour, on the bus talking about putting the EP together, what songs we had started recorded that we would going to dust off and finish, and what songs we wanted to record. I remember I was was wearing a Boston t-shirt, and someone said ‘how about a Boston song?’ We didn’t want to do a song that was obvious, and when ‘Smokin” was mentioned, we knew that was the song. One of the great things about ‘Smokin’ is that there’s a really cool section that has a real ‘Anthrax-y’ feel to it, the guitars and drums and playing the same type of rhythm, the kick drums are going with the guitars – I immediately heard in my head what we could do with it.”
Fans of the original track may recall the prominent keyboard solo - something Anthrax don't really do. Charlie continued to explain: “We had thought about having the guitar play the keyboard parts, but Jay Ruston [co-producer of Anthems] brought up the idea of bringing in his friend Fred Mandel to play them. Fred’s played with Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, and Cheap Trick, and he absolutely nailed the keyboards for ‘Smokin’. I’m so happy he did them, it really makes the record. I love the track, it’s upbeat, it’s fast, and it’s smokin’.
To accompany the EP, six different alternative covers for ‘Anthems’ have been created, each one having it's own Anthrax spin on the original track's cover art.
Anthrax are set to release a special edition of ‘Worship Music’, including bonus disc 'Anthems' EP, through Nuclear Blast on 25th March 2013.
Scott Ian, co-founding member of Anthrax, will be heading out for a full UK ‘Speaking Words’ tour in May and June.
Fri May 24th 2013 - O2 Academy, Oxford
Sat May 25th 2013 - The Gate, Cardiff
Mon May 27th 2013 - White Rabbit, Plymouth
Thu May 30th 2013 - York Duchess, York
Fri May 31st 2013 - O2 Academy Liverpool, Liverpool
Sat June 1st 2013 - Sound Control, Manchester
Sun June 2nd 2013 - Underground, Stoke
Tue June 4th 2013 - Cluny2, Newcastle
Wed June 5th 2013 - Arches, Glasgow
Mon June 10th 2013 - O2 Academy Bournemouth, Bournemouth
Tue June 11th 2013 - Garage, London
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To accompany the EP, six different alternative covers for ‘Anthems’ have been created, each one having it's own Anthrax spin on the original track's cover art. 
