Among the Living
| Among the Living | ||||
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| Studio album by Anthrax | ||||
| Released | March 22, 1987 | |||
| Recorded | 1986 | |||
| Studio | Quadradial Studios, Miami, Florida and Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas | |||
| Genre | Thrash metal | |||
| Length | 50:13 | |||
| Label | Megaforce, Island | |||
| Producer | Anthrax, Eddie Kramer, Jon Zazula | |||
| Anthrax chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Among the Living | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| BBC Music | favorable |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10 |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  |
| The New Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Among the Living is the third studio album by American thrash metal band, Anthrax. It was released in March 1987 by Megaforce Worldwide/Island, and was certified gold by the RIAA on July 31, 1990. The BBC has described the album as "arguably their big breakthrough", and "often cited by fans as their favorite Anthrax album". Drummer and principal songwriter Charlie Benante has referred to Among the Living as Anthrax's "signature album".
Among the Living was produced by the noteworthy producer and engineer Eddie Kramer. The album features the singles, "I Am the Law" and "Indians". A music video produced for "Indians" received moderate rotation on MTV in the late-1980s thrash metal heyday.
The album's cover art, produced by illustrator and painter Don Brautigam, has been the subject of some discussion. It was long believed to depict the character Rev. Henry Kane, antagonist from the film Poltergeist II: The Other Side, while others believed it depicted the character Randall Flagg, the subject of the album's title track and the antagonist from the Stephen King novel The Stand. Drummer Charlie Benante, who conceived the concept for the cover, denies this, claiming "It (the cover art) was just about how much evil there is amongst us. I wanted to show just the same type of person on the cover. The same type of people and then, the one person that was sticking out kind of giving you a wave, like a hi! ."
The song "I Am the Law" is a tribute to comic book hero Judge Dredd. Numerous characters, settings and story elements from Dredd's fictional universe are referenced in the song's lyrics. "Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)" ("nise fukin life" spelled backwards) is about comedian John Belushi's drug addiction and death. "Indians" and the mosh pit anthem "Caught in a Mosh" are still considered Anthrax classics today. "A Skeleton in the Closet" is inspired by the Stephen King novella "Apt Pupil".
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