Recording proceeded smoothly, but different visions for the sound of the final release created disagreements between Anthrax and the producer during the audio mixing.

Anthrax members described the album as their major breakthrough, as it marked the progression from the band playing in small clubs to arenas and stadiums.

[3] Drummer Charlie Benante was also a fan of bands playing music considered extreme at the time, such as Raven and Venom,[4] and he and guitarist Scott Ian enjoyed hardcore as much as metal.

[8] The integration of these differing musical sensibilities resulted in Anthrax's second album, Spreading the Disease, praised by critics for showing decisive progress from the band's debut release, Fistful of Metal,[9] and for introducing a unique sound, which opposed the fast and heavy riffing of thrash metal with Belladonna's clean and melodic vocals.

[7] Ian composed all the lyrics and worked on them with Belladonna to create vocal melodies that were fit to his high-pitched, melodic singing style.

and Black Sabbath on their tour supporting the album Seventh Star, Anthrax played for the first time in mid-sized arenas and were thrilled by the experience and by audiences' reaction to their music.

[18] His death profoundly impacted the thrash-metal community in which he was a highly regarded figure,[19] and the members of Anthrax dedicated their new album Among the Living to his memory.

[22] In comparison with Spreading the Disease, the songs on the album generally feature faster rhythms granted by Benante's double-pedal bass-drum beats, stronger hardcore influences in the frequent gang choruses and a more aggressive vocal delivery by Belladonna.

[24] The structure of the tracks is conventional[25] and sometimes inspired by other rock songs, such as AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie" for "Caught in a Mosh",[4] but with many rhythm changes and melodies that sometimes yield to the aggressive and dry sound.

[26] One critic considered this last feature a probable carryover from the Stormtroopers of Death project,[4] a seminal crossover band formed in 1985 by Benante, Ian and original Anthrax bassist Danny Lilker, that had combined metal riffs with hardcore on an album of short, fast and satirical songs titled Speak English or Die.

[31] Socially conscious matters are present in songs such as "Indians", about the plight of Native Americans forced to live on reservations,[32] "One World", which deals with the risk of nuclear holocaust[20] and "Imitation of Life", about false personas, especially in the music business.

"[35] Two of the album's songs are based on characters and situations taken from Stephen King's work: "Among the Living" draws from the novel The Stand,[4] and "A Skeleton in the Closet" from the novella "Apt Pupil", a part of the Different Seasons collection.

[37] The title is the catchphrase of Judge Dredd, a comic book character whose stories were originally published in the British magazine 2000 AD,[38] of which Ian was a reader and fan.

"[43] Kramer set up the recording sessions as group live performances[35] and the band members were enthusiastic regarding the atmosphere and the sound produced.

[48] The band members were dissatisfied with the mix and rejected it, arguing with Kramer to return to a clean, dry sound as close to the original live recording as possible.

[60] A music video directed by Jean Pellerin and Doug Freel was shot for "Indians"[61] and received moderate rotation on MTV in the late-1980s thrash-metal heyday.

The release features alternate takes of several album tracks, live versions and the B-side songs "I Am the Law" and "Bud E Luv Bomb And Satan's Lounge Band.

[69] To celebrate the band's 40th anniversary, Anthrax and Z2 Comics released a graphic novel with stories inspired by the songs from Among the Living in July 2021.

They were on the bill of the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington, England on August 22, 1987, alongside Bon Jovi, Dio, Metallica, W.A.S.P.

[86] It is generally considered the breakthrough album for Anthrax, their best and most influential,[87] which for its merits propelled the band among the icons of thrash metal.

[89] On Classic Rock magazine, Malcolm Dome appreciated the consistent quality of the album and wrote that Anthrax's "musicianship is on par with anything Metallica were doing at the time.

"[79] J. D. Considine of Rolling Stone wrote that "Benante and his bandmates may have been regular guys in other respects, but as musicians there was no denying the technical agility that went into each aural onslaught".

He also remarked how Anthrax strived to be equal to their fans in the mosh pits and "democratized (their) brilliance by attaching it to some of the band's catchiest, most approachable material.

"[90] According to Greg Moffitt of BBC Music, Among the Living stroke "a deft balance between marauding speed and judicious use of melody, a juggling feat they'd fumble on later albums.

"[91] Canadian journalist Martin Popoff had the same opinion about the music, but observed how the introduction for the first time of "a punk ethic" in songs like "Caught in a Mosh", "Efilnikufesin" and "One World" started to undermine "the seriousness of the band, something that was soon to cause image problems.

in 1988, journalist Don Kaye elected Anthrax in the so-called "Big Four of Thrash Metal" elite, alongside Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer.