Everyone loves a band reunion in theory. The chance to see your favorite band back on stage performing the old classics is fairly irresistible. However, that enthusiasm can soon wane when the band makes a new record as too often the old magic evaporates in the studio. Anthrax is one of the select few bands who have pulled it off. Their 2011 album, Worship Music, marked the return of arguably their most popular vocalist, Joey Belladonna, after cycling through several other singers. Still, there was the question of whether or not Belladonna would stick around for the band’s 11th album.

While For All Kings (Megaforce Records) is Belladonna’s second album since returning to the fold, his bandmates began recording Worship Music before he rejoined. As such, For All Kings is the first full-length that has been truly co-piloted by Belladonna since 1990’s Persistence of Time. The new album also features the guitar work of Jonathan Donais, formerly of Shadows Fall, who joined after lead guitarist Rob Caggiano left the band in January 2013. Whether by plan or pure accident, the fact that the band waited before releasing a follow-up worked out like gangbusters. A five-year break could have been disastrous if not for the fact that much of it was spent on the road. The result is a record that is impossibly good.

Anthrax’s legacy is as a member of the Big Four who helped popularize thrash metal (the others being Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer). However, over the course of their career they’ve expanded their sonic vocabulary. For All Kings encapsulates nearly aspect of the Anthrax catalog, with the exception of their hip-hop detour. Wisely, the band doesn’t overtly reference their past. Instead, they’re agile enough to mix and match styles with ease, shifting from the alternative sounds of the John Bush years to a thrash breakdown and then someplace altogether different. Partial credit should probably go to Donais, who in Shadows Fall bridged the gap between classic metal and new school styles. Regardless of the source, the band consistently plays as if there’s something to prove. It’s incredible that Anthrax has been putting out records for 32 years and still sounds this vital. Props must be given to Belladonna, who is in contention for most underrated metal vocalist. He sounds like he’s half his age, and the power and clarity he shows is stunning.

The one strike against the record is that the humor that has always been a part of Anthrax’s DNA is nearly non-existent . It’s not really all that detracting, there’s just a more serious lyrical focus. On power-to-the-people moments like “Zero Tolerance” and “Voice of the People,” Anthrax is direct without being heavy-handed, and the writing on the entire album is just as strong as the performances. Basically, For All Kings is not only the record you would want from Anthrax, it’s the type of record you wish every reunited band could pull off.