Sound of White Noise

Sound of White Noise
Studio album by Anthrax
Released	May 25, 1993
Recorded	A&M Studios, Cherokee Studios and Eldorado Recording Studios, Hollywood, California, 1992
Genre	Heavy metal, groove metal, alternative metal
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
"Only" Released: 1993 "Room for One More" Released: 1993 "Black Lodge" Released: 1993 "Hy Pro Glo" Released: 1994

Sound of White Noise is the sixth studio album by American heavy 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, Anthrax's highest ever chart position. Sound of White Noise was certified gold by the RIAA. "Only" and "Black Lodge" charted at No. 26 and No. 38 respectively on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

The album's closing track "This Is Not an Exit" is directly based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho. The lyrics through the song are in narrative towards the main character in the book, Patrick Bateman.^{[citation needed]} This song also includes a sample from the 1991 movie My Girl.^{[citation needed]} A music video was produced for the song "Black Lodge", featuring actress Jenna Elfman in one of her first film appearances. The Black Lodge is a fictional location in the popular early 1990s television series Twin Peaks. Anthrax were able to persuade Twin Peaks' score conductor Angelo Badalamenti to help compose the song.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Rolling Stone
Piero Scaruffi

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.

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."

Notes

• The intro ("This is a journey into sound") is a sample of "Train Sequence" narrated by Geoffrey Sumner.
• The song "Black Lodge" was omitted from the vinyl release due to time.
• Anthrax also contributed a song from these sessions called "Poison My Eyes" to the Last Action Hero soundtrack.
• The title "Hy Pro Glo" is a reference to a television commercial for Purina Hi Pro Dog Food.
• The title "C₁₁H₁₇N₂O₂S Na" is the chemical formula for sodium pentothal, more commonly known as "truth serum".

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.	Title	Writer(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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Noisegate"		4:25
13.	"Cowboy Song" (Thin Lizzy cover)	Lynott, Downey	5:06
14.	"Auf Wiedersehen" (Cheap Trick cover)	Nielsen, Petersson	3:33
15.	"Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" (Beastie Boys cover)	Michael Diamond, Matt Dike, Adam Horovitz, John King, Mike Simpson, Adam Yauch	3:10

Bonus tracks (VICP60320 Japanese edition)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Pottersfield" (Al Jourgensen Remix)	Bush, Ian, Bello, Benante	4:45
13.	"Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" (Beastie Boys cover)	Diamond, Dike, Horovitz, King, Simpson, Yauch	3:10
14.	"Cowboy Song" (Thin Lizzy cover)	Lynott, Downey	5:06
15.	"Love Her All I Can" (Kiss cover)	Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons	2:31
16.	"Auf Wiedersehen" (Cheap Trick cover)	Nielsen, Petersson	3:33

Personnel

Anthrax John Bush – lead vocals Dan Spitz – lead guitar Scott Ian – rhythm guitar, lead guitar on "Burst", lead guitar and harmony guitar on "Black Lodge" and "Packaged Rebellion", six-string bass, backing vocals Frank Bello – bass guitar, backing vocals Charlie Benante – drums

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 Schryer Engineered by Bryan Carlstrom Assistant Engineers: Mike Baumgartner, Annette Cisneros, Ed Korengo, Jennifer Monnar & Scott Ralston